DOE Orders Philly Gas-Fired Power Plants to Stay Open 5th Time
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued an emergency order on May 21 directing PJM Interconnection and Constellation Energy to keep Units 3 and 4 at Pennsylvania’s Eddystone Generating Station (near Philadelphia, in Delaware County) operational through the summer. Effective from May 25, 2026, to August 22, 2026, the mandate aims to ensure grid reliability. This directive follows four previous 90-day orders that have kept the aging, dual-fuel units online to support energy security. The DOE asserts that despite planned retirements, these 380-MW units remain essential for stabilizing the regional power supply. Big Green wants to close them down. Read More “DOE Orders Philly Gas-Fired Power Plants to Stay Open 5th Time”
Last Thursday (May 21), the commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) unanimously proposed significant changes to the agency’s natural gas blanket certificate program, the most substantial overhaul since 2006. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) aims to roughly double the cost thresholds for pipeline companies to build and modify infrastructure without extensive case-by-case approval. It also expands eligible project categories and, for the first time, extends streamlined authorization to certain LNG facility activities. 
Yesterday, MDN told you that Enbridge has launched an open season for customers to sign up for capacity along an expanded Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline in New England (see 
U.S. natural gas flows to LNG export facilities were set to hit a 16-week low of 15.1 Bcf/d on Tuesday, May 19, despite the anticipated return of QatarEnergy/ExxonMobil’s Golden Pass plant in Texas, according to LSEG data. Average flows dropped from a record 18.8 Bcf/d in April to 16.9 Bcf/d in May due to spring maintenance at multiple facilities, including Golden Pass and Freeport LNG. 
NextEra Energy, headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is gobbling up companies left and right. Earlier this week, NextEra announced it is buying out and merging with a fellow utility giant, Dominion Energy (see 
In the Middle Ages, the Catholic church would happily sell you forgiveness of sins (if you paid), meaning you could keep right on sinning, as long as you could pay. It was called an indulgence. The modern environmental movement is doing the same thing. Big Green is all about Big Money. The scam they run is to convince people that planting a tree, not cutting down a tree, or maybe capturing a little bit of methane seeping out of a landfill, can make up for continuing to use (burn) natural gas. Georgia Natural Gas (GNG) is offering this scam to its customers. Why would anyone willingly pay more for the same thing? Just to feel better about themselves? Apparently so, because 100,000 GNG customers are doing it. 
Last week, the news broke that Enbridge is exploring a major expansion of its Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline into New England, and had briefed the Trump administration’s National Energy Dominance Council about its plans (see 
On March 18, President Trump issued a 60-day waiver pausing the enforcement of the Jones Act (see 
On May 14, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a notice of violation to Sandstone Development LLC for operating the McKay 7A conventional well as an oil and gas wastewater injection disposal site in McKean County without a state permit. Which may sound like a major, flagrant (intentional) violation. But it’s not. Sandstone holds a federal EPA permit allowing daily injections of up to 10,500 gallons. Sandstone said it was unaware that, in addition to the federal EPA permit, it is also required to seek and obtain a state DEP permit for the same thing. In other words, Sandstone didn’t ask DEP, “Mother, May I?” 
Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest U.S. energy holding companies, serving 8.7 million electric customers and 1.8 million gas customers across six states. While the company dabbles in unreliable renewables like solar and wind, its bread-and-butter, go-to source for new electric power generation is natural gas, which it gets from the Marcellus/Utica. We’ve reported on many of Duke’s announced new gas-fired power plant projects (
In 2025, the U.S. set dual production records, with crude oil output reaching 13.6 million barrels per day and natural gas hitting 118.5 Bcf/d, making America the world’s top producer of both commodities. These milestones represent explosive growth since the early 2000s, driven entirely by the shale fracking revolution. Despite persistent predictions of failure from environmental groups, major publications like The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, and various analysts, the industry continuously defied skeptics through relentless technological innovation — including longer lateral wells, simultaneous multi-well fracking, and electrified equipment. With no production peak in sight, new records are anticipated for 2026. 
AlphaGen (Alpha Generation LLC) is one of the largest independent power producers in the United States, majority-owned by ArcLight Capital Partners. It owns and operates a massive portfolio of critical power infrastructure—including natural gas-fired and floating power stations—to meet rising energy demand driven by grid electrification and data centers. Yesterday, AlphaGen and ArcLight announced they have acquired Brandywine Power, a 250 MW natural gas combined-cycle generating facility in Prince George’s County, Maryland, from Onward Energy Holdings. The plant is fed by Marcellus/Utica molecules.