Electricity in the US is a critical commodity on which the residential, commercial and industrial sectors rely. Electricity is broadly regulated based on two separate categories:

Other bodies (such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Department of Energy (DOE) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)) play critical roles in other facets of the electricity industry. In addition, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has jurisdiction over the sales of futures that do not include a physical transfer of the commodity. In many instances, there is an overlap of, or conflict between, one or more of these regulatory regimes, resulting in a complex web of legal, regulatory, economic, technical and environmental implications and considerations for sellers, consumers and regulators of electricity.

The DOE is the agency primarily tasked with establishing and implementing federal energy policies, whereas the FERC is responsible for regulating the more technical aspects of the electricity industry. However, the FERC often uses its authority over wholesale electric markets to implement broader federal policies. For example, the current Presidential Administration has pursued policies that would bolster the continued viability of the coal, nuclear and natural gas fired generation. Accordingly, the FERC recently established minimum offer prices in certain wholesale capacity markets for renewable resources receiving state subsidies, ostensibly to make coal- and gas-fired generators more competitive in those markets. Therefore, although the FERC is responsible for regulating the technical aspects of the electricity industry, it often employs technical rules designed to implement broader governmental policies.

States also have energy regulatory bodies that implement their policies, which address issues that are not reserved for the federal government and differ from state to state, including renewable portfolio standards.

Recent trends include the following:

The regulatory authorities include the following:

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The FERC is an independent agency under the DOE. It regulates the rates, terms and conditions of:

In addition to regulating wholesale sales and transmission of electricity in interstate commerce, the FERC also:

State public utilities commissions. Individual state public utilities commissions generally have jurisdiction over retail sales of electricity in the state where the sales are made, unless deregulated by the state. State public utilities commissions regulate the terms and conditions associated with the sales of electricity by investor-owned LSEs to end users (such as residential, industrial and commercial consumers). State public utilities commissions (and sometimes other state agencies) also regulate the siting and physical construction of generation (except hydroelectric and commercial nuclear facilities), transmission and distribution facilities. When a proposed facility traverses two or more states, the project developer must secure authorisation from each affected state's public utilities commission and any other relevant state agencies.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The NRC is an independent federal agency that has jurisdiction over:

The NRC does not regulate sales of electricity generated by nuclear reactors.

North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). The NERC is a not-for-profit international regulatory authority that is overseen by the FERC and the Canadian government. The NERC promotes reliability and security of the bulk power system in North America by:

The NERC has jurisdiction over users, owners and operators of the bulk power system in the US, Canada and certain parts of Mexico.

Department of Energy. The DOE is responsible for advancing the national, economic and energy security of the US by implementing policies regarding nuclear power, fossil fuels and alternative energy resources. Federal power marketing agencies are part of the DOE.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA regulates greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The EPA regulates, among other things, greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Under the current Administration (which has expressed an interest in enhancing the viability of coal-fired generation), the EPA has rolled or scaled back a number of environmental protections, ostensibly to ensure the continued viability of fossil-fired generation facilities.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC regulates derivatives markets for potential abuses and certain commodity trades (including electricity hedges and trade options). The CFTC does not have jurisdiction over physical sales of electricity.

See box, The regulatory authorities.

As of April 2020, the five largest electric utilities in the US based on market value out of a total of approximately 3,300 electricity providers are:

These five utilities represent around 73% of the total market value of the ten largest electric utilities in the US (the values listed above may include assets not involved in the electric industry).

According to the US Energy Information Administration, at the end of 2019 the US had about 1,100,546 MW of total utility-scale electricity generating capacity. The three largest sources of that electric generating capacity were natural gas-fired plants (43%), renewables (24%) and coal (21%).

