Why It Matters
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) would determine whether federal permitting authority can override state objections to high-voltage transmission lines. Energy developers, state regulators and utility ratepayers are watching the impact of these these developments closely, according to a new Congressional Research Service report.
FERC's backstop siting power allows the federal government to approve transmission projects in designated corridors when states fail to act or deny permits. That authority has been contested in courts and revisited by Congress repeatedly since it was first established, making the current bill another chapter in a long-running dispute over the boundary between federal energy policy and state land-use control.
The Big Picture
The CRS report examines the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 and its provisions affecting FERC's backstop siting authority. Under current law, FERC holds conditional authority to site transmission facilities in federally designated National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors when states fail to act or deny permits. That authority traces to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which first granted it.
Courts subsequently narrowed FERC's backstop siting powers, finding that the agency could not exercise jurisdiction when a state had already denied a permit application. Congress has revisited the scope of that authority in legislation since then, and the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 represents the latest effort to clarify or expand it.
The bill's title signals bipartisan support, which is notable given that transmission siting has historically divided lawmakers along regional and jurisdictional lines. States have resisted federal preemption of their land-use and permitting decisions, and that tension has slowed or blocked numerous transmission projects over the years.
FERC backstop siting authority sits at the intersection of federal energy policy and state sovereignty. Grid planners have identified transmission buildout as necessary to integrate renewable generation and meet growing electricity demand, but siting disputes have repeatedly delayed or blocked projects before they reach construction.
The bill's provisions would, if enacted, give FERC a stronger legal basis to approve projects over state objections, shifting the balance of authority in a way that transmission developers and state utility commissions would need to account for in project planning and regulatory strategy.
The Bottom Line
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 is before Congress, and its fate will determine whether FERC gains stronger legal footing to approve transmission projects over state objections. If the bill advances, state utility commissions and transmission developers would face a materially different federal permitting landscape for high-voltage infrastructure.
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