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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.

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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.

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Industry News

Decision Made on California Direct Access Customers Surcharge

LCG, Nov. 8, 2002--Large energy customers who were allowed to buy electricity from marketers and wholesale suppliers other than California's major investor-owned utilities will pay a surcharge to repay the state for its power purchases, with California Public Utilities Commissioners split on whether the amount is sufficient.

Yesterday, a 3-2 vote by California PUC regulators was made to impose a 2.7-cents per kilowatt-hour charge on usage by electricity purchasers who had signed their own supply contracts, starting Jan. 1. PUC President Loretta Lynch and Carl Wood, who advocated that the surcharge be higher, voted in the minority. Lynch thought other, generally small customers, who buy electricity from the investor-owned utilities, would be left paying a disproportionate share of the costs incurred by the state through its electricity purchases. She asserted that "This massive transfer of wealth is discriminatory and unreasonable."

Jeff Brown, who voted with the majority, said it is necessary to keep a central feature of earlier deregulation plans in place, by allowing direct access customers to continue their relationships with alternative suppliers. "If actual costs are imposed each year, direct access would become uneconomic and would cease to exist," he said. He also indicated that not allowing direct access would represent "a terrible signal to the business community," according to the Sacramento Bee. He believed, however, that the 2.7-cent surcharge is likely to rise next year.

Those who entered into direct access contracts include industrial and retail facilities, as well as hospitals and schools.
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