[House Report 119-307]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 119-307
======================================================================
POWER PLANT RELIABILITY ACT OF 2025
_______
September 23, 2025.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Guthrie, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 3632]
The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 3632) to amend the Federal Power Act to adjust
the requirements for orders, rules, and regulations relating to
furnishing adequate service, to require owners or operators of
generating facilities to provide notice of planned retirements
of certain electric generating units, and for other purposes,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Committee Action................................................. 4
Committee Votes.................................................. 4
Oversight Findings and Recommendations........................... 7
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 7
Congressional Budget Office Estimate............................. 7
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 7
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 7
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 7
Related Committee and Subcommittee Hearings...................... 7
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 9
Earmark, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff Benefits....... 9
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 9
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 9
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 9
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 9
Minority, Additional, or Dissenting Views........................ 13
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 3632, the ``Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025'', was
introduced by Representative Griffith on May 29, 2025, and
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce on May 29,
2025. H.R. 3632 enhances authority under Section 207 of the
Federal Power Act to allow affected parties to contest the
retirement of generation resources, for up to a 5-year period,
in the event that a retirement causes harm to the reliability
of the bulk power system. The bill would also require power
plants to provide a 5-year advance notice of plans to retire.
Background and Need for Legislation
During the 119th Congress, the Energy Subcommittee of
Energy and Commerce has held several hearings to better
understand the ongoing electric reliability crisis facing our
nation. While record levels of baseload thermal generation are
being retired from the bulk power system, our nation is
experiencing an historic increase in electricity demand,
largely driven by artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
domestic manufacturing, and general economy wide
electrification. These increases follow several decades of
relatively flat electricity demand growth. Data centers alone
could consume upwards of 132 GW by 2028.\1\ The North American
Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) projects peak demand to
grow by 151 GW by 2034.\2\ At the same time, NERC reports that
as much as 115 GW of thermal generation has announced to retire
within the same time period.\3\ NERC has stated that
``[e]nvironmental regulations and energy policies that are
overly rigid and lack provisions for electric grid reliability
have the potential to influence generators to seek deactivation
despite a projected resource adequacy or operating reliability
risk; this can potentially jeopardize[e] the orderly transition
of the resource mix.''\4\ The pace of retirements of baseload
generation combined with the explosive growth of large loads
could leave our nation's bulk power system at extreme risk of
power outages over the next 5 years. A recent report from the
Department of Energy finds that our current pace could increase
the risk of power outages by 100 times by 2030.\5\
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\1\Arman Shehabi et al., 2024 United States Data Center Energy
Usage Report, Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory (Dec. 20, 2024),
[https://escholarship.org/uc/item/32d6m0d1].
\2\North American Reliability Corp. (NERC), 2024 Long-Term
Reliability Assessment (Dec. 2024, updated Jul. 15, 2025), https://
www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20 DL/
NERC_Long%20Term%20Reliability%20Assessment_2024.pdf.
\3\Id.
\4\NERC, 2023 Long-Term Reliability Assessment (Dec. 2023), https:/
/www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/
NERC_LTRA_2023.pdf.
\5\U.S. Dep't of Energy, Evaluating the Reliability and Security of
the United States Electric Grid (Resource Adequacy Report) (Jul. 2025),
https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/
DOE%20Final%20EO%20Report%20%28FINAL%20JULY%207%290.pdf.
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The pre-mature retirements of baseload generating units
have largely been driven by federal and state actions that
prevent, limit, or otherwise discourage continued operation or
new investments in fossil fuels. In particular, the
Environmental Protection Agency's ``New Source Performance
Standards for Greenhous Gas Emissions from New, Modified, and
Reconstructed Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units:
Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing
Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units''' would have
significant adverse impacts on existing coal units and new
natural gas units. In 2024, FERC Commissioner Mark Christie
testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee
regarding the severe impact of the Biden administration EPA's
power plant rule, commonly known as the Clean Power Plan 2.0,
specifically stating, ``[i]f the EPA's new power plant rule
survives court challenge, it will force the retirements of
nearly all remaining coal generation plants and will prevent
the construction of vitally needed new combined-cycle baseload
gas generation. This loss of vitally needed dispatchable
generation resources will be catastrophic.'' In 2023, fossil
fuels contributed 60 percent of all electricity generation in
the United States.\6\
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\6\U.S. Energy Info. Admin., FAQs: What is U.S. electricity
generation by energy source?, (Feb. 29, 2024), https://www.eia.gov/
tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&t=3.
