EnergyOnline
Services

RSS FEED

EnergyOnline.com rss

News

FERC Proposes NEPA Revisions to Streamline Air Quality Analyses and Accelerate Natural Gas Projects

LCG, October 16, 2026--The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced on Thursday its new proposal to revise and accelerate its review of air quality effects for proposed natural gas projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The draft policy statement highlights revisions designed to (i) avoid unnecessary delays and duplicative analysis and (ii) deliver greater regulatory certainty and a streamlined path forward for project applicants.

Read more

AEP Announces 702-MW Bloom Fuel Cell Project to Serve Google in Wyoming

LCG, October 14, 2026--American Electric Power (AEP) today announced plans for a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Google, under which AEP will invest approximately $4 billion to advance a new 702-MW fuel cell generation project located near Cheyenne, Wyoming. Google will acquire power from Cheyenne Fuel Cell, LLC, which is approximately 92 percent owned and controlled by AEP and 8 percent owned by funds advised by Basalt Infrastructure Partners, LLP. AEP and its partners plan to start construction this year and to be fully operational by the end of 2028.

Read more

Industry News

FERC Spells Out Rules for For-Profit Grid Companies

LCG, Apr. 25, 2002--The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission yesterday issued further details on the abilities and obligations of for-profit independent transmission companies, or ITC's, with specific directions for the Alliance, a group of utilities that had hoped to form a for-profit regional transmission organization (RTO).

In the fall of 2001, the FERC had denied the Alliance companies, located in the Midwest, their objective of qualifying for RTO status. The FERC upheld that decision, intended to prevent grid management from granting transmission access favoring the utilities' own transactions, as occurred during the pre-1996 era of vertical integration.

The Alliance, which includes American Electric Power Co. (AEP), Exelon Corp., Commonwealth Edison Co., FirstEnergy Corp., Ameren, DPL Inc., Dynegy's Illinois Power Co., and Dominion Resources, was given 30 days in which to commit to joining either the Pennsylvania-Jersey-Maryland Interconnection (PJM) or the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO). There have been initial agreements between the PJM and MISO, both of which have filed RTO compliance reports on their own, on forming a unified market.

In a separate order, the nascent independent transmission company TRANSLink Transmission Co. LLP, started by Alliant Energy, Xcel Energy and Berkshire Hathaway, as well as public utilities Nebraska Public Power District, Omaha Public Power District and Corn Belt Power Cooperative, was told to post available transmission capacity on the MISO's website, rather than its own. The order would promote "one-stop shopping," according to FERC Chairman Pat Wood III.

Democrat william Massey, who supports nonprofit RTO's over for-profit RTO's said that ITC's, if allowed by FERC, can "properly harness the profit incentive" to realize a non-discriminatory, efficient transmission grid. Commissioner Linda Key Breathitt expressed concern that ITC's might be stifled by the FERC's support for non-profit RTO's.
Copyright © 2026 LCG Consulting. All rights reserved. Terms and Copyright
UPLAN-NPM
The Locational Marginal Price Model (LMP) Network Power Model
Uniform Storage Model
A Battery Simulation Model
UPLAN-ACE
Day Ahead and Real Time Market Simulation
UPLAN-G
The Gas Procurement and Competitive Analysis System
PLATO
Database of Plants, Loads, Assets, Transmission...
CAISO CRR Auctions
Monthly Price and Congestion Forecasting Service