[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8248 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8248
To amend the Federal Power Act to allow a person to construct or modify
an electric transmission facility in a national interest electric
transmission corridor if the person self-certifies certain information
to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 13, 2026
Mr. Gottheimer (for himself and Mr. Lawler) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Power Act to allow a person to construct or modify
an electric transmission facility in a national interest electric
transmission corridor if the person self-certifies certain information
to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and for other purposes.
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 ``Grid Expansion and Reliability
Act''.
SEC. 2. SITING OF INTERSTATE ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION FACILITIES.
Section 216 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824p) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Secretary of
Energy (referred to in this section as the
`Secretary')'' and inserting ``Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission''; and
(B) in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), by striking
``Secretary'' each place it appears and inserting
``Federal Energy Regulatory Commission'';
(2) by striking subsections (b) and (d) and inserting the
following:
``(b) Self Certification Prior to Construction or Modification of
Electric Transmission Facilities.--
``(1) In general.--Beginning on the date on which
regulations are issued under paragraph (3), any person may
construct or modify an electric transmission facility located
in a national interest electric transmission corridor
designated under subsection (a) if such person certifies the
information described in paragraph (2).
``(2) Information described.--The information described in
this paragraph is the following:
``(A) The exact legal name, title, mailing address,
and principal place of business of the person who will
construct or modify the electric transmission facility.
``(B) Whether the person who will construct or
modify the electric transmission facility is an
individual or corporation, and if the person is a
corporation, the State under the laws of which such
corporation is organized.
``(C) A concise description of any existing
operations of the person who will construct or modify
the electric transmission facility.
``(D) A concise description of the electric
transmission facility to be constructed or modified,
including the dates on which such construction or
modification is expected to begin and be completed.
``(E) A table of contents that lists each document
included in the certification.
``(3) Regulations.--Not later than 365 days after the date
of enactment of the Grid Expansion and Reliability Act, the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall issue regulations to
carry out this subsection.
``(c) Annual Audits and Reports.--
``(1) Audits.--The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
shall annually audit each certification made under subsection
(b) to determine whether the certification included the
information required by paragraph (2) of such subsection.
``(2) Reports.--Not later than 365 days after the date of
enactment of the Grid Expansion and Reliability Act, and
annually thereafter, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
shall submit to Congress a report describing--
``(A) the efficacy of the certification process
under subsection (b) for authorizing the construction
and modification of electric transmission facilities;
``(B) any issues that result from such process; and
``(C) recommendations for how to improve such
process through additional legislation or regulation,
if needed.'';
(3) in subsection (e)(1)--
(A) by striking ``a permit under subsection (b) for
electric transmission facilities to be located'' and
inserting ``a person authorized pursuant to subsection
(b) to construct or modify an electric transmission
facility'';
(B) by striking ``the permit holder'' each place it
appears and inserting ``such person''; and
(C) by striking ``and, in the determination of the
Commission, the permit holder has made good faith
efforts to engage with landowners and other
stakeholders early in the applicable permitting
process'' and inserting ``permitting process'';
(4) in subsection (h)--
(A) by striking ``Secretary'' each place it appears
and inserting ``Federal Energy Regulatory Commission'';
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Department of
Energy'' and inserting ``Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission''; and
(C) in paragraph (9)--
(i) by striking subparagraph (A); and
(ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and
(C) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;
and
(5) in subsection (i)--
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Secretary'' and
inserting ``Federal Energy Regulatory Commission''; and
(B) in paragraph (4)--
(i) by inserting ``Federal Energy
Regulatory'' before ``Commission'';
(ii) by striking ``Secretary'' and
inserting ``Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission''; and
(iii) by striking ``in disagreement'' and
all that follows through ``subsection (a).''
and inserting the following: ``in disagreement
about the siting of transmission facilities
within any State that is a party to the
compact.''.
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