April 2, 2026
Laura V. Swett Chairman FERC
888 First St, NE Washington DC, 20426
CC:
Commissioner David Rosner Commissioner Lindsay S. See Commissioner Judy W. Chang Commissioner David A. LaCerte
Dear Chairman Swett and Commissioners Rosner, See, Chang, and LaCerte:
The energy emergency and grid crisis our country faces is the inevitable result of four years of Biden-era energy policy that favored climate change concerns over reliable and affordable electricity. At the state and federal level, Democrats have closed dependable coal and gas plants and blocked the very infrastructure needed to keep the lights on. Now, predictably, they are attempting to turn their own failures into a political weapon and blame1 President Trump for a crisis they created.
President Trump deserves enormous credit for immediately grasping the severity of the crisis he inherited. On day one, he declared2 a national energy emergency and called on all agencies to unleash American energy dominance, principally to help lower costs for consumers.
His leadership has been decisive and clear. However, we must make sure that all parts of the Trump administration are moving at the rapid pace President Trump has set. As the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and other grid operators have repeatedly warned,3 the United States is at risk of massive utility hikes and the risk of more energy blackouts without urgent and bold action.
America faces 25% electricity demand growth by 2030 and 50% growth by 2050. We have the energy resources to meet that demand. We cannot let bureaucratic process stand in the way.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is currently reviewing reforms to its “Blanket Certificate Program” to allow critical natural gas infrastructure – pipelines and LNG – to be built more quickly. FERC took a modest step to improve the program for pipelines4 in summer 2025 by temporarily raising one cost cap to $61.65 million and opening a Notice of Inquiry. We applaud them for this focus because reforming this program is the quickest way to bring more energy online, but the program remains inadequate to the task.
The Blanket program expedites the standard permitting process for gas infrastructure projects that do not have a significant environmental impact, but it has been allowed to atrophy.
Cost caps5 originally set in the 1980s and now only temporarily increased force otherwise-qualifying projects into 18–24-month reviews simply because pipeline construction costs have increased 268% since the program’s inception in 1982, but the caps have increased by only 50%. Nearly 40% of projects filed since 2020 have been unnecessarily delayed by this regulatory failure.
We urge FERC to immediately implement these three reforms:
1.) Permanently Raise Cost Caps to Reflect Economic Reality
FERC should at the very least permanently double the automatic and prior notice cost caps. These thresholds must account for inflation and actual construction costs, not outdated price levels. President Trump’s emergency declaration provides full legal justification for expedited rulemaking.
2.) Eliminate Cost Caps for Compression Stations
Compressor stations are the workhorses of America’s energy supply, with larger stations moving more6 than 3 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily. But compression equipment is expensive. Even small upgrades to existing stations can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Building a new station is a significant undertaking that can take years due to permitting and litigation delay. Upgrading existing stations is a more efficient way to deliver badly needed energy, but only if FERC would allow these projects to participate in the Blanket program. Work done on existing stations impacts no one – companies already own the land. But high equipment expenses preclude them from making upgrades quickly. FERC must act to change that.
3.) Include Routine LNG Upgrades
FERC should allow LNG facilities to undertake routine projects under the Blanket program just like
pipelines are able to do. President Trump’s bold energy agenda, beginning with a removal of the Biden LNG ban, has cemented America’s position as the world’s leading energy superpower. US LNG exports hit a record high in 2025 and are on pace to double by 2030. Regular repairs and modifications needed to maintain our export capability shouldn’t have to wait for lengthy permitting timelines.
Democrats are responsible for today’s high energy costs. They blocked pipelines, forced premature plant retirements, and sided with environmental trial lawyers over American workers and ratepayers. President Trump has provided the leadership to fix it. Now FERC must match that urgency. These reforms require no congressional action — only the will to act. Every month of delay means more risk of blackouts, price spikes, and economic damage that Democrats will cynically attempt to pin on this administration.
The American people are watching. We urge FERC to move decisively to implement these reforms and restore the reliable, affordable energy infrastructure this nation deserves.
Sincerely,
Gerard Scimeca
Chairman
Consumer Action for a Strong Economy
Steve Forbes
Co-Founder
Committee to Unleash Prosperity
Matthew Kandrach
President
Consumer Action for a Strong Economy
Steve Moore
Co-Founder
Committee to Unleash Prosperity
Phil Kerpen
President
American Commitment
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Ashley Baker
Executive Director
The Committee for Justice
James L. Martin
Founder/Chairman
60 Plus Association
Tom Giovanetti
President
Institute for Policy Innovation
Seton Motley
President
Less Government
George Landrith
President
Frontiers of Freedom
Roslyn Layton, PhD
Senior Fellow
National Security Institute
Gabriella Hoffman
Director, Center for Energy and Conservation
Independent Women
Alex Stevens
Manager of Policy and Communications
Institute for Energy Research
Jon Decker
Senior Fellow
Parkview Institute
Andrew Langer
President
Institute for Liberty
Ryan Ellis
President
Center for a Free Economy
Yaël Ossowski
Deputy Director
Consumer Choice Center
Jeffrey Depp
Senior Counsel, Law & Policy
The Committee for Justice
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis
President
American Association of Senior Citizens
Charles Sauer
President
Market Institute
Paul Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation
Jeffrey Mazzella
President
Center for Individual Freedom
James Edwards
Founder and Executive Director
Conservatives for Property Rights
Karen Kerrigan
President & CEO
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
Daniel Turner
CEO
Power The Future
John Droz Jr.
Physicist and Founder
Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions
Kristen Walker
Senior Policy Analyst and Manager for Energy and Transportation
American Consumer Institute