Sponsors (13)
The bill strengthens FERC's ability to deter energy-market manipulation and improve price reliability by expanding enforcement and criminal penalties, but it raises compliance and legal risks, can chill market information flows, and may cause short-term disruptions or higher costs for companies and consumers.
Consumers and taxpayers — could see more reliable wholesale electricity and natural gas prices with fewer manipulation-driven spikes because FERC gains expanded enforcement tools to deter bad actors.
Utilities, trading firms, and other market participants — face stronger regulatory accountability because the bill lets FERC target legal entities (expanding 'individual' to 'person') and bar persons from buying/selling electricity or transmission products.
Market participants (natural gas and electricity markets) — benefit from improved market integrity as false reporting to private price-reporters is criminalized, deterring price manipulation and improving price transparency.
Utilities, trading firms, and financial institutions — will face higher compliance risk and the prospect of business bans, which can raise operational costs and reduce market participation.
Firms that supply market data and private price-reporters — could see legitimate information sharing chilled and be exposed to criminal liability, reducing the flow of market information that price discovery relies on.
Consumers and taxpayers — could face short-term disruptions and higher prices if enforcement actions remove major market participants and reduce trading liquidity or disrupt supply chains.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Expands FERC authority to bar or suspend persons from buying/selling electricity or natural gas and creates criminal penalties for willful false reporting to price‑reporting agencies.
Gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) new authority to bar or suspend any person who violates certain market rules from buying or selling electricity, electric energy products (including financial transmission rights), transmission services, or natural gas under FERC jurisdiction. It also creates a criminal and administrative offense for willfully and knowingly providing false information to federal or private price‑reporting agencies with intent to fraudulently affect compiled natural gas price or transportation data. The bill broadens enforcement reach by replacing references to “individual” with “person” (covering entities as well as people), adds stronger civil and administrative tools for market misconduct, and imposes new criminal liability for false price reporting to deter market manipulation and false data submissions.
Introduced April 21, 2026 by Janice D. Schakowsky · Last progress April 21, 2026