FERC Approves Vistra Plan to Buy Gas-Fired Power Plants from Lotus
Gas-fired power plants in the Marcellus/Utica region (and beyond) continue to change hands at a rapid pace. In May, Vistra Corp. announced a deal to acquire seven natural gas-fired power plants, totaling approximately 2,600 MW of capacity, from Lotus Infrastructure Partners (see 1,320 MW Fairless Power Station in Bucks County, PA Sold to Vistra). The acquisition includes five combined-cycle gas turbine facilities and two combustion turbine facilities located across PJM, New England, New York, and California. The deal just received an important approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Read More “FERC Approves Vistra Plan to Buy Gas-Fired Power Plants from Lotus”
Although we’re seeing an increase in both natural gas demand and production, combining these factors with relatively normal winter weather, economic indicators and natural gas storage levels, the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) is projecting “flat” pressure on natural gas prices compared to last winter, according to the NGSA’s annual Winter Outlook forecast of the wholesale winter natural gas market (full copy below). The NGSA 2025-2026 Winter Outlook, a forecast of the wholesale winter natural gas market, compared the upcoming winter to the winter of 2024-2025 when the average Henry Hub price of natural gas was $3.76 per MMBtu. “Winter” is defined as the period from November through March, the industry’s traditional winter heating season. 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Trump’s hydrogen bombshell; Climate lawfare faces a key inflection point in Maryland high court; NATIONAL: Natural gas price snaps winning streak despite small inventory rise; Goldman leaves Henry Hub forecasts steady, eyes medium-term tightness; Trump keeps oil permits moving in shutdown; The top-performing energy stocks of Q3 2025; INTERNATIONAL: WTI sinks below $61 on supply fears; Big Oil’s short-term worries mask bullish long term. 
In August, EOG Resources, one of the largest oil and gas drillers in the U.S. (with international operations in several other countries) and a Fortune 500 company, closed on the $5.6 billion purchase of Encino Energy, adding 675,000 net acres in the Utica and over 1,000 operating shale wells (see 
Mon Power and Potomac Edison are local utilities and subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp. The two companies recently submitted an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to the West Virginia Public Service Commission, outlining how they will continue to deliver reliable, cost-effective power to West Virginia homes and businesses over the next decade. The big news (for us) is that the companies are seriously exploring the possibility of building a new 1,200-megawatt natural gas combined-cycle power plant, which is expected to be operational around 2031. 
Here’s a court case that slipped under our radar. Antero Resources Corporation challenged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of a two-tier fuel rate structure imposed by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company (TGP) following an expansion project. Antero had contracted with TGP to secure firm transportation capacity by funding the construction of new compressor stations, which are energy-intensive and require substantial fuel to operate. The tariff approved by FERC stipulated that Antero would always be charged the highest marginal fuel rate, as if its gas were the last and most expensive to transport through the pipeline. In contrast, other shippers paid an average fuel rate, leading to Antero paying two to three times the fuel rate of other shippers on the same pipeline segment. 
Speaking at the Sept. 30 Northeast Energy and Commerce Association 2025 Fuels Conference, gas pipeline executives expressed optimism that shifting federal and state politics in New England are creating opportunities for natural gas infrastructure expansion. Panelists emphasized the need to alleviate regional gas constraints to support the growth of electric generation and data centers. Speakers also highlighted the complementary role of LNG infrastructure, the challenge of financing new pipelines, and urged Massachusetts to reconsider strict decarbonization targets to ensure energy reliability. 
The State of Maryland opened the door on Tuesday to a program that could, theoretically, fast-track energy projects through the state’s regulatory process in hopes of boosting the amount of power generated in the state. For the next 30 days, the Public Service Commission (PSC) will accept applications for large-scale power projects, also known as “dispatchable” generation, which can provide energy quickly during periods of peak demand. The problem is that this effort is merely window dressing. It’s a pretense. No major new natural gas power plants will be built in the state. 
In January 2023, Ohio House Bill (HB) 507 became law with the signature of Gov. Mike DeWine (see 
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is the sixth-largest power supplier and the largest public utility in the country. In 2021, MDN told you that TVA is spending over $1 billion to replace six coal-fired plants with natgas-fired turbines (see 
On July 3, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued an order to EQT asking the company to produce records as part of the agency’s ongoing investigation into the release of up to an estimated 940,000 gallons of wastewater at the Brova shale gas well pad in North Bethlehem Township, Washington County, and similar failures at six other EQT well pads. The issue revolves around the use of “dump lines” at well pads. EQT states that the DEP’s request for reviewing physical paperwork is onerous, and the agency lacks the authority to regulate dump lines anyway. The DEP wants to ensure that another dump line issue (spilling of wastewater) doesn’t happen. 
In April, Knighthead Capital Management, Homer City Redevelopment (HCR), and Kiewit Power Constructors Co. announced a plan to convert the former Homer City Generating Station, previously the largest coal-fired power plant in Pennsylvania (Indiana County, 50 miles east of Pittsburgh) into a more than 3,200-acre natural gas-powered data center campus, designed to meet the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (see 
The Eddystone Generating Station is a power plant owned by Constellation Energy Corporation, located in Eddystone, PA (near Philadelphia, in Delaware County). Units 3 and 4, each with 380 MW of generation capacity, can run on either natural gas or oil. The Eddystone Units were initially scheduled for retirement on May 31, 2025; however, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) intervened and ordered both units to remain online and active due to emergency energy conditions in the PJM grid. The original order kept both units online and active an extra 90 days, until August 28. DOE Secretary Chris Wright sent a new order to Constellation extending the operation of the two units for an additional 90 days, until November 26 (see 