As of 2016, the five largest US transmission project owners (excluding the Tennessee Valley Authority) are:

While transmission facilities are usually privately owned (except for federal power marketing and state authorities and co-operatives), many are controlled and operated by large regional entities (that is, independent system operators (ISOs) or regional transmission organisations (RTOs)). ISOs and RTOs (overseen by the FERC) are responsible for controlling, managing and operating the bulk electric transmission grid. There are seven ISOs/RTOs in the US (ERCOT is the only one not regulated by the FERC), each of which is responsible for managing the transmission grid in a particular region of the country:

According to a recent DOE study, there are a total of 144 distribution utilities in the US. As of 2014, the largest power distribution companies in the US (ranked by number of customer accounts in the US) are:

Electric energy is typically supplied to end users by load serving entities (LSEs). LSEs can meet demand by:

The FERC issued Order No. 888 in 1996, requiring all public utilities that own, control or operate facilities used for transmitting electric energy in interstate commerce to have a FERC-approved open access transmission tariff (OATT) on file. An OATT sets out the terms and conditions under which a transmission utility must offer open, non-discriminatory transmission service to customers. Order No. 888 requires all OATTs to follow the FERC's mandatory pro forma OATT, unless the FERC has already granted a specific waiver of the OATT requirements based on the applicant's unique circumstances.

FERC's Order No. 2000 encouraged the creation of ISOs and RTOs. ISOs and RTOs are FERC-regulated entities responsible for controlling, managing and operating the bulk electric transmission grid (see above, Transmission). Participation by public utilities in an ISO/RTO is voluntary, but all public utility transmission owners participating in an ISO/RTO must relinquish control (but not ownership) of their transmission facilities to the ISO/RTO. The central control of transmission facilities is intended to benefit all stakeholders by providing regional co-ordination of transmission.

Each ISO and RTO has a tariff on file with the FERC, which sets out the rules, procedures, terms and conditions applicable to the services it provides. Each of the ISOs/RTOs operates an organised energy market, which acts as a clearinghouse for sales of products, such as day-ahead or real-time energy. A number of the ISOs/RTOs also operate organised capacity markets. The design of each of those markets is unique to the particular ISO/RTO. The common feature is that each auction for an applicable product (energy, capacity or certain ancillary services) is designed to produce a market clearing price that is paid to all sellers that clear in the auction. Discretionary additional compensation (for example, uplift payments) may also be available. Outside of the systems operated by an ISO or RTO, electric utilities generally continue to provide unbundled transmission service under each utility's own FERC-approved tariff.

At the distribution level, regulation varies by state. Some states (most typically in the Northeast, but also in other regions, for example, Illinois and California) offer retail choice where a local utility provides distribution service in a franchised service territory, but electric energy as a commodity is offered for sale to end users by competitive suppliers. Other states use a traditional regulatory scheme where each local utility offers distribution and the sale of energy to end users as a bundled product.

Foreign entities are not restricted from owning electricity assets in the US. However, any foreign entity that takes ownership of electric companies or assets is (as a minimum) subject to the same statutes, regulations and policies that apply to domestic companies, including rules requiring disclosure of direct and indirect owners' identities. Further, the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US is very broad, and given the infrastructure security concerns that have been expressed recently in Executive Order 13920, this may be a more sensitive area than in the past.

There has been recent litigation concerning the extent to which the FERC has jurisdiction over a public utility's cancelled power contracts resulting from the utility's bankruptcy. Some courts have held that the FERC is simply another litigant in a bankruptcy proceeding, without a separate role as a decision-maker in the process of determining of an executory wholesale power contract should be rejected. The FERC itself has held otherwise.

In 2018, the US imported approximately 51.5 TWh of electricity from Canada, which has an abundance of inexpensive hydropower.

In 2018, the US imported 6.8 TWh from Mexico.

In 2018, the US exported approximately 13.8 TWh of electricity.

In 2019, approximately 67% of utility-scale net electric generation in the US came from fossil fuels, including natural gas, coal, and petroleum. Natural gas, coal and petroleum accounted for 33%, 32% and 0.6% of utility-scale net electric generation in the US (respectively); coal's share continues to decrease.

In 2019, nuclear accounted for approximately 19% of utility-scale net electric generation.

In 2019, total renewables accounted for 17% of utility-scale electric generation.

States with RPS programs have established various renewable energy targets. There is currently no federal renewable energy target mandate.

See box, Renewable energy sources.

At the federal level, the most well-known programs currently incentivising the use of renewable energy are:

At the state level, states have been proactive about increasing integration and proliferation of renewable resources, primarily through the use of renewable portfolio standards (RPSs). Currently, 29 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have RPSs that require utilities to sell a specified percentage or amount of electricity from renewable resources. There is no federal RPS program, unless the renewable facility constitutes a "Qualifying Facility' under Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA).

