On October 1, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a final rule revising 53 regulations to include conditional sunset provision in response to the April 2025 Executive Order titled “Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy.” FERC, along with nine other agencies, was required to establish one-year conditional sunset dates for outdated, redundant, or unused regulations, after which the regulations will cease to be effective and be removed from the Code of Federal Regulations, unless the Commission extends the deadlines upon consideration of public comment on costs and benefits. The Executive Order exempted regulatory permitting regimes and new regulations or amendments that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget determined would have a “net deregulatory effect.” FERC’s final rule appears to focus primarily on regulations that, as explained by FERC, are outdated or unnecessary, and does not touch on FERC’s landmark Orders.
The regulations FERC identified for sunsetting include:
- 18 C.F.R. § 2.15: FERC explained that the method for calculating the rate of return for computing amortization reserves for hydroelectric project licenses is no longer used and imposes unnecessary duplicative requirements on entities.
- 18 C.F.R. § 2.18: FERC explained that the regulation for phased electric rate increase filings is no longer needed because the Commission no longer receives phased rate increase filings.
- 18 C.F.R. § 2.21: FERC explained that the regulation for Regional Transmission Groups is not necessary because Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators have replaced Regional Transmission Groups.
- 18 C.F.R. § 2.25: FERC explained that ratemaking treatment of the cost of emissions allowances in coordination transactions is not needed because of the transition of market-based rates for most generation facilities, and the costs remain recoverable.
- 18 C.F.R. § 2.105: FERC explained that gas supply charges are outdated because it was used before natural gas pipelines were unbundled.
- 18 C.F.R. § 385.602(c)(1)(ii): FERC explained that the regulation is no longer necessary because it requires explanatory statements in offers of settlement, which are duplicative of the settlement agreement itself.
- FERC also identified ten (10) regulations as obsolete procedural and filing requirements that are no longer in general use at FERC.
- Lastly, FERC identified seventeen (17) rules related to adjustment provisions of the Natural Gas Policy Act that have been repealed, rendering them obsolete.
As part of the final rule, FERC established a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and requested comments on the costs and benefits of the regulations slated for sunset by October 31, 2025. The final rule will be effective on November 17, 2025 unless “significant adverse” comments are received by October 31, 2025. Once the final rule becomes effective, the 53 regulations identified in the final rule will sunset in one year unless the Commission votes to extend them.
The Commission’s Order is available here.