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The historic rate of premature retirements is compounded by
ongoing constraints for new natural gas turbines, backlogs in
interconnection queues, and permitting delays at the federal
and state level. Given the urgency of addressing the ongoing
reliability crisis, the Commission requires additional tools to
address reliability and potential electricity supply
shortfalls. Increasingly, states have taken it upon themselves
to push more stringent environmental standards and implemented
intermittent energy standards that seek to increase the share
of a utility's generation mix coming from renewable sources.
These standards have contributed to pre-mature closures of
fossil generating units that provide necessary baseload power
and a growing reliance on states that are maintaining these
resources. As an example, Pennsylvania is the only net exporter
of electricity in 13 states and Washington, D.C. membership of
PJM.\7\
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\7\Kim Riley, IFO report shows state still is top electricity
exporter, Pa. Bus. Rep. (Feb.
4, 2025), https://pennbizreport.com/news/30128-ifo-report-shows-state-
still-is-top-electricity-
exporter/.
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Under current law, section 207 of the Federal Power Act
provides FERC with authority to determine proper, adequate, or
sufficient service to be furnished in the event that the
Commission, upon a complaint from a state Commission, finds
that any interstate service of a public utility is inadequate
or insufficient. This authority of the Commission to address
electric reliability has been used sparingly over its statutory
history. When the authority has been invoked, it has been
predominantly centered on the impacts of neighboring states to
close generating stations that provide interstate service. Most
recently, the District of Columbia Public Service Commission
petitioned FERC under section 207 following the closure of the
Potomac River Generating Station in Alexandria, Virginia. FERC
found that the closure of the power plant in Virginia would
result in electricity shortages in the Washington, D.C. area
and would violate NERC reliability standards, endangering the
transmission system.\8\ As part of these findings, FERC issued
an order under section 207 requiring the grid operator and
utility develop short-term and long-term solutions to
reliability in the affected area, which resulted in new
transmission lines and ultimate closure of the generation
facility.\9\
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\8\Order on Petition and Complaint of the D.C. Pub. Serv. Comm'n.,
U.S. Fed. Energy Reg. Comm'n., Docket. No. EL05-145-000 (Issued Jan. 9,
2006), [https://www.ferc.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/
20060109190229-EL05-145-000.pdf].
\9\Id.
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The Power Plant Reliability Act would enhance section 207
of the Federal Power Act by standardizing the process by which
FERC may issue orders, including flexibility for orders issued
up to a 5-year time frame with the ability for reissuance if
necessary. The legislation also includes transmission
organizations, in addition to state Commissions, as parties
authorized to file complaints with FERC to initiate a
proceeding under this provision. The legislation also sets out
cost allocation and compensation for service to be furnished
pursuant to any order under section 207. This legislation would
also address the competing interests of emission requirements
of state and federal authorities that are weighed against
reliability requirements implemented by NERC through the
Federal Power Act by waiving violations of environmental
standards that are required as part of any order under section
207.
Additionally, the legislation would require power plant
owners to provide a 5-year advance notice to FERC of plans to
retire operations. In the event the plant requires deactivation
due to an emergency, catastrophe or similar event that renders
a facility inoperable, plant owners are provided an opportunity
to petition the commission for an earlier retirement.
Currently, states and grid operators uniquely implement
retirement notices, which must comply with NERC reliability
standards implemented through the Federal Power Act. This
legislation does not make any changes to the existing NERC
reliability standards.
Committee Action
On April 30, 2025, the Subcommittee on Energy held a
legislative hearing on 14 pieces of legislation, including H.R.
3632. The Subcommittee received testimony from:
Mike Goff, Acting Undersecretary of Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy;
David L. Morenoff, Acting General Counsel,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;
Terry Turpin, Director, Office of Energy
Projects, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;
Jim Matheson, Chief Executive Officer,
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association;
Amy Andryszak, President and Chief Executive
Officer, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America;
Todd A. Snitchler, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Electric Power Supply Association
and;
Kim Smaczniak, Partner, Roselle LLP.
