Oil and Gas Industry Forms Information Sharing Group to Combat Cyber Threats

Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued tailored show cause orders under section 206 of the Federal Power Act to PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM), Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc. (MISO), Southwest Power Pool Inc. (SPP), California Independent System Operator (CAISO), ISO New England Inc. (ISO-NE) and New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), together with their transmission owners, directing each region to justify or reform the tariff provisions governing how data centers and other large loads connect to and receive service from the transmission grid. The orders are part of FERC’s broader response to rapidly increasing electricity demand, particularly from data centers and other large loads, and advance the objectives of the Secretary of Energy’s October 2025 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR) by seeking to accelerate “speed to power” while preserving grid reliability, affordability and consumer protections.

Akin is proud to serve as a Gold Sponsor of Infocast PowerUp Data Centers – Infrastructure, taking place on July 14 - 16 in Austin, Texas.

On April 15, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) issued one of the largest enforcement penalty orders in its history, finding that American Efficient, LLC (American Efficient) and its affiliates engaged in a decade‑long fraudulent scheme involving offering energy efficiency resources (EERs) over which they had no contractual authority into the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM) and Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO) capacity markets.¹

Oil & gas companies are adapting swiftly to the administration’s energy dominance agenda, replacing net zero commitments with strategic opportunities across three emerging revenue streams. The AI-driven data center boom is fueling unprecedented demand for reliable onsite power, with traditional energy companies leveraging their natural gas resources and infrastructure expertise to build dedicated generation facilities and enter construction joint ventures. Major oil producers are simultaneously exploiting their subsurface exploration capabilities to expand into critical mineral supply chains essential for battery technologies, electronics and aerospace applications.