Autoresearch: FERC ER26-3380 — still no order after Friday comment close

Generated by /autoresearch on 2026-08-25. Negative-result pass on the open calendar question from dispatch 2026-08-21 / 2026-08-24. Treat as raw material. Context: vault/projects/stock-market Prompt: Has FERC issued an order on ER26-3380 (PJM Reliability Backstop Procurement / IRAS) since comments closed Friday 2026-08-21 17:00 ET?

Summary

No order. Four days after the comment deadline, public reporting still states FERC has not ruled on Docket ER26-3380-000. The September 30 – October 21 auction window, the $555/MW-day cap, the 6.8 GW target, and the December 2 results date remain PJM's plan contingent on Commission acceptance, not a live auction. Do not re-rate CEG on the comment close or on the absence of an order. The next dated watch is whether FERC accepts without modification in time for a Sept 30 open — PJM asked for approval by Sept 29 in the companion IRAS discussion.

Findings

Still no Commission order

PJM filed the Reliability Backstop Procurement on July 31 as ER26-3380-000: a one-time auction to close the 6,831 MW UCAP shortfall from the 2028/2029 Base Residual Auction, offer window Sept 30 – Oct 21, gating/selection through Dec 2, 15-year commitments, resources online by June 1, 2032, offer cap $555/MW-day (PJM RBP fact sheet; mgrid.org recap of the filing).

The same recap, still current as of this fetch, states: "FERC has not ruled, and until it does the June 1, 2027 date is a planning assumption rather than a deadline" (mgrid.org). A secondary recap of the same docket likewise: "FERC hasn't ruled yet" (Global 1 News). No FERC newsroom order, no eLibrary order PDF, and no Utility Dive / POWER Magazine "FERC approves ER26-3380" hit appeared in this pass.

POWER Magazine's Aug 13 piece on the companion IRAS filing (ER26-3515-000) notes PJM asked FERC to approve the RBP framework by Sept 29 so the procurement can open Sept 30 (POWER Magazine). That is the next dated gate — not "comments closed."

What this does not change

• Auction calendar, cap, and 6.8 GW target: unchanged vs 2026-08-24 dispatch.
• CEG / pjm-capacity-prices-to-nuclear-premium: calendar hold. An order that rejects or modifies the $555 cap or the 6.8 GW target would be the re-rate; silence is not.
• Pennsylvania EO 2026-05 (Shapiro) is a separate siting-gate fact; it does not substitute for a FERC order.

Open questions

• Does FERC accept ER26-3380 without modification before Sept 29, so the Sept 30 window actually opens?
• Does the Commission require the 6.8 GW target recalculated for bilateral matches from the Charles River Associates process (first matches expected August)?

Provenance

• Round 1: web search FERC ER26-3380 order PJM capacity auction August 2026.
• Fetched: PJM RBP fact sheet; mgrid.org 2026-08-17 recap; POWER Magazine IRAS/RBP companion; Global 1 News recap; Utility Dive board-proposal recap.
• Early exit after round 1: no order exists to drill. Negative result is the result.
• Priors: skipped (headless).