On June 5, 2025, the Subcommittee on Energy met in open
markup session and forwarded H.R. 3632, without amendment, to
the full Committee by a record vote of 15 yeas and 14 nays. On
June 25, 2025, the full Committee on Energy and Commerce met in
open markup session and ordered H.R. 3632, without amendment,
favorably reported to the House by a record vote of 25 yeas and
21 nays.
Committee Votes
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII requires the Committee to list the
record votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments
thereto. The following reflects the record votes taken during
the Committee consideration:
Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Pursuant to clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII, the Committee held hearings and made findings that
are reflected in this report.
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority,
and Tax Expenditures
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII, the Committee
finds that H.R. 3632 would result in no new or increased budget
authority, entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or
revenues.
Congressional Budget Office Estimate
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII, at the time this
report was filed, the cost estimate prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was not available.
Federal Mandates Statement
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act.
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general
performance goal or objective of this legislation is to amend
section 207 of the Federal Power Act to enhance opportunities
for state commissions or transmission organizations to file
complaints with FERC to furnish adequate service in the event
that interstate service is found to be inadequate. This
legislation also amends section 207 to require generating
facilities provide a 5-year advance notice on retirement plans.
Duplication of Federal Programs
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII, no provision of
H.R. 3632 is known to be duplicative of another Federal
program, including any program that was included in a report to
Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 or the
most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.
Related Committee and Subcommittee Hearings
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII, the following
related hearings were used to develop or consider H.R. 3632:
On February 5, 2025, the Subcommittee on Energy held a
hearing on H.R. 3632, titled ``Powering America's Future:
Unleashing American Energy.'' The Subcommittee received
testimony from:
Amanda Eversole, Executive Vice President
and Chief Advocacy Officer, American Petroleum
Institute;
Brigham McCown, Senior Fellow and Director,
Initiative on American Energy Security, The Hudson
Institute;
Gary Arnold, Business Manager, Denver
Pipefitters Local 208 and;
Tyler O'Connor, Partner, Crowell & Moring
LLP.
On March 5, 2025, the Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing
on H.R. 3632, titled ``Scaling for Growth: Meeting the Demand
for Reliable, Affordable Electricity.'' The Subcommittee
received testimony from:
Todd Brickhouse, CEO and General Manager,
Basin Electric Power Cooperative;
Asim Haque, Senior Vice President for
Governmental and Member Services, PJM;
Noel W. Black, Senior VP of Regulatory
Affairs, Southern Company and;
Tyler H. Norris, James B. Duke Fellow, Duke
University.
On March 25, 2025, the Subcommittee on Energy held a
hearing on H.R. 3632, titled ``Keeping the Lights On: Examining
the State of Regional Grid Reliability.'' The Subcommittee
received testimony from:
Gordon van Welie, President and Chief
Executive Officer, ISO New England;
Richard J. Dewey, President and Chief
Executive Officer, New York Independent System
Operator;
Manu Asthana, President and Chief Executive
Officer, PJM Interconnection LLC;
Jennifer Curran, Senior Vice President for
Planning and Operations, Midcontinent ISO;
Lanny Nickell, Chief Operating Officer,
Southwest Power Pool;
Elliot Mainzer, President and Chief
Executive Officer, California Independent System
Operator and;
Pablo Vegas, President and Chief Executive
Officer, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc.
On April 9, 2025, the Committee on Energy and Commerce held
a hearing on H.R. 3632, titled ``Converting Energy into
Intelligence: The Future of AI Technology, Human Discovery, and
American Global Competitiveness.'' The Committee received
testimony from:
Eric Schmidt, Chair, Special Competitive
Studies Project;
Manish Bhatia, Executive Vice President of
Global Operations, Micron Technology;
Alexander Wang, Founder and Chief Executive
Officer, Scale AI, and;
David Turk, Distinguished Visiting Fellow,
Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University.
On April 30, 2025, the Subcommittee on Energy held a
legislative hearing on H.R. 3632, titled ``Assuring Abundant,
Reliable American Energy to Power Innovation.'' The
Subcommittee received testimony from:
Mike Goff, Acting Undersecretary of Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy;
David L. Morenoff, Acting General Counsel,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;
Terry Turpin, Director, Office of Energy
Projects, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;
Jim Matheson, Chief Executive Officer,
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association;
Amy Andryszak, President and Chief Executive
Officer, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America;
Todd A. Snitchler, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Electric Power Supply Association
and;
Kim Smaczniak, Partner, Roselle LLP.
