On November 24, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina denied American Efficient LLC’s (American Efficient) preliminary injunction seeking to halt FERC’s civil enforcement proceedings for alleged market manipulation and tariff violations. American Efficient argued that FERC’s process violated the Seventh Amendment and Article III of the U.S. Constitution by denying its right to a jury trial in an Article III court. The Court held that the Federal Power Act’s (FPA) scheme—allowing FERC to assess a penalty but requiring the government to obtain a de novo jury trial in federal court before any penalty can be enforced—satisfies requirements under the Constitution.
FERC Grants ISO-NE Waiver in Capacity Scarcity Penalty Case
On October 31, 2025, FERC granted ISO New England’s (ISO-NE) request for a limited waiver of its Tariff and Billing Policy to refund, approximately $68,000 in Capacity Performance charges to Brookfield White Pine Hydro LLC (Brookfield). The waiver relates to six five-minute intervals during a June 24, 2025 Capacity Scarcity Condition in which Harris Hydro Station’s Unit 2 (Harris 2) was manually held below its EcoMax[1] because ISO-NE allowed a non-commercial Large Generating Facility to operate on a constrained transmission line, thereby limiting Harris 2’s output and triggering an underperformance assessment.
NextEra Receives FERC Waiver to Facilitate Nuclear Plant Restart in Iowa
On August 25, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) granted NextEra Duane Arnold, LLC (“NEDA”) a waiver of certain sections of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.’s (“MISO”) tariff to use MISO’s generating facility replacement process for the recommissioning of the Duane Arnold nuclear power facility (“Project”) in Palo, Iowa. The order also extends the Project’s commercial operation date to December 31, 2029.
Laura Swett and David LaCerte Nominated for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Commissioner Seats
On June 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced the nomination of Laura Swett to occupy the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) seat previously held by Chairman Mark Christie. Following this, on July 16, 2025, Trump nominated David LaCerte for another vacant commissioner position at FERC. Swett is currently practicing as an energy attorney at the law firm Vinson & Elkins, while LaCerte serves as the principal White House liaison and senior advisor to the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Ninth Circuit Upholds FERC’s Denial of RTO Incentive Adder for California Utilities Due to Mandatory CAISO Participation
On July 11, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) issued an opinion in Pacific Gas & Electric Company v. FERC, addressing a challenge by Pacific Gas & Electric Company (“PG&E”), Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (collectively, the “California Utilities”) to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) order denying PG&E’s request for an “RTO Adder” for its participation in the California Independent System Operator Corporation (“CAISO”). The Utilities argued that they were entitled to this incentive under section 219(c) of the Federal Power Act (“FPA”), but FERC determined that their participation in CAISO was not voluntary due to California law mandating their participation, and thus they were ineligible for the adder. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit affirmed FERC’s order.
On Rehearing, FERC Upholds Approval of PJM’s Proposed Offer Cap Tariff Revisions
On June 26, 2025, FERC upheld PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.’s (PJM) proposal to revise its Capacity Performance Quantifiable Risk (CPQR) Offer Cap. Several public interest organizations and PJM’s Independent Market Monitor (Market Monitor) filed requests for rehearing, arguing that PJM’s tariff changes did not adequately differentiate between costs directly related to capacity commitments and those incurred for other reasons, potentially leading to unfair rates. FERC disagreed, stating that PJM’s definition of CPQR provides a clear principle for identifying relevant costs and prevents sellers from inflating offer caps with unrelated expenses. The Commission emphasized that the review process by PJM and the Market Monitor ensures adherence to this principle, maintaining fair and competitive market practices.
Fifth Circuit Finds ANR Pipeline’s Tariff Does Not Require Simultaneous Delivery for Short-Notice Shipments
On May 22, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (“Fifth Circuit”) addressed a dispute between ANR Pipeline Company (“ANR”) and FERC. The case centered on the interpretation of ANR’s tariff and whether it required shippers to deliver and take gas simultaneously, even for short-notice shipments. The Fifth Circuit denied ANR Pipeline Company’s petition for review, affirming FERC’s decision that ANR’s tariff did not require simultaneous delivery for short-notice shipments. The court found the tariff ambiguous and emphasized ANR’s longstanding practice of not requiring simultaneous delivery, which supported FERC’s position.
FERC Staff Releases 2025 Summer Energy Market and Electric Reliability Assessment
On May 15, 2025, the FERC’s Office of Energy Policy and Innovation, in coordination with the Office of Electric Reliability, released their 2025 Summer Energy Market and Electric Reliability Assessment, highlighting key industry insights and challenges for the upcoming summer season, measured from June through September 2025. The report anticipates higher-than-average temperatures across the continental United States, coupled with increased uncertainty from extreme weather events. Load is projected to be higher than in the past four summers, leading to noticeably higher wholesale electricity prices across most regions. Despite these challenges, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation forecasts that all regions will have adequate generating resources to meet expected demand under normal conditions. However, certain areas may face tight generation availability during periods of above-normal electricity demand, low wind and solar output, and wide-area heat events, necessitating operational mitigations to maintain reliability. Overall, the report calls for careful monitoring and management of the electric grid to address these challenges and maintain reliability throughout the summer.
FERC Enforces “Rule of Reason,” Requiring CAISO to Embed Business Practice Manual Provision in Tariff
On April 29, 2025, FERC partially granted rehearing in the case of Cometa Energia, S.A. de C.V. (“Saavi”) against the California Independent System Operator Corporation (“CAISO”), finding a provision of CAISO’s Business Practice Manual for Reliability Requirements (“Business Practice Manual”) must be included in CAISO’s tariff under the “rule of reason,” as the provision significantly impacts rates and services. In its underlying complaint, Saavi argued that CAISO unlawfully terminated the deliverability status of its 181.5 megawatt generating unit (“Project”). In its rehearing order, FERC agreed that under the “rule of reason” CAISO should have reflected the deliverability status provision of its Business Practice Manual in its tariff, but FERC declined to reinstate the Project’s deliverability status citing concerns over reduced resource adequacy for other generating units.
Order No. 1920-B Affirms FERC’s Long-Term Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation Rule
On April 11, 2025, FERC issued Order No. 1920-B, which clarified and maintained key requirements from Order No. 1920-A regarding long-term transmission planning and cost allocation. FERC clarified that transmission providers are not obligated to plan for the long-term needs of unenrolled non-jurisdictional transmission providers, but voluntary arrangements are allowed. The order also upheld the requirement for transmission providers to include Relevant State Entities’ agreed-upon cost allocation methods in their compliance filings. Additionally, FERC sustained the consultation requirement with Relevant State Entities before amending cost allocation methods. Lastly, FERC declined to expand the definition of “Relevant State Entity” and rejected certain rehearing requests as procedurally barred. Overall, FERC explained that Order No. 1920-B reinforces the importance of long-term, forward-looking, and comprehensive transmission planning and cost allocation processes to meet the demands of the modern transmission grid. The order was approved by four Commissioners, with Commissioner See not participating.