Document

Proposed Rate Adjustment, Jim Woodruff Project

Southeastern Power Administration (Southeastern or SEPA) proposes to revise existing schedules of rates and charges applicable to the sale of power from the Jim Woodruff Project...

PDF version FederalRegister.gov

Department of Energy

Southeastern Power Administration

AGENCY:

Southeastern Power Administration, Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rates, public forum, and opportunities for public review and comment.

SUMMARY:

Southeastern Power Administration (Southeastern or SEPA) proposes to revise existing schedules of rates and charges applicable to the sale of power from the Jim Woodruff Project, effective October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2031. Opportunities will be available for interested persons to review the present rates, supporting studies, to participate in a public forum and to submit written comments. Southeastern will evaluate all comments received in this process.

DATES:

Written comments are due on or before August 13, 2026. A public information forum will be held in-person at Florida Electric Cooperatives Association, 2916 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, FL 32301, at 12:00 p.m. EDT on June 4, 2026. There will also be an option to attend the forum virtually via Microsoft Teams. Persons desiring to speak at the public information forum should notify Southeastern at least seven (7) days before the scheduled forum date so a list of forum participants can be prepared. A public comment forum will be held in-person at Southeastern Power Administration, 1166 Athens Tech Road, Elberton, Georgia at 1 p.m. EDT on July 7, 2026. There will also be an option to attend the public comment forum virtually via Microsoft Teams. Persons desiring to speak at the public information forum or the public comment forum should specify this in their notification to Southeastern; others may speak if time permits. Notifications should be submitted by email to Comments@sepa.doe.gov. If Southeastern has not been notified by close of business on May 28, 2026, for the public information forum and by June 30, 2026, for the public comment forum, that at least one person intends to be present at the forums, either in-person or virtually, the forums may be canceled with no further notice.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments should be submitted to: Administrator, Southeastern Power Administration, Department of Energy, 1166 Athens Tech Road, Elberton, Georgia 30635-6711; Email: Comments@sepa.doe.gov. The URL and call in information for the public information forum is as follows: https://bit.ly/JimWoodruffForum; +1 (404) 796-9216, Access Code: 866957811#. The URL and call in information for the public comment forum is as follows: https://bit.ly/JimWoodruffCommentForum; +1 (404) 796-9216, Access Code: 595254713#. Information regarding the rates, including studies and other supporting materials, is available for public review in the offices of Southeastern Power Administration, 1166 Athens Tech Road, Elberton, Georgia 30635.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Alexa Webb, Senior Public Utilities Specialist, Finance and Marketing, Southeastern Power Administration, Department of Energy, 1166 Athens Tech Road, Elberton, Georgia 30635-6711, (706) 213-3805; Email: Alexa.Webb@sepa.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) confirmed and approved on a final basis, Wholesale Power Rate Schedules JW-1-L and JW-2-F applicable to the Jim Woodruff System for a period ending September 30, 2026. (FERC Docket No. EF21-4-000 (Feb. 10, 2022)). On August 6, 2024, Southeastern submitted a notice of cancellation of the JW-2-F Rate Schedule for the sale of power from Southeastern's Jim Woodruff Project to Duke Energy Florida effective October 6, 2024. There are no remaining obligations under the JW-2-F Rate schedule. (FERC Docket No. EF24-8-000 (Sep. 13, 2024)).

Discussion: Existing rate schedules are predicated upon a February 2021 repayment study and other supporting data. An updated repayment study, dated March 2026, indicates current rates are not adequate to recover cost increases identified and therefore do not meet repayment criteria. The revised study demonstrates an annual revenue requirement increase of $545,128 per year from preference customers will meet repayment criteria. The rate adjustment would represent an increase of about 6.6 percent for capacity and 10.8 percent for energy.

Proposed Unit Rates: In the proposed rate schedule JW-1-M, available to preference customers, the capacity charge would be increased from $8.46 per kilowatt per month to $9.02 per kilowatt per month. The energy charge would be increased from 22.32 mills per kilowatt-hour to 24.72 mills per kilowatt-hour. Should Southeastern procure power on behalf of a preference customer, the customer would be subject to the cost of the purchased power in addition to the applicable capacity and energy charges.

Southeastern is proposing the following rate schedule, JW-1-M, to be effective for the period from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2031.

Legal Authority: By Delegation Order No. S1-DEL-RATES-2016, effective November 19, 2016, the Secretary of Energy delegated: (1) the authority to develop power and transmission rates to Southeastern's Administrator; (2) the authority to confirm, approve, and place such rates into effect on an interim basis ( printed page 27939) to the Deputy Secretary of Energy; and (3) the authority to confirm, approve, and place into effect on a final basis, or to remand or disapprove such rates, to FERC. By Delegation Order No. S1-DEL-S3-2024, effective August 30, 2024, the Secretary of Energy also delegated the authority to confirm, approve, and place such rates into effect on an interim basis to the Under Secretary for Infrastructure. By Redelegation Order No. S3-DEL-SEPA-2023, effective April 10, 2023, the Under Secretary for Infrastructure redelegated the authority to confirm, approve, and place such rates into effect on an interim basis to the Southeastern Administrator.

Environmental Compliance: Southeastern has determined this action fits within the following categorical exclusion listed in appendix B of 10 CFR part 1021 and appendix B of DOE's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing procedures published on June 30, 2025: B4.3, Electric power marketing rate changes. Categorically excluded projects and activities do not require preparation of either an environmental impact statement or an environmental assessment.^[1]

Determination Under Executive Order 12866: Southeastern has an exemption from centralized regulatory review under Executive Order 12866; accordingly, no clearance of this notice by the Office of Management and Budget is required.

Signing Authority

This document of the Department of Energy was signed on May 12, 2026, by Virgil G. Hobbs III, Administrator for Southeastern Power Administration, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. That document, with the original signature and date, is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the Federal Register .

Signed in Washington, DC, on May 13, 2026.

Treena V. Garrett,

Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.

Footnotes

1. The determination was done in compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347) and DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures, including 10 CFR part 1021.

Back to Citation

[FR Doc. 2026-09784 Filed 5-14-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

Legal Citation

Federal Register Citation

Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.

91 FR 27938

Web Citation

Suggested Web Citation

Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.

“Proposed Rate Adjustment, Jim Woodruff Project,” thefederalregister.org (May 15, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-09784/proposed-rate-adjustment-jim-woodruff-project.