Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation v. FERC — D.C. Cir. (Nov 5, 2026)

No. 25-1123 Argued November 5, 2026 Published November 6, 2026

The D.C. Circuit hears a dispute over who bears the financial risk of developing transmission projects in New York. Niagara Mohawk asked FERC, the federal energy regulator, for permission to recover all prudently incurred costs if those projects were later cancelled for reasons outside its control. FERC conditionally granted the incentive, but made full-cost protection begin no earlier than state approval of each project, rather than the earlier date the utility requested. Niagara Mohawk will argue that this exposes costly preliminary work and unfairly penalizes reliance on a streamlined state-approval process that avoids duplicate studies. FERC will respond that consumer benefits must first be demonstrated before electricity customers bear the full risk. The dispute concerns the start of possible future cost protection, not an immediate payout. Listen for the difference between an acceptable policy change and treating similar utilities inconsistently.

Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation v. FERC (No. 25-1123) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, argued November 5, 2026.

Sources

Argument audio — official D.C. Circuit recording; complete advocacy; fixed level adjustment only; Original recording preserved, including an abrupt administrative ending after all advocacy.:https://media.cadc.uscourts.gov/recordings/docs/2026/11/25-1123.mp3

Case and argument date — official D.C. Circuit archive, November 5, 2026:https://media.cadc.uscourts.gov/recordings/bydate/2026/11

Project background and challenged agency orders — FERC filed brief, June 1, 2026; agency advocacy, not the outcome of this appeal:https://www.ferc.gov/sites/default/files/2026-06/NiagaraBrief.pdf

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