Committee Cost Estimate
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII, the Committee
adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. At the time this report was
filed, the estimate was not available.
Earmark, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff Benefits
Pursuant to clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI, the
Committee finds that H.R. 3632 contains no earmarks, limited
tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits.
Advisory Committee Statement
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
Applicability to Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 provides that the Act may be cited as the ``Power
Plant Reliability Act''.
Section 2. Furnishing of adequate service; advance notice of planned
retirements
Section 2 amends section 207 of the Federal Power Act to
clarify the process by which a state Commission or transmission
organization can file a complaint with FERC to furnish adequate
service in the event that interstate service of a public
utility is found to be inadequate or insufficient. Generating
facilities that may be ordered to operate pursuant to orders
under section 207 may not extend longer than 5 years, with an
opportunity for reissuance. This section also provides that any
action taken by a generating facility to comply with orders
issued under section 207 may not be considered a violation of
any federal, state, or local environmental law. This section
also requires generating facilities to provide 5-year advance
notice on plans to retire.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
FEDERAL POWER ACT
* * * * * * *
PART II--REGULATION OF ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANIES ENGAGED IN INTERSTATE
COMMERCE
* * * * * * *
[furnishing of adequate service
[Sec. 207. Whenever the Commission, upon complaint of a State
commission, after notice to each State commission and public
utility affected and after opportunity for hearing, shall find
that any interstate service of any public utility is inadequate
or insufficient, the Commission shall determine the proper,
adequate, or sufficient service to be furnished, and shall fix
the same by its order, rule, or regulation: Provided, That the
Commission shall have no authority to compel the enlargement of
generating facilities for such purposes, nor to compel the
public utility to sell or exchange energy when to do so would
impair its ability to render adequate service to its
customers.]
SEC. 207. FURNISHING OF ADEQUATE SERVICE; ADVANCE NOTICE OF PLANNED
RETIREMENTS.
(a) Furnishing of Adequate Service.--
(1) In general.--Whenever the Commission, upon
complaint of a State commission or a Transmission
Organization, after notice to each State commission and
public utility affected, and after opportunity for
hearing within 90 days of receipt of such complaint,
finds that any interstate service of any public utility
is inadequate or insufficient, or is likely to become
inadequate or insufficient within 5 years of receiving
such complaint, the Commission shall determine the
proper, adequate, or sufficient service to be
furnished, and shall fix the same by issuing an order,
rule, or regulation.
(2) Requirements.--The Commission, in an order, rule,
or regulation issued under paragraph (1)--
(A) may not--
(i) compel the enlargement of
generating facilities; or
(ii) compel the public utility to
sell or exchange electric energy when
to do so would impair its ability to
render proper, adequate, or sufficient
service to its customers;
(B) may require--
(i) continuing the operation of an
electric generating unit; and
(ii) any affected State commission,
Transmission Organization, or public
utility to develop and implement a
long-term plan for the planning,
construction, and operation of
interstate transmission facilities that
may be necessary for the public utility
to provide adequate and sufficient
interstate service; and
(C) shall determine--
(i) any rate or charge necessary to
provide compensation for the additional
costs of the proper, adequate, or
sufficient service to be furnished,
including compensation to an owner or
operator of an electric generating unit
that is required to continue to operate
under such order, rule, or regulation;
and
(ii) the cost allocation of any rate
or charge.
(3) Term length.--Except as provided in paragraph
(4), an order, rule, or regulation issued under
paragraph (1) shall terminate on the date that the
Commission determines appropriate, which may not be
later than 5 years after the date on which the
Commission issues such order, rule, or regulation.
(4) Extension.--
(A) Request for extension.--Not earlier than
the date that is 180 days prior to the date on
which an order, rule, or regulation terminates,
as determined under paragraph (3), and not
later than 60 days prior to such termination
date, any affected State commission,
Transmission Organization, or public utility
may submit to the Commission a request to
extend such order, rule, or regulation.
(B) Deadline.--With respect to a request
submitted under subparagraph (A), the
Commission shall--
(i) not later than 14 days after the
date on which the Commission receives
the request, notify each affected State
commission, Transmission Organization,
and public utility of the request;
(ii) provide an opportunity for a
hearing on the request before accepting
or denying the request under clause
(iii); and
(iii) not later than 60 days after
the date on which the Commission
receives the request--
(I) accept the request and
extend the applicable order,
rule, or regulation; or
(II) deny the request.
