Why It Matters
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) backstop siting of power lines would reach most of the country under a bill pending before the Senate, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.
Section 2101 of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (S. 5653) would exempt only the area of Texas served by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Today FERC may issue construction permits only in corridors the Department of Energy (DOE) designates.
For Congress, the choice is whether to replace that corridor limit with a nationwide reach. For the Trump administration, DOE's authority to designate National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors would be repealed.
The Big Picture
Eligibility would change. Current law requires facilities to significantly reduce transmission congestion. The bill would instead require them to protect or benefit consumers, improve reliability and facilitate reasonable rates.
Facilities would also have to be rated at not less than 230 kilovolts or be necessary to interconnect such facilities. Advanced conductors would follow a voltage standard FERC determines. The criteria for state consideration of an application would not change.
FERC would also take into account input from affected landowners, as the bill defines them.
On timing, current FERC policy bars developers from pre-filing with FERC while they submit a state application. The bill would let pre-filing start before a state application, but no later than its submission.
On costs, owners of qualifying facilities would have to ask FERC to allocate costs to customers, whether or not FERC issues a construction permit. The allocation would need to be "at least roughly commensurate" with specified benefits. Customers receiving "no benefit, or benefits that are trivial in relation to the costs sought to be allocated" could not be involuntarily allocated costs.
CRS says these principles are similar to existing FERC policies for projects identified through regional and interregional planning.
The Bottom Line
S. 5653 was introduced Sept. 30 and referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where Congress.gov lists its status as introduced. The changes to FERC's authority take effect only if the bill is enacted.
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