A major obstacle to the development of renewable energy is the abundance of relatively inexpensive and highly price-competitive natural gas. This is largely the result of the evolution of drilling technologies (such as hydraulic fracturing) which have increased access to supplies. In the electricity market, natural gas has displaced fossil and other fuels (such as coal and nuclear) as a primary fuel source for the generation of electric energy. In addition, tax credits previously made available to renewable facilities are scheduled to sunset. However, renewable energy facilities relying on the Continuity Safe Harbour to qualify for the ITC or PTC were granted an additional year to complete projects that commenced in 2016 and 2017 in order to receive such credits.

Another potential obstacle to the development of renewable energy is the transmission interconnection process. Renewable energy projects that rely on interconnections with the transmission grid may face barriers to entry due to the expense and regulatory delay associated with the development of, and interconnection with, new transmission lines needed to transmit energy from such resources.

Additionally, the current Administration and its appointees to the FERC are attempting to bolster the viability of fossil resources, even if it is as the expense of renewable resources. The FERC has enacted several policies aimed at making fossil-fired resources more competitive with renewable resources or increasing challenges to renewables as renewables are otherwise becoming increasingly economic.

According to the NRC, there are 14 new nuclear power reactor applications, most of which are located in the eastern half of the US.

Siting and construction of electric generation facilities (with the exception of commercial nuclear and hydroelectric facilities) are regulated at the state and local levels. State public utilities commissions are generally responsible for granting or denying developers authorisation to construct electric generation facilities. If the state public utilities commission finds that a proposed project complies with the relevant state utility laws and standards, the commission will generally issue what is commonly referred to as a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN). The CPCN authorises the project developer to construct the facility with the specifications set out in the CPCN. As part of the process of obtaining a CPCN, a developer must also usually obtain permits from various federal or state agencies to comply with environmental or cultural resource requirements. Local governments cannot issue certificates, but they often can reject some or all aspects of a proposed project if they find that the project will violate local land use or other ordinances.

The federal government has siting authority over nuclear and hydroelectric facilities. The NRC is responsible for licensing nuclear facilities. The FERC (under Part I of the FPA) regulates hydroelectric dam licensing and safety. A hydroelectric project developer must file an application for licence or exemption from licensing if the project will either:

Licences for hydroelectric facilities are generally for 30 to 50 years.

There are currently no federal requirements mandating that power plants be equipped or retrofitted with carbon capture technology. The US has attempted to pass several federal laws (such as the American Clean Energy and Security Act) to provide for carbon capture and sequestration technology subsidies. However, none of these federal bills were signed into law. Only one fossil fuel electric generation plant is currently in operation in the US that is capturing carbon dioxide in large quantities (the Petra Nova plant in Texas).

At the state level, each state has its own technical, safety and environmental standards applicable to generation facilities. It is important to maintain any requisite environmental authorisations (such as water and emissions permits). Some states have enacted environmental standards that become increasingly stringent over time, ultimately dooming existing fossil plants.

At the federal level, hydroelectric facilities are bound by the terms set out in their FERC-issued licenses and applicable FERC regulations. Generators must also satisfy applicable NERC requirements. Generators seeking to participate in an organised wholesale market (that is, sell power into an ISO/RTO) must also comply with FERC's standards and the ISO's/RTO's FERC-approved tariff. For example, generators must obtain authorisation from the FERC to sell their output at wholesale. This authorisation is usually given to sell energy and capacity at market-based rates if the generator does not have (or has mitigated) market power. Additionally, under PURPA, certain eligible generators (referred to as qualifying facilities) can receive special rate and regulatory treatment if they continue to meet eligibility criteria (including compliance with operating and efficiency standards). Independent power producers typically operate as qualifying facilities under PURPA, or sell only at wholesale so that they qualify as "exempt wholesale generators" under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005. This makes them exempt from certain reporting and accounting requirements that otherwise apply to their operations.

The NRC periodically renews nuclear power plant licences by conducting a technical review, an integrated plan assessment and an environmental study.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued rules concerning utility employee workplace safety.

Interconnection of generation facilities with the transmission grid is regulated by the FERC. The FERC has established rules and standards for all interconnections, and has issued Standard Interconnection Agreements & Procedures for large and small generators. Each transmission utility (including every ISO/RTO) is bound by and required to incorporate these rules. Interconnection agreements cannot impose additional obligations on the parties unless the FERC has authorised terms and conditions that are different from the applicable standard form. The FERC has issued several orders that set out policies governing the interconnection of different sized generators, including separate standards applicable to facilities with over 20 MW, 20 MW or less, and large wind generation facilities. The FERC can require the establishment of an interconnection between transmission and generation facilities.

