SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) regulates electricity exports from the United States to foreign countries in accordance with section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act (FPA) (16 U.S.C. 824a(e)) and regulations thereunder (10 CFR 205.300). Sections 301(b) and 402(f) of the DOE Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7151(b) and 7172(f)) transferred this regulatory authority, previously exercised by the now-defunct Federal Power Commission, to DOE.

Section 202(e) of the FPA provides that an entity which seeks to export electricity must obtain an order from DOE authorizing that export (16 U.S.C. 824a(e)). On January 8, 2026, the authority to issue such orders was delegated to the DOE's Assistant Secretary for the Office of Electricity by Redelegation Order No. S3-DEL-OE1-2026.

On June 18, 2026, Heartland filed an application (Application or App.) with DOE for renewal of export authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada for an additional five-year term. App. at 1. Heartland was originally granted export authorization under Order No. EA-492 on December 21, 2021, which expires on December 21, 2026.

According to the Application, Heartland is a Canadian corporation with its principal place of business in Alberta, Canada. Heartland is indirectly wholly-owned by TransAlta Corporation (TAC), which owns generation assets across Canada, but “have no franchised service area or native load obligation in Canada or the United States.” Id. at 3. TAC also indirectly holds interests in U.S. companies that own electric generation facilities in the United States. Heartland is a power marketer in the United States and is “authorized by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to market electric energy and capacity at wholesale pursuant to market-based rate authorization.” Id. at 3-4. In addition, Heartland states that “none of Heartland's affiliates owns any electric transmission facilities other than generator interconnection facilities and Heartland is not affiliated with an entity that holds a franchise or service territory. Thus, Heartland has no “transmission system” of its own on which power exports could have a reliability or stability impact.” Id. at 10-11.

Heartland expresses that it is seeking authorization to “continue its exports of electrical energy acquired from the owners of U.S. generating sources and other power marketers to Canada over international electric transmission facilities and its imports from generation sources in Canada to the United States, including resources affiliated with TAC. The Presidential Permits under which the relevant border facilities were constructed and maintained, and details related thereto, are set forth in Exhibit C.” Id. at 9. The Applicant also states that “in making the necessary commercial arrangements and obtaining transmission capacity necessary to export electricity under the authorization requested herein, Heartland will comply with existing industry procedures for obtaining transmission capacity, including reserving transmission service in accordance with FERC's Open-Access Same-Time Information System and scheduling delivery of the export with the appropriate Regional Transmission Organization(s) or Independent System Operator(s) and/or Balancing Authority areas.” Id. at 13.

Procedural Matters: Any person desiring to be heard in this proceeding should file a comment to the Application at Electricity.Exports@hq.doe.gov.

Comments concerning Heartland's Application should be clearly marked with OE Docket No. EA-492-A. Comments will be posted along with the relevant application on the program website at www.energy.gov/​oe/​pending-applications.

A final decision will be made on the requested authorization after the environmental impacts have been evaluated consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the DOE NEPA regulations at 10 CFR part 1021, and the DOE's Implementing Procedures (June 2026) and after DOE evaluates whether the proposed action will have an adverse impact on the sufficiency of supply or reliability of the United States electric power supply system.

Copies of this Application are available on the program website at www.energy.gov/​oe/​pending-applications or by emailing Electricity.Exports@hq.doe.gov.

Signing Authority

This document of the Department of Energy was signed on October 30, 2026, by Gilbert Bindewald III, Principal ( printed page 69553) Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity, 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 .

91 FR 69552