[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4337 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4337
To prohibit the use of certain emergency authority to keep a fossil
fuel-powered electric generating facility or fossil fuel power plant
online, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 16 (legislative day, April 14), 2026
Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Welch, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Merkley, and
Ms. Blunt Rochester) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the use of certain emergency authority to keep a fossil
fuel-powered electric generating facility or fossil fuel power plant
online, 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 ``No Big Fossil Bailouts on Your Power
Bill Act''.
SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN EMERGENCY AUTHORITY UNDER THE FEDERAL
POWER ACT.
Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824a(c)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence--
(A) by striking ``or other causes,''; and
(B) by striking ``with or without notice, hearing,
or report,'';
(2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following:
``Before issuing such an order, the Commission, to the maximum
extent practicable, shall consider alternatives to meet the
emergency, including alternatives that both meet the emergency
and minimize adverse environmental impacts.'';
(3) in paragraph (4)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), in the first sentence, by
striking ``that may result in a conflict with a
requirement of any Federal, State, or local
environmental law or regulation'';
(B) in subparagraph (B), in the first sentence--
(i) by inserting ``advance of'' before
``renewing or reissuing'';
(ii) by striking ``shall consult with the''
and inserting the following: ``shall--
``(i) hold a hearing open to the public on the proposed
order;
``(ii) determine--
``(I) whether and the extent to which the order
will raise rates for ratepayers; and
``(II) whether the order may result in a conflict
with a requirement of any Federal, State, or local
environmental law or regulation; and
``(iii) to accomplish the duties and comply with the
requirements described in paragraph (2) and clause (ii),
consult with--
``(I) the relevant State and local agencies or
regulators, including the relevant State commission
(collectively referred to in this paragraph as the
`relevant non-Federal agencies'), in--
``(aa) each State and locality in which the
applicable facility is physically located; and
``(bb) each State and locality in which the
order may result in a conflict described in
clause (ii)(II); and
``(II) the''; and
(iii) in clause (iii)(II) (as so
designated), in the first sentence, by striking
``such law or regulation, and shall'' and
inserting the following: ``each environmental
law or regulation with respect to which the
order may result in a conflict described in
clause (ii)(II).
``(C) The Commission shall'';
(C) in subparagraph (C) (as so designated)--
(i) in the first sentence--
(I) by striking ``such Federal
agency determines'' and inserting ``1
or more Federal or relevant non-Federal
agencies consulted under subparagraph
(B)(iii) determine''; and
(II) by inserting ``rate or'' after
``adverse''; and
(ii) in the second sentence--
(I) by striking ``The conditions''
and inserting ``The cost estimates and
conditions''; and
(II) by striking ``such Federal
agency'' and inserting ``any 1 or more
Federal or relevant non-Federal
agencies''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) An order issued under this subsection shall be considered to
be a renewed or reissued order subject to the requirements of this
paragraph and all other requirements relating to a renewed or reissued
order if the order relates to the same facility and a substantially
similar emergency as a previous order issued under this subsection.'';
and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(6)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Commission may
not issue an order under this subsection that would--
``(i) prevent or delay the retirement or other permanent
closure of a facility for the generation of electric energy; or
``(ii) require the generation of electric energy at a
facility that has retired or otherwise permanently closed.
``(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a particular facility
if--
``(i) an emergency exists that cannot be met in any manner
other than delay of the retirement or other permanent closure
of the facility; and
``(ii) the applicable Transmission Organization requests in
writing to delay the retirement or other permanent closure of
the facility.
``(7)(A) Before issuing an order under paragraph (1), the
Commission shall--
``(i) create a public online docket for matters pertaining
to the order; and
``(ii) publish on a publicly available website--
``(I) notice of the proposed order, including a
link to the docket created under clause (i); and
``(II) any request submitted pursuant to paragraph
(6)(B)(ii).
``(B) An order issued under paragraph (1) (including any renewed or
reissued order under paragraph (4)) shall be--
``(i) published on the publicly available docket created
under subparagraph (A)(ii); and
``(ii) accompanied by a report that includes--
``(I) an analysis of the causes of the emergency;
``(II) an analysis of the alternatives considered
to meet the emergency, including alternatives that both
meet the emergency and minimize adverse environmental
impacts; and
``(III) estimates of the additional electrical
system costs that are expected to be incurred by any
electric utility and any customers of an electric
utility as a result of the order, including the costs
of additional fuel, maintenance, capital, or labor.
``(C) The Commission shall comply with subclauses (II) and (III) of
subparagraph (B)(ii) to the maximum extent practicable, in light of the
circumstances, in the case of an initial order issued under paragraph
(1) to address a particular emergency, but shall fully comply with
those subclauses with respect to any renewed or reissued order issued
to address that emergency.
``(D) Not later than 60 days after the date on which an order is
issued under paragraph (1), each electric utility that is, or expects
to be, impacted by the order (including each electric utility
identified by the Commission under subparagraph (B)(ii)(III)) shall
provide to customers of the electric utility written notice that
includes--
``(i) an identification of the order, including a link to,
or instructions for accessing, the order as published under
subparagraph (B)(i);
``(ii) a description of the impacts and expected impacts of
the order, including any costs of additional fuel, maintenance,
capital, or labor that have occurred or are expected to occur
as a result of the order; and
``(iii) any other information relevant to the electric
utility or customers of the electric utility.''.
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