[Senate Hearing 119-366]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 119-366
PENDING LEGISLATION
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
on
S. 465
S. 1327
S. 3034
S. 3192
S. 3269
S. 3947
__________
APRIL 15, 2026
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Printed for the use of the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
63-445 WASHINGTON : 2026
=======================================================================
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
MIKE LEE, Utah, Chairman
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico
JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho RON WYDEN, Oregon
STEVE DAINES, Montana MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
TOM COTTON, Arkansas MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii
DAVID McCORMICK, Pennsylvania ANGUS S. KING, JR., Maine
JAMES C. JUSTICE, West Virginia CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada
BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana JOHN W. HICKENLOOPER, Colorado
CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi ALEX PADILLA, California
LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska RUBEN GALLEGO, Arizona
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
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Subcommittee on Energy
DAVID McCORMICK, Chair
JOHN BARRASSO RUBEN GALLEGO
JAMES E. RISCH RON WYDEN
TOM COTTON MAZIE K. HIRONO
JAMES C. JUSTICE ANGUS S. KING, JR.
BILL CASSIDY CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO
CINDY HYDE-SMITH JOHN W. HICKENLOOPER
JOHN HOEVEN ALEX PADILLA
Wendy Baig, Majority Staff Director
Chris Prandoni, Majority Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Jake McCurdy, Majority Policy Director for Energy
Jasmine Hunt, Minority Staff Director
Sam E. Fowler, Minority Chief Counsel
Anais Borja, Minority Energy Policy Director
C O N T E N T S
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OPENING STATEMENTS
Page
McCormick, Hon. David, Subcommittee Chair and a U.S. Senator from
Pennsylvania................................................... 1
Gallego, Hon. Ruben, Subcommittee Ranking Member and U.S. Senator
from Arizona................................................... 2
Welch, Hon. Peter, a U.S. Senator from Vermont................... 4
WITNESSES
Morenoff, David L., Deputy General Counsel, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission.......................................... 4
Ayoub, Kal, Director, Office of Electric Reliability, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission................................... 9
ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED
Ayoub, Kal:
Opening Statement............................................ 9
Written Testimony............................................ 11
Responses to Questions for the Record........................ 26
Digital Power Network:
Letter for the Record........................................ 30
Gallego, Hon. Ruben:
Opening Statement............................................ 2
King, Jr., Hon. Angus S.:
Photograph of a carbon fiber-based conductor next to a
conventional high-tension conductor........................ 15
McCormick, Hon. David:
Opening Statement............................................ 1
Morenoff, David L.:
Opening Statement............................................ 4
Written Testimony............................................ 7
Responses to Questions for the Record........................ 24
Welch, Hon. Peter:
Opening Statement............................................ 4
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The text for each of the bills addressed in this hearing can be found
on the Committee's website at: https://www.energy.senate.gov/hearings/
2026/4/subcommittee-on-energy-to-receive-testimony-on-pending-
legislation
PENDING LEGISLATION
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2026
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Energy,
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:30 p.m. in
Room SD-366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. David
McCormick, Chair of the Subcommittee, presiding.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. DAVID MCCORMICK,
U.S. SENATOR FROM PENNSYLVANIA
Senator McCormick. The Subcommittee will come to order.
Thank you all for being here. Thank you to my fellow Senators.
This is our first Energy Subcommittee hearing of this Congress,
and I would like to thank Senator Gallego for helping me put
this together. He will be here momentarily. And for other
members who are here today who have introduced legislation, the
focus of this hearing is on pending legislation. We have two
expert witnesses from FERC. Thank you, gentlemen, for being
here, and we look forward to being able to ask you some
questions.
I just want to say in advance, in the event that there is
any outburst or disruption, I am going to stop the hearing and
ask for those folks to be removed--we have Capitol Police
here--and allow us to continue on to the business of the day,
but that may take a minute, if that occurs.
Today's hearing is focused on improving our nation's grid
to ensure the energy we are producing, but also delivering
electricity to end users in the most efficient and affordable
way possible. And today, we are in the midst of something
really extraordinary--this AI revolution and the
reindustrialization that goes hand-in-hand. These two forces
are driving a projected 25 percent increase in demand for
electricity by 2030, which really is antithetical to the kind
of affordability and opportunity for Americans that we want.
That's why I view AI and energy as two sides of the same coin.
They go hand-in-hand in today's world. And in this global AI
race, we really have two choices--either we win and lead, or we
follow. And in order to help win the AI race against China, our
primary adversary, we need energy to power this new technology,
to power the necessary compute. Today, speed-to-power is the
name of the game.
