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Congressional Daily Record
This section captures a formal floor step rather than a policy debate. It mentions legislation such as Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act, committees such as Committee on Energy and Commerce, members such as Brett Guthrie.
Official title: AFFORDABLE INNOVATION FOR THE GRID ACT
Issued
September 15, 2026
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Download official House Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 9339) to require the Secretary of Energy to conduct an assessment on the use of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing technologies to enhance the bulk-power system, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 9339
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Affordable Innovation for
the Grid Act”.
SEC. 2. ASSESSMENT ON USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND
HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING TECHNOLOGIES TO
ENHANCE BULK-POWER SYSTEM.
(a) Assessment.—Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in
consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
and the Electric Reliability Organization, shall conduct an
assessment on the use of artificial intelligence and high-
performance computing technologies, including an assessment
of the employment of probabilistic operating techniques by
artificial intelligence and high-performance computing
technologies, to enhance the capacity, reliable operation,
and operational efficiency of the bulk-power system.
(b) Matters.—The assessment conducted under subsection (a)
shall include an assessment of—
(1) the potential for artificial intelligence and high-
performance computing technologies to expedite generator and
load interconnection studies;
(2) the current applications, and levels of adoption, of
artificial intelligence and high-performance computing
technologies with respect to the operation of the bulk-power
system; and
(3) any technical, regulatory, cybersecurity, or
operational limitation affecting such adoption.
(c) Report.—Not later than one year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate a report on the assessment conducted
under subsection (a), including recommendations to—
(1) overcome any limitation assessed under subsection
(b)(3); and
(2) facilitate the adoption and integration of artificial
intelligence and high-performance computing technologies with
respect to the operation of the bulk-power system.
(d) Definitions.—In this section, the terms “bulk-power
system”, “Electric Reliability Organization”, and
“reliable operation” have the meanings given those terms in
section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Mrs. Fletcher) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.
General Leave
Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to include extraneous material on H.R. 9339.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Kentucky?
There was no objection.
Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
{time} 1840
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 9339, the Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act, sponsored by my colleague Congresswoman Harshbarger of Tennessee.
opportunities to use artificial intelligence to enhance the reliability and affordability of our electric grid.
challenges, a network of millions of miles of wires and thousands of generators to keep the lights on every minute of the year. That makes it a particularly important use case for AI models that are designed to handle such complexities.
Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
impacts that data centers fuelling AI technologies are having on the affordability and reliability of our Nation's power grid, absent guardrails from Congress. Those concerns are only growing.
on our grid by making it easier to model a complex grid to see where reliability issues may emerge in the future or by cutting down on the length of time that grid operators take to review a power plant's application to connect to the power grid.
H.R. 9339 is a straightforward, bipartisan bill. It requires the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to study how to use artificial intelligence and other computing tools to enhance grid reliability and to report those findings back to Congress.
efforts to put commonsense guardrails on data centers to protect American families, but we want to make sure we can get the most out of these technologies at the same time to better protect our grid in an era where the risk of blackouts is rising.
Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Harshbarger), the sponsor of this piece of legislation, my friend and a member of the committee.
Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act. It is bipartisan legislation I introduced with my colleague from California, Congressman Mullin.
badly backlogged. Interconnection studies that should take months are dragging on for years, and that delay is more than just a paperwork problem. It is a drag on the grid performance and on American competitiveness at a moment when energy demand is skyrocketing like never before.
This bill takes a commonsense first step toward fixing that. It directs the Secretary of Energy, working with FERC and NERC, to conduct a comprehensive assessment to determine how technologies like high- performance computing and artificial intelligence can be used to enhance grid operations, finding efficiency in our existing capacity, speeding up these interconnection studies, and improving reliability with tools like predictive maintenance and digital twins. Understanding how these tools can help our bulk power system run on full power will be critical to ensuring affordable rates for the long term.
technology stands, but this bill gets us that picture with a report due to Congress within a year and substantive recommendations so policymakers have the facts on how these technologies can help reliability and performance of our grid and where the challenges lie.
My bill is both bipartisan and forward looking. Most importantly, it is about making sure America leads the world as the epicenter for affordable, reliable energy.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Mullin).
Mr. MULLIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act, bipartisan legislation that I was proud to introduce alongside Representative Harshbarger.
driving up monthly energy bills for everyday families. To protect consumers and strengthen our energy infrastructure, we need to improve grid efficiency and connect new sources of energy to the grid as quickly as possible. Supporting the adoption of cutting-edge computing tools is a practical way to achieve these goals.
Energy to study how advanced computing can optimize grid performance and operations.
connecting to the grid. Advanced computing has the potential to significantly shorten this timeline while maintaining grid reliability. Utilities across the Nation need access to these insights to modernize our energy infrastructure.
The challenges facing our electric grid cannot wait. This bill will help spur technological innovation in support of the grid, accelerate energy deployment, improve grid efficiency, and lower costs for consumers.
Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I thank my friends from Tennessee and California for working on this bill. I encourage a “yes” vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 9339.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.