The NERC also has standards and rules regarding the interconnection of generation facilities to the bulk transmission grid.

Decommissioning power plants can be subject to various state and federal requirements. However, the decommissioning of generating facilities (other than nuclear and hydroelectric generating facilities) is not subject to a standardised set of federal energy regulatory requirements, apart from environmental regulations.

Power plant decommissioning generally involves electric generation equipment being shut down and operating permits being terminated. Unused fuel and other materials are removed or sold, and generating equipment and on-site structures can be sold as scrap if they are not repurposed. The land on which the facility is located may need to be remediated or redeveloped.

Coal-fired plants may present some environmental issues in closing (for example, ash pits).

However, owners of hydroelectric facilities can surrender a licence or exemption only upon FERC approval, and the decommissioning of nuclear generating facilities is highly regulated by the NRC, and generally must correspond to one of several FERC-authorised models. There may also be state rules and requirements applicable to the termination of service from, and the removal of, electric generating equipment, and the rights of affected employees, which will vary by state.

The siting and construction of transmission facilities is generally regulated by state regulatory agencies. A transmission facility may not be constructed in any state unless authorised by the state public utilities commission (and, in some cases, other state agencies) in each affected state. Each state has its own rules, regulations and guidelines concerning the siting and development of transmission facilities. State review of transmission projects may include environmental impact studies, a public hearing for affected landowners and considering whether the exercise of eminent domain is appropriate.

Federal projects are subject to the National Environmental Policy Act 1969, which requires the applicable federal agency to review the environmental impacts of the proposed project.

The FERC regulates the transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce (see Question 3, Transmission). Every public utility transmission owner and operator of facilities that are used to transmit electricity in interstate commerce must have an OATT on file with the FERC (see Question 3, Unbundling requirements). The OATT sets out the minimum rules and procedures with which all interstate public utility transmission owners and operators must comply. In regions of the country where an ISO or RTO manages and controls the transmission system (such as California, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions) each ISO and RTO is regulated by the FERC and is bound by the provisions established in its FERC-approved OATT.

All interstate transmission facilities must be operated in accordance with NERC's reliability standards, which set out rules and requirements for the reliability of the bulk electrical transmission system.

Authorisation must be obtained from the DOE to transmit electric energy across the international borders with Canada and Mexico.

The FERC has mandated the unbundling of services so that electric generation and transmission are offered as separate products (see Question 3, Unbundling requirements). The FPA requires that charges for transmission rates are just and reasonable, and that no public utility grants undue preference or advantage to any entity or charges different rates to similarly situated transmission customers. Transmission rates vary, but the most common types are:

Transmission customers may have to pay multiple rates if the power is transmitted over multiple areas or zones (known as pancaked rates) or if the power is transmitted across the systems of more than one transmission provider. In general, transmission rates are cost-based (unlike wholesale generation rates which are typically market-based).

Additionally, the Energy Policy Act 2005 directed the FERC to offer a number of incentive-based interstate transmission rate treatments.

Electricity supply and demand is balanced through self-supply, bilateral contracts or ISO/RTO electricity auctions (see Question 3, Supply). Electric utilities not participating in an ISO or RTO must effectively balance their supply with customer demand by relying on their own generation facilities (that is, self-supply), purchasing electricity under bilateral contracts and/or shedding load. Electric utilities must have sufficient energy and capacity to meet demand. Supply and demand in ISO/RTO regions is balanced through reverse auctions, in which the ISO/RTO matches bids for supply with bids for demand. In the event of an emergency involving a shortage of generation or transmission, temporary interconnection and transmission of energy can be ordered under the FPA.

State public utilities commissions (and other related agencies in some states) generally have jurisdiction over the construction of electricity distribution systems. In both retail choice states and states subject to traditional bundled regulation, utilities are granted franchised service territories for their distribution operations. It is unusual for a state public utilities commission to permit a different utility to provide any distribution services in a utility's franchised service territory. A state public utilities commission reviews applications to construct new electric distribution systems or upgrades to determine whether they comply with state laws and regulations. State public utilities commissions typically look at environmental, technical, public interest and economic factors in deciding whether to approve a project.