In my home State of Pennsylvania, the energy we are
producing is critical to protecting and advancing U.S. economic
and national security. And Pennsylvania is the nation's second-
largest producer of natural gas, we are the third largest
electricity producer in the country, and the second largest
producer of nuclear power. Pennsylvania is providing not only
the power for new manufacturing and electricity generation, but
also for well-paying, family-sustaining jobs, which are
obviously so critical. Pennsylvania is also at the cutting edge
of a radical transformation. We saw this last year at the
Energy and Innovation Summit that I hosted in Pittsburgh, where
$92 billion of investment in new data centers and energy and
power was pledged by the CEOs around the table. At the time,
many of them public companies making these commitments, very
significant and very certain. But we know that we need to get
these electrons from their generation source to their end
users. And we know that Pennsylvanians should not see higher
power bills because of data centers or other large-load
projects.
The bills we will examine today look to address speed-to-
power challenges, including unlocking more capacity from our
existing grid and avoiding long lead times. I am proud to have
authored two of the bills we will consider today. There will be
others, of course. The first is the Liquid Cooling for AI Act,
which I introduced with Senator Chris Coons. This legislation
is designed to help ensure American AI infrastructure is the
most efficient, resilient, secure, and advanced in the world.
There he is. Senator Gallego, how are you?
I said great words and words of gratitude for you putting
this together.
Senator Gallego. Of course.
[Laughter.]
Senator McCormick. Liquid Cooling technology can better
accommodate advanced chips and AI infrastructure, like data
centers, while better managing energy consumption and strain on
utilities.
The second bill is the Reconductoring Existing Wires for
Infrastructure Reliability and Expansion Act. That's a
mouthful, but it's important. It's something I introduced with
Senator Welch, who I think is here as well. There he is, yes.
We look forward to hearing from him in a minute. This bill will
cut permitting delays and accelerate the deployment of
innovative grid technologies through reconductoring.
Both of these bills are meaningful steps forward in
reducing permitting delays and helping us to win the AI race,
but there is still so much work to be done. With that, I look
forward to hearing from our witnesses today. But first, I would
like to turn to Ranking Member Gallego for his opening
statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. RUBEN GALLEGO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM ARIZONA
Senator Gallego. Thank you, Chair McCormick, for holding
today's hearing. We are here today to consider a handful of
bills dealing with our energy system, a system that is seeing a
lot of significant pressure.
Energy demand is rising faster than we have seen in
decades, and it is not slowing down any time soon. The U.S. is
projected to see a 25 percent increase in electricity demand by
2030, driven by the growth of data centers, manufacturing
reshoring, and building transportation electrification. In some
ways, these are good problems to have because they are signs of
a growing economy. They are also challenges we have to get
right. At the same time that we have seen increased demand,
energy is becoming more and more unaffordable. Energy prices
rose twice as fast as overall inflation last year, and one in
three Americans reported cutting back on food or medicine to
cover their utility bills.
To make matters worse, gas prices have skyrocketed all over
the country because of Trump's war in Iran. As demand continues
to rise, so will costs. If we want to meet this demand without
making costs even worse, we need to build more and become more
efficient. We need permitting reform to build new lines and
increase energy production and generation. And as generation
increases, our transmission systems will need to be ready to
move energy from where it is generated to where it will be used
because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how many
electrons we produce--if we can't get them where they need to
go, it makes zero difference.
Right now, our grid system is not going to meet those
demands. According to the DOE, 70 percent of U.S. transmission
lines are over 25 years old, which is more than halfway through
their operational life spans, and 55 percent of transformers
are much older than that. Studies estimate that the national
transmission system will need to at least double in size by
2050 in order to maintain reliability and keep costs low. One
study found that in 2023, insufficient capacity on the grid
cost customers $11.5 billion. The grid we have is simply not
the grid we need.
This isn't just about cost, it's also a public safety
issue. An outdated and strained grid makes us more vulnerable
to widespread blackouts, and in hot weather states like
Arizona--you guys may have heard, it gets hot there once in a
while--a blackout in 115-degree weather is a matter of life and
death for thousands of people. That's why, when I released an
energy plan last year outlining how we can make energy more
feasible, affordable, and reliable for Americans, I made
transmission a key pillar because a reliable grid is impossible
unless we get energy where it needs to go quickly and when it
is needed.
