DOE Section 403 directive and FERC large-load interconnection ANOPR (Docket RM26-4-000)

On October 23, 2025 the Secretary of Energy, under section 403 of the DOE Organization Act, directed FERC to consider an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on the interconnection of large loads (above 20 MW) to the interstate transmission system, proposing principles that include expedited studies for flexible and co-located loads, full upgrade-cost responsibility and partial plant retirements to serve on-site load. FERC opened RM26-4-000, took more than 3,500 pages of comment, and on June 18, 2026 chose six RTO-specific show-cause orders over a generic rule, leaving the ANOPR docket open for non-RTO regions.