S. 4351 — Energy Consumer Protection Act of 2026

This section amends the Federal Power Act (FPA) and Natural Gas Act (NGA) to expand Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) enforcement authority against market manipulation and false reporting. Specifically: **(a) FPA amendments.** (1) Adds new FPA §316A(c) authorizing FERC to prohibit or suspend—conditionally or unconditionally, permanently or for a set period—any person violating FPA §§221 or 222 (or related rules) from directly or indirectly purchasing or selling electric energy, electric energy products (including financial transmission rights), or transmission services under FERC jurisdiction. (2) Makes conforming changes to FPA §314(d), expanding its scope from "individuals" to "persons," adding violations of §222, inserting qualifiers for individuals, requiring prohibitions to cover direct or indirect activities, and adding electric energy products (including financial transmission rights) to prohibited activities. **(b) NGA amendments.** (1) Inserts new NGA §4B prohibiting any person from willfully and knowingly reporting false information to a federal agency or private-sector price-reporting agency with intent to fraudulently affect data compilations on natural gas transportation, sales at wholesale, interstate commerce prices and availability, or related facility operations. (2) Adds new NGA §22(d) authorizing FERC to prohibit or suspend—conditionally or unconditionally, permanently or for a set period—any person violating NGA §§4A or 4B (or related rules) from directly or indirectly purchasing or selling natural gas or transmission services under FERC jurisdiction. (3) Makes conforming changes to NGA §20(d), expanding its scope from "individuals" to "persons," inserting qualifiers for individuals, and requiring prohibitions to cover direct or indirect activities.