All this to say there is strong consensus, among the
challenges we face, that what we are here to do today is to
work on solutions that are feasible, productive, and effective
in growing our grid and meeting demand significantly. There are
some strong bills in today's markup to do that. One that I will
be proud to support is the Chairman's Liquid Cooling for AI
Act, which would make sure we have cooling systems capable of
supporting the advanced chips manufacturing production, which
is a big deal in Arizona, in a way that won't drive up costs
for consumers. Another promising bill is the Advancing GETs
Act, which would incentivize developers to bring new grid
efficiency tools online and increase our transmission capacity.
There are other bills that I have questions about how they
will be implemented, which I will get to during questioning.
And that tells me what our goal is here today--figuring out how
to move forward and ensure that the best ideas are being put
forward and pressure-tested by experts, so that when Congress
has the opportunity to act, we are ready to do so. Thank you,
and I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
Senator McCormick. Thank you, Senator Gallego.
I see Senator Welch is here, which is great, to speak on
one of his bills which we are considering today. So, I turn to
the great Senator from Vermont.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. PETER WELCH,
U.S. SENATOR FROM VERMONT
Senator Welch. Well, thank you very much, and I am going to
violate protocol here by saying something nice about the
Chairman. It's terrific to work with you on this. And here is
the serious thing, it's not just the term bipartisan, but the
reality is, and this is what Senator McCormick and I realized--
you are getting significantly higher rates in Pennsylvania. We
are getting higher rates in Vermont. And a lot of the
challenges that we face affect the people we represent. It's
not a red state/blue state deal. It's like, high electricity
bills are tough on whoever it is we represent. And Senator
Gallego, you were talking about how we really have to modernize
our transmission system.
But the bill that Senator McCormick and I are promoting
says let's take the system we have and enhance it through
technology. There are a lot more electrons that can flow
through what we have. That is such a less expensive way to
increase the access to the electrons that we need. So, you
know, we use the term common sense, but what it is really
grounded in, and Senator McCormick, I so appreciate you being
willing to work with me, and we share the view that working
together we can make more progress. But it's because the
identical challenges that those ratepayers in Pennsylvania face
are the identical challenges of ratepayers in Vermont. And this
is a real Maine kind of thing--take what you have and get more
out of it--use it, and use it more efficiently.
So, I so appreciate this Committee, partnering with you,
Senator McCormick, and thank you so much for the opportunity to
be here and promote this legislation.
Senator McCormick. Thank you, Senator Welch. I share that
sentiment. Thank you so much for being a great partner on this.
I would also like to thank the two witnesses that we have
here today. First, we have David Morenoff, the Deputy General
Counsel of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). And
the second is Mr. Kal Ayoub, the Director of the Office of
Electric Reliability, also at FERC.
So, what I would like to do is, ask the witnesses to come
forward, and we will ask you to each have five minutes and then
we will turn to questions. And for my fellow Senators who are
here, Senator King and Senator Padilla, I am happy to cede my
questions, my time, to each of you after Senator Gallego, and
you can ask your questions, and I will wrap up in the end.
Okay?
All right, Mr. Morenoff, the floor is yours for five
minutes to give your opening statement.
STATEMENT OF DAVID L. MORENOFF, DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL, FEDERAL
ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Mr. Morenoff. Chairman McCormick, Ranking Member Gallego,
and Members of the Subcommittee, my name is David Morenoff. I
appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today as a
member of the staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission. I currently serve as the Commission's Deputy
General Counsel. The views I express today are my own and are
not necessarily those of the Commission or of any individual
Commissioner. The Commission's jurisdiction covers a range of
vital energy-related responsibilities. For example, it is the
Commission's responsibility to ensure that rates for the
wholesale sale and transmission of electricity, as well as the
transportation of natural gas by pipeline in interstate
commerce, are just and reasonable. The Commission is also
responsible for overseeing the reliability of the nation's bulk
power system. In addition, the Commission is responsible for
siting needed energy infrastructure, including interstate
natural gas pipelines, liquefied natural gas, and hydroelectric
facilities. By fulfilling these responsibilities, the
Commission helps to ensure that our country has a reliable and
affordable supply of energy.
With these responsibilities in mind, Commission Chairman
Laura Swett has recognized that our country is at a historic
crossroads and has highlighted three priorities for the
Commission: (1) keeping the lights on and the pipelines flowing
at just and reasonable rates, (2) doing everything within the
Commission's power to facilitate the connection of large loads
and data centers, while also ensuring that the resulting costs
are fairly allocated, and (3) maximizing the Commission's
ability to encourage and facilitate infrastructure development,
which is critical to reliability, safety, and our economy.
