The House passed a bill Wednesday that would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sweeping authority to review and potentially block energy-related rulemakings issued by other federal agencies.
Ohio Republican Troy Balderson said his “Reliable Power Act,” H.R. 3616, is needed to prevent what he described as extreme environmental regulations from jeopardizing grid reliability. The bill passed with support from all Republicans and a handful of moderate Democrats in a 225–203 vote.
“Under the Biden administration, federal agencies pushed out rapid-fire climate rules and mandates with little coordination and even less accountability,” Balderson said. “Instead of listening to grid operators, they race to advance extreme policies that threaten our most dependable power sources.”
The legislation would require the North American Electric Reliability Corp. to publish an annual assessment of whether the electric grid can meet current and future electricity demand “at all times.”
