Speaking Energy

On January 16, 2026, the National Energy Dominance Council (NDEC) and governors from each of the 13 states in PJM issued a Statement of Principles urging PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM) to hold an emergency backstop auction and take other measures to support the entry of new capacity to preserve the reliability of the PJM region. The Statement of Principles calls on PJM to expeditiously file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) tariff revisions that would overhaul aspects of PJM’s market rules to address rising electricity prices and growing reliability risks in the PJM region. The Statement of Principles comes at a time of growing concern that PJM will not have sufficient capacity in the coming years to meet demand due to the retirement of existing generation resources, the glacial pace of new entry and projected increased demand associated with data center development.

We are pleased to share the program materials and a recording of Akin’s recently presented webinar, “Navigating the Evolving Landscape of Corporate PPAs.”

On November 7, 2025, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) reversed their prior positions and approved Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 Water Quality Certifications and other environmental permits for the Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company’s (Transco) Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (NESE). NESE is a 25-mile natural gas pipeline expansion project certificated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that is intended to deliver 400,000 dekatherms per day of natural gas produced in Pennsylvania to local distribution company customers in New York City through new facilities in Middlesex County, New Jersey and an underwater segment traversing the Raritan and Lower New York Bays.

The market for the direct procurement of energy by commercial and industrial buyers has been active in the U.S. for a decade.  In years past, buyers often engaged in such purchases on a voluntary basis to achieve their goals to use renewable energy.  These days, C&I buyers are turning to direct procurement or self-supply to obtain a reliable source of energy.  Sufficient and accessible energy from a local utility may not be available or may be materially delayed or trigger significant capital costs.  This is a material change driven in part by increased demand for electricity, including demand from data centers, EV infrastructure and industrial development.       

On October 1, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) issued Order No. 914 amending certain Commission regulations to incorporate a conditional sunset date in compliance with the Trump administration’s April 2025 Executive Order, “Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy” (the EO).

Akin is pleased to serve as a gold sponsor for Infocast’s Energy Independence Summit in Houston, October 21-23. Energy partner Charlie Ofner will moderate the Macroeconomics of Domestic Energy Independence panel, projects & energy transition partner Shariff Barakat will lead Opportunities in US Manufacturing: How Big, How Fast, How FEOC?, and counsel Taha Qureshi will guide the discussion on Cornerstones for Energy Independence: Investing in Grid Security & Cybersecurity.

On September 4, 2025, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee convened a hearing to consider the nominations of Laura Swett and David LaCerte to serve as commissioners at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission). Swett is a former FERC Staff that served as legal and policy advisor to former FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre and Commission Bernard McNamee. LaCerte is an attorney in private practice that previously held positions at the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board and the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs.

On June 4–5, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) hosted a commissioner-led technical conference to discuss resource adequacy challenges facing regional transmission organizations and independent system operators (RTO). The conference is a response to the growing concern that multiple RTO regions across the country may not have sufficient supply available in the coming years to meet demand due to resource retirements, the pace of new generation entry and higher load growth arising from the construction of data centers and reindustrialization.

On April 9, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order (EO)¹ directing several federal agencies and subagencies that regulate energy, environmental, and conservation matters,² including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Department of Energy (DOE), to establish conditional sunset dates for “regulations governing energy production.” The stated objective of the EO is to require agencies to periodically reexamine their regulations to ensure that they continue to serve the public good. For FERC, the order covers regulations promulgated under the Federal Power Act (FPA), the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act (FUA)³, as amended, while DOE must consider regulations promulgated under the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act, the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct 1992), the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), as amended (collectively the Covered Regulations).⁴ To the extent the DOE has been directed to promulgate regulations under various sections of the NGA, FPA and FUA, and FERC has been directed to promulgate regulations specific to the statutes attributed to the DOE in the EO, the EO is silent. The EO expressly does not apply to those “regulatory permitting regimes authorized by statute.”⁵