These responsibilities and priorities both drive the
Commission's actions and align with the themes of the proposed
bills that are the subject of today's hearing. Spurred in part
by the demands of emerging large loads, such as data centers,
our country is experiencing rapid growth of electric load
unlike anything seen in at least several decades. To not only
meet that growth, but also to do so in an affordable manner, it
is important to interconnect new generation resources
expeditiously. The Commission has approved proposals from the
grid operators for several large regions of the country to
expedite interconnection for generation resources that are more
likely to be constructed and that will meet those regions'
respective needs. The Commission also has acted on filings made
by all jurisdictional transmission providers in compliance with
the Commission's Order No. 2023, a unanimous Commission final
rule on the interconnection of new generation resources.
Addressing a related issue, the Commission, in December,
directed the nation's largest grid operator to establish
transparent rules to serve data centers and other large loads
that are co-located with generation. Those rules will safeguard
reliability and protect consumers, impacting over 67 million
Americans. The Commission has also approved innovative
proposals from other grid operators to expedite interconnection
of large-load additions and associated generation in a manner
that accommodates the unique operational demands of large loads
while also facilitating reliable interconnection and protecting
other transmission customers. The bills that are the subject of
today's hearing sound similar themes of reliability and
affordability. Some of the bills identify potential reliability
challenges, such as what too often have been frustratingly slow
processes for the interconnection of new generation resources.
Others of the bills underscore the importance of making full
use of existing electric infrastructure in support of
affordability, including through appropriate application of
grid-enhancing technologies.
If Congress determines that these important issues warrant
providing further direction to the Commission and authorizing
further tools for the Commission's use, the Commission stands
ready to take on those additional responsibilities. Thank you
for the invitation to testify before the Subcommittee today. I
would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Morenoff follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator McCormick. Thank you.
Mr. Ayoub.
STATEMENT OF KAL AYOUB, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF ELECTRIC
RELIABILITY, FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Mr. Ayoub. Chairman McCormick, Ranking Member Gallego, and
members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to
testify today. My name is Kal Ayoub, and I am the Director of
the Office of Electric Reliability at the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission. The Office is responsible for leading
the Commission's responsibilities in protecting, improving, and
overseeing the reliability and security of the nation's bulk
power system through effective regulatory oversight established
in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. I am here today as a
Commission staff witness. My remarks do not necessarily
represent those of the Commission or any individual
Commissioner. My testimony summarizes the Commission's
oversight of the reliability of the bulk power system and
recent Commission activity implementing that authority.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 added Section 215 to the
Federal Power Act, giving the Commission authority over
mandatory, enforceable reliability standards for the nation's
bulk power system, which includes the interconnected U.S. grid,
but excludes Alaska, Hawaii, and local distribution systems.
Under this provision, the Commission certified NERC as the
electric reliability organization responsible for the
development of reliability standards for Commission review,
approval, and subsequent enforcement by NERC and its regional
entities, subject to Commission oversight. The Commission may
approve or remand a reliability standard based on statutory
criteria, but cannot write or modify the standard itself.
Instead, it may direct NERC to develop new or revised standards
to address identified reliability gaps.
Reliability today is shaped by factors that test
resilience. Those include rapid load growth from large loads,
such as data centers, a more diverse resource mix that requires
accurate modeling and consistent performance expectations, and
the increasing frequency of extreme weather events. On top of
this is the ever-present and constantly evolving threat
landscape related to cybersecurity and physical security.
Protecting the grid from malicious actors, whether through
cyber intrusions, physical attacks on critical facilities, or
exploitations in the supply chain, remains fundamental to
maintaining reliability. The Commission has taken extensive
actions over the years to ensure reliability. Since adopting
the critical infrastructure standards in 2008, it has expanded
protections against cyber and physical threats, including
supply chain risks, network monitoring, and incident response.
To address extreme weather, the Commission approved new
standards, directed improvements to cold weather preparedness,
and required vulnerability assessments. It also directed NERC
to develop new standards for inverter-based resources, which
the Commission has since approved.