In addition, co-operatives and municipalities may construct distribution facilities with financing assistance from the US Department of Agriculture.

The ongoing requirements to operate electricity distribution systems vary by state. Such laws and regulations aim to ensure that facilities continue to meet minimum reliability, safety and operational standards. Additionally, local governments and/or municipalities in some states own and operate local distribution systems, effectively taking the place of a local investor-owned utility company. Also, local distribution facilities in some states are owned and operated by the customers they serve (known as a co-operative). Municipalities and co-operatives are subject to limited regulation by the FERC, and are mostly self-regulated (although the extent of self-regulation and governmental oversight varies from state to state).

Investor-owned utilities may have to obtain and pay for a franchise granted to serve a municipality (depending on the state and locality).

State public utilities commissions regulate the charges and conditions of service for electric distribution service by investor owned utilities. Typically, a state public utilities commission sets rates to recover the costs traditionally incurred by a utility to provide service (that is, the cost of debt, operation and maintenance costs, administrative and general expenses, plus a return of and on equity).

There is a wide array of cost allocation methodologies adopted at the state level such as the "Average & Excess" methodology, the "1 Coincident Peak" methodology and a variety in between. Changing the allocation methodology can substantially affect an aggregate share of costs of a customer class and the cost borne by an individual customer.

State public utilities commissions also can establish customer charges, demand charges and energy charges, which are all components of a total rate. State utilities commissions also may determine which are more appropriate: demand charges (which do not vary with use) or volumetric charges (which vary with use). Some states also provide for utilities' recovery of the costs of items that are non-traditional or are subject to potential volatility in cost levels (such as environmental or fuel costs). Such costs may be collected through clause recoveries that are in addition to base rates, which provides greater assurance that the specific amount of that cost is collected (regardless of the level of the utility's sales).

State public utilities commissions have jurisdiction over the supply of electricity to end users. The scope of this jurisdiction depends on whether the state has authorised retail choice (that is, retail competition) or not. In retail choice states, retail customers can choose between the franchised public utility serving their territory and other competitive suppliers when purchasing electricity. Retail customers with retail choice are not charged for the commodity of electric energy under "cost-based rate regulation". Instead (under state law) they can purchase electricity at market-based rates from competitive suppliers (other than a franchised public utility, although the latter may arrange default supplies). Therefore, while state commissions may regulate the price, terms and conditions associated with retail electricity from franchised public utilities, state commissions typically do not regulate electricity prices from competitive suppliers (although they typically license the suppliers and impose other conditions on them).

Some parts of the US still have vertically-integrated utilities that generate their own electricity. Where that is not the case, electricity is typically traded between generators and suppliers through bilateral contracts or organised wholesale markets. For example, a generator and a supplier (such as an LSE) can enter into a bilateral agreement for the sale and purchase of power. Suppliers can also purchase power at market-based rates from organised wholesale electricity markets, such as those operated by ISOs and RTOs. Entities that are deemed to own qualifying facilities can obligate their local utility to purchase electricity from them at the utility's avoided cost, although the FERC has been taking steps to diminish the opportunity to do so.

Electricity trading between generators and load serving entities typically occurs through one or both of the following:

ISO/RTO organised wholesale market transactions. ISOs/RTOs control, operate and manage the bulk transmission grid, and perform various market auctions that are intended to match supply and demand (see Question 3, Supply and Question 17). Sellers in these ISO/RTO organised wholesale markets must first have authority from the FERC to sell electricity at market-based rates. Moreover, sellers and buyers in wholesale markets must comply with the rules and regulations of the FERC, and the applicable ISO/RTO OATT. Sellers that clear in an auction generally are paid the market clearing price (see Question 3, Unbundling requirements). If a wholesale seller is found to have violated conditions on its market-based rates (such as failing to show in reports filed on a triennial basis that it and its affiliates lack market power, or has not filed the required reports), its authorisation to charge market-based rates may be revoked.

Bilateral agreements. The supply of electricity can also occur through bilateral agreements between buyers and sellers of a specified amount of electricity at a given price. Wholesale sales of electricity in interstate commerce are regulated by the FERC and can be market-based (most sales are market-based) or cost-based. The most common example for the latter is the payment of a rate to a reliability must run unit (which is usually a unit that cannot operate economically but is needed for reliability). See Question 24.

