Public Citizen, a nonprofit watchdog group, has called on federal authorities to compel TeraWulf to reveal the purchase price of the Morgantown Generating Station. The organization contends that keeping the price confidential is unwarranted, especially since the company may be seeking substantial public funding related to the acquisition.

The demand follows a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) highlighting nonpublic communications between TeraWulf’s CEO and Maryland Governor Wes Moore. According to the filing, TeraWulf is requesting approximately $100 million in taxpayer money to offset costs tied to the Morgantown plant’s purchase. Portions of this correspondence remain redacted, raising further questions about transparency.

Public Citizen disputes TeraWulf’s assertion that the purchase price constitutes confidential commercial information protected from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The group points out that, under federal regulations and FOIA amendments from 2016, companies must prove that releasing such information would cause clear commercial or financial harm—a standard Public Citizen argues TeraWulf has not met.

Moreover, the organization notes that power plant acquisition prices within the PJM Interconnection region are typically public knowledge. It cited several recent examples where major energy transactions were disclosed, involving prominent companies such as DigitalBridge, LS Power, and Blackstone, with prices ranging from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars.

Public Citizen also highlighted Morgantown’s long history of publicly reported sales. The facility’s 2000 sale by Pepco was reported at $2.75 billion, and its 2017 acquisition by NRG and GenOn was disclosed as $1.7 billion. This history undermines current efforts to withhold the transaction value from the public and regulators.

The watchdog group urges FERC to reject confidentiality claims in this case and mandate full disclosure. Transparency is critical because the involvement of taxpayer funds in the deal implies public interest and accountability.