Currently, the Commission is closely following the
emergence of large loads. This includes ongoing NERC activity
to identify and register large loads for compliance with
reliability standards and develop new reliability standards
that address their associated reliability risks. Once
completed, NERC will submit their reliability standards for
Commission review and approval. The Commission's core mission,
as Chairman Swett emphasizes, is to ensure reliable, secure,
and affordable energy. Her focus on regulatory certainty is
essential for timely infrastructure investment and for enabling
large loads to connect to the grid predictably, while
maintaining reliability is reflected in the work that is
highlighted today. The legislation under consideration reflects
these challenges, highlighting the need for clear planning
processes, accurate risk assessments, timely infrastructure
development, and strong coordination across stakeholders. The
Commission remains committed to working with Congress, NERC,
and industry to uphold a reliable, resilient, and secure bulk
power system.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Ayoub follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator McCormick. Thank you, Mr. Ayoub.
Senator Gallego, do you want to go ahead with your
questions?
Senator Gallego. I will defer to Senator King, in case he
wants to ask questions and head out since I will be here the
whole time.
Senator King.
Senator King. Thank you very much. Perhaps AI could do a
better job of scheduling the Senate.
[Laughter.]
Senator King. I have three hearings at the very same time
this afternoon, so I appreciate that, both of you.
I just wanted to mention two bills that I think are
particularly important. One is the Advancing GETs Act, which
would basically not mandate grid-enhancing technologies, but
provide an incentive to developers to counteract the current
incentive, which is to build things in the old way. And Mr.
Ayoub, my study indicates that GETs can really have a
significant--up to 30 percent--increase in the throughput of
the grid at a much lower cost than an entire rebuild. Is that
your judgment?
Mr. Ayoub. Thank you for the question, Senator.
So, from a reliability perspective, grid-enhancing
technologies provide tremendous value to the grid, such as
reconductoring, optimization, and dynamic line ratings. So,
from a reliability perspective, I think, any more electrons
that we can get on the grid is a positive, specifically when
there are short-term solutions in terms of building new
transmission lines.
Senator King. Well, one of the advantages is time.
Mr. Ayoub. Correct.
Senator King. This is something that would be done almost
immediately with no permitting and no delays. Secondly, it's
much cheaper. And one of the problems that we face is that this
gigantic expansion of the grid is going to be expensive. And we
are now seeing transmission and distribution costs that exceed
the cost of generating electricity. So, that's why I think this
is an important initiative. And again, what it does is
basically provide an incentive to the developer of the
transmission.
The second bill is one that I am proud to co-sponsor with
the Chairman, and that is the REWIRE Act, which is about
conductors. This is a conventional conductor, and this is a
carbon-based conductor.
[Photograph of the two conductors follows:]
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator King. As you can see, it's smaller and lighter. It
will carry twice the electricity. And so, this is another way
of significantly increasing the grid capacity without new
poles, without new rights-of-way, without the huge expense. And
the REWIRE Act, under the Chairman's leadership, would
basically say, you don't have to go through a long permitting
process because there's no environmental impact of this, except
for the good, but it's also a way of considerably cutting the
cost of the expansion that we all agree is necessary. So, you
mentioned reconductoring. Expand on that--and you are welcome
to say that I am right.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Ayoub. Senator King, thank you for the question. I
would agree that grid-enhancing technologies, which include
reconductoring, provide tremendous value because, as you
mention, they are improvements to existing lines on existing
rights-of-way. Imagine having a two-lane road, and you are
getting congestion over the years, and you ask yourself, rather
than build a new highway, which is important, can we expand
that two-lane road to a four-lane road temporarily until we
address the other issue? So, absolutely, it's all of the above.
From a reliability standpoint, I will always say getting
electrons through the transmission lines is a positive for all
of us.
Senator King. But I do think that we have to be thinking
about cost because electric rates are already going up and are
too high in many regions of the country--in New England. And
the expansion of the grid, if we don't watch it, is going to
substantially increase. I remember the day when T&D was 30
percent of the bill. Now it's over 50 percent, approaching 60
percent, and it's going to be even more than that unless we
adopt the technologies that will enable us to do this expansion
without burdening the ratepayers. And that's your mission at
FERC, is it not?
Mr. Morenoff. Senator, thank you. Yes, I agree entirely.
The Commission's mission is to ensure just and reasonable rates
for consumers, and that goes directly to the issues that you
have raised.
Senator King. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it. I appreciate your
allowing me to go forward.
Senator McCormick. Senator Padilla.
Senator Padilla. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Likewise, I
appreciate the accommodation, the flexibility, I appreciate you
and the Ranking Member calling for today's hearing and want to
register my support for two of the bills included in this
hearing today--Senator King's Advancing GETs Act, and of
course, Mr. Chairman, your REWIRE Act. Now, these bills, I
think, take crucial steps toward modernizing our grid--which is
needed, and in many places overdue--with the advanced
transmission conductors and grid-enhancing technologies that
Senator King and I talk so frequently about. As you can tell,
he is a big fan. They also represent key pieces of what needs
to be done to build out a reliable transmission system in this
country, particularly as the population grows, our economy
grows, and the need for electrons continues to grow.
But separately, I wanted to highlight the discussion draft
on transmission that I, along with four of my colleagues on
this Committee, have been circulating to address the
transmission system more holistically. The package includes
provisions from both of the bills on the agenda today, and I
want to thank the Chair, again, for his focus on this topic.
Now, getting to my first question, Mr. Ayoub, I know you
have been responding to Senator King's questions about the
benefits of these new technologies. I wanted to hear from Mr.
Morenoff on any identified barriers from a legal and/or
administrative perspective to the deployment of reconductoring
or grid-enhancing technologies at scale, right? If we are
convinced this is the direction to go, how do we go as quickly
as possible? What needs to change to let us do so?
Mr. Morenoff. Senator, thank you for that question. I think
it's currently less an issue of legal barriers and more about,
as Senator King was saying, establishing proper incentives
because there may be reasons why individual utilities in a
particular situation may choose to make a different investment
rather than utilizing a grid-enhancing technology. And I think
that some of the bills on today's agenda seek to address that
challenge, to say, are there more incentives that we can
provide to try to make those technologies more appealing, and
therefore be able to provide those benefits to ratepayers?
Senator Padilla. Okay.
And what specifically may come from Congress/the federal
level versus what states may provide, or in rate cases that
utilities have to go through to be able to, again, take these
leaps forward?
Mr. Morenoff. Thank you, Senator. That's true that many
utilities would have matters both before FERC as well as before
the commission at the state level. I suspect that there is a
common interest across those levels-- certainly the case at
FERC, and I know here at the Committee--on doing everything we
can to ensure that rates are just and reasonable. And if this
is one of the steps that we can take to promote that result,
hopefully the incentives that we are discussing can drive more
effort in that direction, as well as in the type of new
investment we need.
Senator Padilla. Okay.
Moving on to a related topic, FERC spent the last five
years working to accelerate generator interconnection queues
through its work on Order No. 2023. I know you are both very
familiar with that. I see the heads nodding. In the last year,
FERC also approved regional-specific accelerated programs to
get new generation connected to the grid quickly. All of these
programs included battery storage. I know this is a
Subcommittee. I will repeat it at the next opportunity for the
full Committee. I think the Chairman would appreciate hearing
this. All of these programs included battery storage. All were
fuel-neutral and all prioritized projects that are commercially
available and ready to break ground.
Mr. Morenoff, is further action to reorder interconnection
queues really going to help move the ball forward when so much
has already been accomplished?
Mr. Morenoff. Senator, thank you. As you noted, the
Commission has taken many steps in recent years to accelerate
interconnection, both with respect to establishing generic
rules for all jurisdictional transmission providers in Order
No. 2023, as well as in responding to the individual filings we
have received from individual regions highlighting their needs.
Whether there are additional steps to prioritize additional
types of resources, we would, of course, defer to Congress and
be available to implement whatever Congress may determine is
appropriate.
Senator Padilla. Yes, obviously, the concern would be when
we get to be too prescriptive on the types of projects and we
are no longer neutral on that front, that could undermine the
implementation of work that has been underway already and
moving us in the right direction. So, thank you for your
participation today.
Senator McCormick. Senator Gallego.
Senator Gallego. Thank you, Chairman.
It took the Commission more than two years to issue its
landmark interconnection order, Order No. 2023. Conversely, the
GRID Power Act would require final regulations issued on the
bill within 180 days of enactment. Could you explain how the
Commission could benefit from having more than six months to
implement this type of rule?
Mr. Morenoff. Thank you, Senator, for that question.
As you noted, large-scale rulemakings, like the
Commission's Order No. 2023, involve a series of steps, usually
including at least the issuance of a notice of proposed
rulemaking. We often then receive extensive comments back,
which we take seriously in developing anything that would be a
final rule. It has been the case, typically, that we have
needed longer than that six-month period in order to reach a
final rule. We also recognize the importance of the types of
issues that are being addressed, and that when Congress sets a
timeline, FERC takes those timelines very seriously and has a
very good track record of meeting the deadlines that Congress
establishes.
Senator Gallego. And then, Mr. Ayoub, does FERC currently
have the expertise and data to review proposed agency actions
for reliability concerns? And how helpful is it to have NERC's
expertise as part of the reliability assessment process?