(C) Term length.--An order, rule, or
regulation extended under subparagraph (B)
shall terminate on the date that the Commission
determines appropriate, which may not be later
than 5 years after the date on which the
Commission extended such order, rule, or
regulation.
(5) Treatment of certain actions.--To the extent an
omission or action taken by a party, that is necessary
to comply with an order, rule, or regulation issued or
extended under this subsection, including any omission
or action taken to voluntarily comply with such order,
rule, or regulation, results in noncompliance with, or
causes such party to not comply with, any Federal,
State, or local environmental law or regulation, such
omission or action shall not be considered a violation
of such environmental law or regulation, or subject
such party to any requirement, civil or criminal
liability, or a citizen suit under such environmental
law or regulation.
(b) Advance Notice of Planned Retirements.--
(1) In general.--If an owner or operator of a
generating facility plans to retire an electric
generating unit that is a component of such facility,
such owner or operator shall submit to the Commission
and any affected State commission or Transmission
Organization a notice of such plan at least 5 years
before the date on which such owner or operator plans
to retire such electric generating unit.
(2) Unplanned retirements.--An owner or operator of a
generating facility that retires an electric generating
unit due to an unplanned catastrophe, emergency,
disaster, or similar event that renders such electric
generating unit inoperable is not subject to the notice
requirement described in paragraph (1).
(3) Publicly available.--The Commission shall make
publicly available each notice submitted under
paragraph (1).
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Bulk-power system.--The term ``bulk-power
system'' has the meaning given such term in section
215(a).
(2) Electric generating unit.--The term ``electric
generating unit'' means an electric energy producing
unit that--
(A) is a component of a generating facility;
(B) has a power production capacity of not
less than 5 megawatts; and
(C) is interconnected to the bulk-power
system.
(3) Retire.--The term ``retire'', with respect to an
electric generating unit, means to, for an indefinite
period of time--
(A) idle the electric generating unit;
(B) disconnect the electric generating unit
from the bulk-power system; or
(C) otherwise make unavailable for sale all
electric energy that is generated by the
electric generating unit.
* * * * * * *
MINORITY VIEWS
H.R. 3632, the Power Plant Reliability Act H.R. 3632, the
Power Plant Reliability Act, would convey new powers upon the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to compel aging,
outdated, and expensive power plants to stay online past their
useful or economic life and would require retiring generation
resources to give five years' notice to their grid operators
and state utility regulatory commissions. This authority would
drastically increase American families' utility bills and is
unnecessary to address the issues identified by the majority's
report.
The bill also broadly represents a rejection of American
innovation. As the Committee heard at a legislative hearing,
long-term reliability concerns are best addressed by utility
planning and market design--exactly what utilities and grid
operators have been doing for over a century.\1\ Power markets
have developed a number of constructs to acquire enough power
to ensure reliability at the lowest cost. This bill presumes
that government regulators know better. The Committee heard
testimony that the bill ``. . . would impose astronomical new
costs on Americans at a time when energy costs are already
rising.''\2\ Americans are already paying $3 billion more on
their power bills as utilities arbitrarily choose to run their
own aging coal plants instead of cheaper or more efficient
power plants.\3\ H.R. 3632 would severely worsen the problem.
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\1\House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Testimony of Kim
Smaczniak, Partner, Roselle LLP, Hearing on Assuring Abundant, Reliable
American Energy to Power Innovation, 119th Cong. (Apr. 30, 2024).
\2\Id.
\3\Rocky Mountain Institute, Economic Dispatch Dashboard (https://
utilitytransitionhub. rmi.org/economic-dispatch/) (accessed Sep. 11,
2025).
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Recent actions by the Department of Energy (DOE) illustrate
the negative outcomes we can expect if this bill is enacted.
Earlier this summer, the Department ordered two fossil fuel
power plants slated to retire to stay online: a coal plant in
Michigan and a dual gas-and-oil-fired power plant in
Pennsylvania.\4\ This was an unprecedented usage of DOE's
authority under section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act.\5\
While the emergency underlying DOE's order is entirely made up,
the costs that the order will impose on consumers are not.