Rates and conditions at the consumer level (that is, retail) are established by state public utilities commissions, or, in the case of municipally-owned utilities and co-operatives, by the governing board or city council. Rates established by a state public utilities commission will usually contain several components, including energy charges, demand charges, customer surcharges and sometimes environmental surcharges (which are often used to fund state clean energy programs).

Wholesale rates and conditions are regulated by the FERC under the FPA, which requires that rates for wholesale sales in interstate commerce must be just and reasonable and not unduly discriminatory. The FERC can grant (at the utility's request), market-based rate authorisation, which allows the utility to charge the market price of the electricity product if the utility lacks (or has mitigated) market power in a particular market. Alternatively, the FERC may regulate rates and conditions through cost-of-service rates, although cost-based wholesale rates now are the exception, as cost-based rates are much less common than market-based rates. (See Question 22.)

Additionally, four federal power marketing agencies (PMAs) operate electric systems, and market and sell the electrical output primarily of federally-owned and operated hydroelectric dams in 33 states. The FERC does not regulate federal PMA activities, but it does review their rates.

The actions utilities may take in the intrastate retail market are subject to state jurisdiction, with each state having different rules and regulations. If a utility acquires a franchise from a municipality, it likely will be given power to access existing rights of way. Generally, a utility's retail tariff specifies the scope of actions the utility can take. However, utilities should always exercise caution before engaging in any activity, as a retail tariff does not always provide an exhaustive list of authorised activities. Once a retail utility is franchised to serve an area, it may gain eminent domain or condemnation rights subject to authorisation by the relevant regulatory agency.

Disputes may arise regarding accumulated deferred income taxes (ADIT) and deductibility of interest on debt. The treatment of ADIT is a highly litigated area in rate cases. ADIT arises from differences in the methods of computing taxable income for the various taxing bodies (such as the Internal Revenue Service) and income for regulatory accounting purposes. These differences result in utilities initially collecting from ratepayers money (that is not yet needed) to pay taxes. Additionally, disputes may arise over the methodologies used to calculate tax deductions associated with interest on debt.

Qualifying renewable facilities may be eligible for the PTC, ITC and/or cash grants offered by the IRS.

The Price-Anderson Act was passed to cover liability claims of individuals who suffer personal or property injury caused by nuclear accidents involving NRC-licensed nuclear plants. The Price-Anderson Act requires NRC licence holders and DOE contractors to execute indemnity agreements to cover liability for personal injury and/or property damage if there is a nuclear incident. NRC licensees must pay insurance premiums each year to help cover the costs associated with payouts to harmed individuals.

The US Government has attempted to enhance the viability of fossil-fired generation facilities and fuel sources. For example, after the DOE had proposed to require the FERC to address threats to the resiliency of the electric grid by "premature retirements" of coal and nuclear resources and following extensive criticism of the DOE's position, the FERC ultimately declined to take further action on the DOE's proposal.

However, the FERC has more recently implemented other policies that enhance fossil-fired resources' competitiveness relative to renewable resources. For example, the FERC has imposed on renewable resources participating in several wholesale capacity markets the obligations to bid into procurement auctions at a price that is materially above their incremental dispatch costs. The FERC also has revised regulations that previously encouraged renewable resources sales as “qualifying facilities”.

Additionally, the FERC recently issued an order adopting significant revisions to its regulations implementing avoided cost rate setting and other items under PURPA, and has also issued rules and guidance regarding the implementation of certain renewable energy initiatives, such as net metering. In another proceeding, two FERC commissioners indicated that they might be sympathetic to asserting jurisdiction over net metering programs that have traditionally been overseen by individual states.

The FERC also continues to explore ways to better co-ordinate the electric and natural gas industries in light of electric generators' increasing reliance on natural gas as a combustion fuel. The FERC has explained that any outages and reliability problems should not be the result of the lack of co-ordination between the electricity and gas industries (example, due to timing differences between auctions in the organised wholesale electric markets and gas pipeline nomination cycles). The FERC has continued to actively engage affected participants to try to better align timing between the electric and gas industries so that potential outages are obviated or minimised.

Additionally, former US Vice President Joe Biden has indicated that, if elected President, he would push for the elimination of carbon pollution from power plants by 2035, as well as other electricity reforms, such as in the transportation sector.