Mr. Ayoub. Thank you, Senator.
As the Director of the Office of Electric Reliability, of
course, we do have expertise, and our priorities right now are
focused on managing reliability as a resource amidst changes,
responding to extreme weather, and protecting the grid from
physical and cyber-attacks. In terms of cross-agency expertise,
I think I would, if it's okay with you, Senator, I may defer to
Mr. Morenoff, the Deputy General Counsel.
Mr. Morenoff. Thank you.
Both with respect to our interaction with other agencies
and our interaction with NERC, for some of the depth of
studies, it is particularly beneficial to have that type of
draw on the expertise, and in particular, the computing power
that may be available. Some of the studies that were described
in the bill that you are referencing, we believe that NERC
would have the capability of doing, and perhaps the national
labs would have the capability of doing. FERC would very much
benefit from that information, but would not currently have the
capability of doing those studies ourselves.
Senator Gallego. Okay.
Mr. Morenoff, FERC's Chairman is named by the President,
potentially inputting a more political process into these grid
reliability determinations, as FERC approval appears necessary
for certain agency actions to become final. Members of both
parties have spoken about the importance of consistency in
permitting across agencies for the stability of both the grid
and private business. Would adding the risk of more political
process hurt certainty and stability for the grid?
Mr. Morenoff. Thank you, Senator.
I would agree that the more certainty that we can provide
with respect to permitting--and in fact, Chairman Swett has
spoken more generally about the benefits of providing greater
regulatory certainty at a time when investment is so greatly
needed.
Senator Gallego. Mr. Ayoub, turning back to the GRID Power
Act, can you explain whether prioritizing certain forms of
generation over others could impact grid reliability or energy
affordability in the long run?
Mr. Ayoub. Thank you, Senator.
Again, as the Director of the Office of Electric
Reliability, focusing strictly on cyber and physical security,
inverter-based resources, extreme weather, I just want to
clarify, Senator, is your question specific to generator
interconnection reform?
Senator Gallego. No, prioritizing certain forms of
generation to incent in terms of generation when it comes to
renewables versus carbon-based versus nuclear, you know, in
terms of, I believe personally that the government should be
agnostic about it, right? Try to figure out how to get as many
electrons on the grid as fast as possible and move them from
everywhere. And I want to hear your assertion whether you agree
that there should be an agnostic approach to power generation.
Mr. Ayoub. Thank you for the clarification, Senator.
Absolutely, the Commission is technology-neutral, has always
been, and the Commission doesn't pick winners or losers or
which specific technologies should be considered under any act.
Senator Gallego. Okay, and the reason I bring that up is
because we have seen this administration decide that carbon-
based energy is quote/unquote ``better'' than renewables, and I
think at some point, you know, when it comes to being able to
generate and then move it, sometimes it might actually be
better and cheaper for us to be using renewables, and sometimes
it is good to use carbon. And I would be fine for that, too,
but I want to make sure that it's being decided on an agnostic
basis. That is going to be the most important thing, I think,
to bring down the cost for the consumer.
And I yield back.
Senator McCormick. Thank you.
Mr. Morenoff, let me begin by asking about the REWIRE Act
that we talked about a few minutes ago. As we know,
reconductoring allows us to increase capacity using the
existing transmission lines or rights-of-way. Based on FERC's
experience, how much additional capacity can reconductoring
make available on the existing system, and to what extent are
existing utilities already using this approach?
Mr. Morenoff. Thank you, Senator. I can talk about that
broadly and then my colleague, Mr. Ayoub, may have some
additional, more technical thoughts.
Senator McCormick. Great.
Mr. Morenoff. But I think the observation is correct that
there is great potential from the application of reconductoring
and other advanced technologies in order to get more out of our
existing system. Although I don't have a particular percentage
in mind, I do think that we have seen, as some utilities have
started to take steps----
Senator McCormick. But rare, or common at this point?
Mr. Morenoff. I don't have a number to offer, I'm sorry.
Senator McCormick. Okay.
Mr. Ayoub.
Mr. Ayoub. Thank you, Senator.
I don't have a percentage of how many utilities are
adopting them, but I know they are becoming more popular
amongst--for the obvious reason, Senator, where we are pushing
more electrons through the transmission lines without building
new lines.
Senator McCormick. Great.
And this question goes to both of you, I think. We are
seeing renewed growth, as I mentioned in my opening statement,
across a number of sectors in terms of electricity demand. How
is FERC assessing the implications of that growth for grid
reliability, and what trends are you seeing in the
interconnection queue today?