DOE's action came despite the fact that the retirement of the
Michigan plant was slated to save ratepayers nearly $600
million, and that same plant racked up costs of $29 million in
its first five weeks of forced operation--costs that will be
borne by ratepayers across the Midwest, even families that live
hundreds of miles away from the facility itself.\6\ Undeterred
by these skyrocketing energy bills, the Trump Administration
has extended the two 90-day orders to keep the power plants
online. One recent report found that if all retiring fossil
fuel power plants were subject to indefinite similar orders,
ratepayers would be on the hook for $6 billion in annual costs
by the end of Trump's term.\7\
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\4\Department of Energy, Order No. 202-25-3 (May 23, 2025);
Department of Energy, Order No. 202-25-4 (May 30, 2025).
\5\16 U.S.C. Sec. 824a(c).
\6\Settlement Reply Brief of Consumers Energy Company (May 27,
2002), In the Matter of the Application of Consumers Energy Company for
Approval of an Integrated Resource Plan under MCL 460.6t, certain
accounting approvals, and for other relief, Michigan Public Service
Commission (Case No. U-21090); Coal Plant Ordered to Stay Open Cost
$29M to Run in 5 Weeks, E&E News (Aug. 1, 2025).
\7\Grid Strategies, The Cost of Federal Mandates to Retain Fossil-
Burning Power Plants (Aug. 2025).
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While DOE's actions are egregious and illegal, H.R. 3632
actually proposes a worse framework. The bill would not require
any evidence of an emergency, just the hint of a supply--demand
mismatch that could be a half-decade away. The bill would also
enable FERC to issue orders for five years at a time, rather
than the current 90 days that DOE is limited to. Under the
bill, in one action, FERC could mandate massive increases in
Americans power bills for five years without any evidence of an
actual grid emergency. Furthermore, the bill contains no
requirement that the rates assigned be just and reasonable, or
that they follow cost-causation principles that FERC currently
must abide by for assigning the costs of DOE's 202(c) orders.
When Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) offered an amendment to add these
guardrails to the bill at the Committee markup, her amendment
was defeated in a party-line vote.
Such a massive grant of power to a single agency requires
significant evidence that the change is necessary.
Unfortunately, several pieces of evidence cited by the majority
in their report are misleading or are blatantly incorrect. The
majority report cites a recent DOE report claiming that the
risk of power outages could increase by 100 times by the end of
the decade.\8\ But that report was rife with methodological
errors, most notably by fundamentally biasing itself towards
over-estimating load growth, over-estimating power plant
retirements, and under-estimating new power plant construction
by assuming that only projects with signed interconnection
agreements in 2025 will manage to come online by 2030.\9\ The
majority's report also states that ``Pennsylvania is the only
net exporter of electricity in . . . PJM.'' This is simply
untrue. The PJM-jurisdictional portions of Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, and West Virginia were all net-exporters of power in
2024, in addition to Pennsylvania.\10\ The paltry evidence
simply does not justify such a government intervention in the
electricity sector.
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\8\Department of Energy, Evaluating the Reliability and Security of
the United States Electric Grid (July 2025).
\9\Motion to Intervene and Request for Rehearing of Natural
Resources Defense Council, the Ecology Center, Environmental Defense
Fund, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Public Citizen, Sierra Club,
and Vote Solar (Aug. 8, 2025), Resource Adequacy Report Evaluating the
Reliability and Security of the United States Electric Grid, Department
of Energy.
\10\PJM, 2024 Illinois State Infrastructure Report (June 2025);
PJM, 2024 Indiana State Infrastructure Report (June 2025); PJM, 2024
Michigan State Infrastructure Report (June 2025); PJM, 2024 West
Virginia State Infrastructure Report (June 2025); PJM, 2024
Pennsylvania State Infrastructure Report (June 2025).
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FERC and grid operators currently have a number of tools to
fix short-term reliability issues, namely reliability-must-run
agreements. Critically, those agreements are time-limited,
designed only to act as a bridge until such time as a
reliability constraint is relieved.\11\ They are not meant to
be recurring without end. H.R. 3632 would meddle with a system
that already has the tools it needs to ensure reliability, all
at the cost of higher electricity bills.
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\11\See note 1.
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For the reasons stated above, I oppose this legislation.
Frank Pallone, Jr.,
Ranking Member.
[all]