H.R. 3616 · Passed House · Energy

Reliable Power Act

Sponsor: Troy Balderson (R-OH)

What it does

• Directs the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to conduct annual long-term assessments of bulk-power system reliability.
• Requires the corporation to notify FERC when the system lacks sufficient generation to maintain reliability, and FERC to notify DOE, the EPA, and other agencies.
• Requires those agencies, after notice, to send proposed regulations affecting any generation resource to FERC for review and comment, with FERC recommending changes where applicable.
• Bars agencies from finalizing such a regulation until FERC finds it unlikely to significantly harm the system's ability to supply adequate power.

Official summary

Reliable Power Act This bill directs the electric reliability organization (i.e., the North American Electric Reliability Corporation) to conduct annual long-term assessments of the reliability of electric power in the bulk-power system. It also establishes a process for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to review federal regulations before they are finalized if the electric reliability organization finds that the system is at risk of not having sufficient electric generation to maintain reliability. If the electric reliability organization finds that the system does not have sufficient generation to maintain reliability, it must notify FERC that the bulk-power system is in a state of generation inadequacy. FERC must then notify the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and any other appropriate federal agencies of the generation inadequacy. Upon receiving the notice, the federal agency must provide proposed regulations that affect any generation resource in the bulk-power system to FERC for review and comment. If applicable, FERC must provide recommendations to modify the regulations. Federal agencies may not finalize such a regulation until…

Latest action

Dec 18, 2025: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources