FERC

The jurisdictional collision over large loads and data center interconnection

By Sean Aasen on June 12, 2026

Part 1: The demand surge and the DOE’s Section 403 direction

Over the past six months, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) have each taken major steps that challenge the 90-year-old boundary between federal and state authority over the electric grid. FERC regulates the interstate wholesale electricity market and the high-voltage transmission system that supports it; state public utility commissions regulate retail sales to end-use customers and the local distribution infrastructure that delivers power to homes and businesses.

Religious Freedom Restoration Act claims against FERC-regulated pipeline must be presented initially to FERC, regardless of damages sought

By Porter Wright on October 7, 2021

Relying on a 2018 decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, a Pennsylvania district court reaffirmed that Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) claims against a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)-regulated pipeline must be made initially to FERC. Adorers of the Blood of Christ v. Transco. Gas Pipe Line Co.
Continue Reading Religious Freedom Restoration Act claims against FERC-regulated pipeline must be presented initially to FERC, regardless of damages sought