Sponsors (5)
Gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority to step in when interstate electric service is inadequate or likely to become inadequate. It allows the Commission to order the level of service needed, limits what actions the Commission may require of owners, requires owners to provide and publicly post planned generating unit retirements at least five years in advance, and creates deadlines and procedures for hearings and extensions. The section also defines key terms such as “electric generating unit.”
If, after notice to affected State commissions and public utilities and an opportunity for a hearing within 90 days of a complaint from a State commission or a Transmission Organization, the Commission finds any interstate service is inadequate or likely to become inadequate within 5 years, the Commission must determine the proper adequate service and fix it by issuing an order, rule, or regulation.
The Commission may not compel enlargement of generating facilities.
The Commission may not compel a public utility to sell or exchange electric energy if doing so would impair the utility’s ability to provide proper, adequate, or sufficient service to its customers.
The Commission may require continuing operation of an electric generating unit.
The Commission may require any affected State commission, Transmission Organization, or public utility to develop and implement a long-term plan for planning, construction, and operation of interstate transmission facilities that may be necessary for adequate interstate service.
Who is affected and how:
Owners and operators of electric generating units: Must provide at least five years’ advance notice and publicly post planned retirements; may be required by the Commission to continue or restore service within statutory limits. This increases compliance, transparency, and possible regulatory obligations, and could affect investment and retirement decisions.
Users, owners, and operators of the bulk-power system (RTOs/ISOs, transmission operators): Will interact more with the Commission when adequacy issues arise; grid operators may need to provide information and coordinate on orders to maintain interstate service.
Electricity customers and consumers: Stand to benefit from stronger backstop authority aimed at preventing reliability shortfalls and maintaining service; potential indirect effects include changes in regional resource mix or costs if the Commission’s orders affect market operations.
Public utilities and other regulated entities: May face additional regulatory directions and must track public retirement notices from generating unit owners; state-regulated utilities may need to coordinate compliance and planning with federal actions.
Federal agencies (Commission and other federal planning/regulatory bodies): The Commission assumes a clearer statutory mandate and procedural schedule for acting on adequacy issues, increasing its administrative workload and requiring it to apply the new notice, hearing, and extension rules.
Broader implications:
Planning and market signals: Five-year public retirement notices will increase transparency and may influence how markets, investors, and grid operators plan for replacements or resource adequacy.
Legal and intergovernmental coordination: The Commission’s authority could prompt disputes over federal limits versus state/market authority, and likely spur litigation or negotiated processes about the scope of orders and compensation.
Cost and operational burdens: Owners may incur compliance costs for notice and posting; if ordered to continue service, owners may face operational or financial impacts depending on whether compensation or cost recovery is available under other law or market rules.
No direct federal spending or tax changes are created in the summarized text; impacts are primarily regulatory, procedural, and administrative.
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3 meetings related to this legislation
Updated 6 days ago
Last progress December 16, 2025 (1 month ago)
Last progress December 17, 2025 (1 month ago)
Introduced on May 29, 2025 by H. Morgan Griffith
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.