Reliable Power Act

Sponsor: Troy Balderson (Republican-OH)May 29, 2025

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

New rules would make federal agencies review how their actions affect the power grid's reliability.

This bill would create new steps to help ensure the nation's electricity grid can reliably supply power. If these checks show a risk of not having enough electricity, federal agencies like the EPA would need approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. This approval would be required before finalizing new rules that could impact power generation.

What Would Change

Today, the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) conducts assessments of the power grid, but it is not specifically required to do annual long-term assessments that analyze future risks. There is also no formal process for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to review how other federal agencies' proposed regulations might affect the power grid's reliability. This bill would change that by requiring the ERO to perform annual long-term assessments and, if risks are found, trigger a new process where FERC would review and approve certain regulations from other federal agencies before they can be finalized.

Key Provisions

Requires the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) to conduct annual long-term checks on the nation's power grid to ensure it can supply enough electricity.
Requires the ERO to publicly warn the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) if the power grid is at risk of not having enough electricity.
Requires FERC to notify federal agencies like the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency if the power grid is at risk.
Requires federal agencies to send proposed rules that affect power generation to FERC for review and comment.
Blocks federal agencies from finalizing certain rules until FERC agrees they would not significantly harm the power grid's reliability.