Sponsors (4)
The bill trades clearer rules and faster prioritization to speed interconnection of dispatchable capacity and improve reliability and investment certainty against higher compliance and administrative costs, expanded regulatory burdens, and the risk that prioritization favors incumbents or dispatchable (potentially fossil) resources over some clean-energy projects.
All electricity consumers and grid operators: faster prioritized interconnection of dispatchable resources speeds deployment of capacity that reduces blackout risk and strengthens grid reliability.
Utilities, developers, and regulators: clearer statutory and regulatory definitions plus FERC timelines reduce legal and compliance uncertainty and speed project planning and investment decisions.
Electricity customers: quicker addition of needed dispatchable capacity can lower long‑term electricity costs if new capacity is brought online more quickly and cost‑effectively.
Utilities, generators, and ultimately consumers: tighter operational definitions and new prioritization/monitoring processes increase compliance and administrative costs that could be passed through to electricity customers.
Smaller developers and some renewable projects: prioritizing particular interconnection projects or resource types can delay other projects, increase sunk costs, and favor incumbents or certain technologies.
A broad definition of "transmission provider": more entities (public utilities, ISOs/RTOs) may gain regulatory obligations, increasing administrative burden and potential market impacts.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Directs FERC to reform interconnection rules to speed and prioritize new dispatchable power projects that improve grid reliability and resource adequacy, with stakeholder, reporting, and review requirements.
Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to rewrite interconnection procedures so new dispatchable power projects that improve grid reliability and resource adequacy can connect faster, more cheaply, and in a way that supports resilience. Sets deadlines for FERC to start and finish the rulemaking and requires transmission providers to propose and justify queue‑adjustment plans, engage stakeholders, and report on reliability and resilience outcomes. Specifies definitions for key terms (including dispatchable power, grid reliability/resilience, and transmission provider) by adopting some Federal Power Act definitions and adding operational definitions, and mandates FERC review of the new rules at least every five years.
Official title: Require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reform the interconnection queue process for the prioritization and approval of certain projects, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 6, 2025 by John Hoeven · Last progress February 6, 2025