Mr. Ayoub. I can speak from the reliability side and I will
turn it over to my colleague.
Senator McCormick. Great.
Mr. Ayoub. So, thank you, Senator, for the question.
We work, as you are aware, with NERC--the North American
Electric Reliability Corporation--which issues a long-term
reliability assessment every year that looks ten years ahead
and sort of looks at the entire continent, and through that
assessment, really looks at where there are generation
deficiencies, transmission issues, and they come up with a map
every year as a snapshot. So, we work very closely with NERC as
we are looking at the long-term reliability assessment, and
through that, before my colleague picks up, the Commission has
approved some processes, for which Mr. Morenoff would go into
detail, but from our standpoint, working with NERC, we do
identify through studies, et cetera, where those reliability
gaps are.
Mr. Morenoff. Thank you, Senator.
And with respect to interconnection, in particular, I think
that the slow pace of interconnections, which sometimes takes
seven or eight years for a proposed project to move through the
interconnection queue, always was a problem for drawing the
investment that was needed. As the pace of load growth has
increased so dramatically, that has become not just a
frustration, but a really dramatic problem in terms of having
the adequate generation resources available. I think the
Commission's actions over the past several years reflect
several steps to address that, both in terms of establishing
more effective baseline rules through Order No. 2023, and then
also, recognizing that individual regions face different
challenges. And looking at the proposals they have brought to
FERC to say, what are the resources they need, what are those
resources' characteristics, and trying to look for ways in the
short term to further expedite the processing of those
generating resources.
One other observation in that respect is that, above and
beyond what the Commission has already improved, there are some
transmission providers that are also looking for ways to adopt
other advanced technologies into their interconnection queue
processing. And there seems to be great potential to further
expedite that processing through the use of those technologies.
Senator McCormick. Very good. Thank you.
Mr. Ayoub, I want to ask you about the legislation I
introduced with Senator Coons, the Liquid Cooling for AI Act.
As we know, data centers are crucial to winning the AI race
with China. Data centers' annual energy use could grow from 4.4
percent of the country's total annual electricity consumption
to 12 percent by 2028, just around the corner. What changes has
FERC observed in the scale and pace of large-load
interconnection requests, and is the current system keeping
pace with that demand, or do you see strains emerging?
Mr. Ayoub. Thank you for your question, Senator.
So, I will start with you first, with the legislation. I
understand it's directed at the DOE, but I did want to comment
that while the Commission is technology-neutral, any technology
that can lower the consumption and use from data centers would
be a good thing for the grid. In terms of large-load
connections and application to the Commission, as my colleague
Mr. Morenoff has said, you know, there have been some orders
that the Commission has issued, specifically the show cause
orders, but I can turn it over to Mr. Morenoff for details on
the orders themselves. I want to make sure I am careful with
what is ex parte and what is not yet.
Mr. Morenoff. Thank you, Senator.
The Commission has already taken some steps, recognizing
that the issues about exactly what will be FERC-jurisdictional
and what will be state-jurisdictional are not entirely clear.
But the Commission has taken actions within our jurisdiction to
ensure that there is greater clarity about the rules as to at
least the context of large loads and the context of co-location
with generation. And I think that clarity will help to provide
greater investment incentives as well.
Senator McCormick. Very good.
Gentlemen, is there anything either of you would like to
offer in addition to the questions you were asked or your
initial statements?
Mr. Morenoff. Senator, just, again, to thank you for the
opportunity and for the leadership that this Committee is
demonstrating on these really important issues. FERC very much
values the opportunity to be part of that continuing discussion
with you and with the Committee.
Senator McCormick. Okay.
Senator Gallego, do you have any more questions or
anything?
Mr. Ayoub. And I will say thank you so much, Senator. It is
a privilege to be here. My family is here with me to come
watch. And in terms of offering our office, I am sure I speak
for David as well, always available for technical assistance on
future bills as well.
Senator Gallego. Thank you for your time.
Senator McCormick. Yes, very good.
I just want to thank you both, thank you to your families
for being here to support you. I want to recognize each member
in attendance and have them noted by the clerk. And I really
want to thank you for coming. We are trying to get a lot done
in this area, and your expertise is very helpful.
Official questions for the record--I don't think we had any
questions for the record--but those questions are due by 6:00
p.m. today. Statements for the official record are due on
Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
And with that, the hearing is adjourned. Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 3:22 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
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