S5074Referred to Committee

Enhancing Electric Grid Resilience Act

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-07-22
Introduced
0
Cosponsors
S
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Peter Welch
Peter Welch
Democrat · VT · Senator
Votes with party: 83.0% (820 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/W000800

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (0)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

2026-07-22

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

Plain-English Summary

The bill would change how costs are divided among states and companies when building power lines that cross state borders or run offshore in ocean waters. Currently, there are unclear rules about who pays for these expensive infrastructure projects, and this legislation would establish a clearer system for sharing those costs fairly. This affects electric utility companies, states, and ultimately consumers who pay electricity bills.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 5074 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5074 To amend the Federal Power Act to authorize the allocation of the costs of certain interstate electric power transmission lines and electric power transmission lines that are located offshore, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 22, 2026 Mr. Welch introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Federal Power Act to authorize the allocation of the costs of certain interstate electric power transmission lines and electric power transmission lines that are located offshore, 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 ``Enhancing Electric Grid Resilience Act''. SEC. 2. ALLOCATION OF COSTS OF CERTAIN TRANSMISSION FACILITIES. Part II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``SEC. 224. ALLOCATION OF COSTS OF CERTAIN TRANSMISSION FACILITIES. ``(a) Allocation of Costs.-- ``(1) In general.--Any entity that proposes to own, control, or operate a transmission facility of national significance may file a tariff with the Commission in accordance with section 205 and the regulations of the Commission allocating the costs of such transmission facility of national significance. ``(2) Cost causation principle.--The Commission shall require that any tariff filed under paragraph (1) allocate the costs of a transmission facility of national significance to customers within the applicable transmission planning region or regions in a manner that is at least roughly commensurate with the estimated anticipated benefits described in paragraph (3). ``(3) Cost allocation principle.--The Commission shall require that any tariff filed under paragraph (1) allocate costs based on the broad range of reliability, economic, public policy, resilience, environmental, and other reasonably anticipated benefits of the applicable transmission facility of national significance. ``(b) Transmission Facility of National Significance.--In this section, the term `transmission facility of national significance' means-- ``(1) an interstate electric power transmission line (and any facilities necessary for the operation of such electric power transmission line) or an electric power transmission line that is located offshore (and any facilities necessary for the operation of such electric power transmission line)-- ``(A) that has a transmission capacity of not less than 1,000 megawatts; and ``(B) the construction of which is completed on or after the date of enactment of this section; or ``(2) an expansion of, or upgrade to, an interstate electric power transmission line (and any facilities necessary for the operation of such electric power transmission line) or an electric power transmission line that is located offshore (and any facilities necessary for the operation of such electric power transmission line) that-- ``(A) increases the transmission capacity of such electric power transmission line by at least 500 megawatts; and ``(B) is completed on or after the date of enactment of this section. ``(c) Savings Provision.--This section does not affect the authority of the Commission to approve the allocation of costs of transmission facilities other than transmission facilities of national significance.''. <all>
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