Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025
Officially: “Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025” Read the full text
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1Short title
This section would let the Act be officially called the Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025 .
2Furnishing of adequate service; advance notice of planned retirements
This section would replace section 207 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824f) in full with a new version covering adequate-service orders and advance notice of power plant retirements. Adequate-service orders: if a State commission or a Transmission Organization files a complaint, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the Commission) gives notice to each affected State commission and public utility and provides an opportunity for a hearing within 90 days of receiving the complaint, the Commission can find that a public utility's interstate service is inadequate or insufficient, or is likely to become inadequate or insufficient within 5 years of receiving the complaint. If the Commission makes that finding, it must determine what adequate service looks like and fix it by issuing an order, rule, or regulation. In that order, rule, or regulation, the Commission may not compel a public utility to enlarge its generating facilities, and may not compel a public utility to sell or exchange electric energy if doing so would impair the utility's ability to provide adequate service to its own customers. The Commission may require an electric generating unit to keep operating, and may require an affected State commission, Transmission Organization, or public utility to develop and carry out a long-term plan for building and operating the interstate transmission facilities needed for adequate interstate service. The Commission must also determine any rate or charge needed to cover the additional cost of the adequate service, including compensation for an owner or operator whose generating unit is ordered to keep operating, and must determine how that rate or charge is allocated. Unless extended, an adequate-service order, rule, or regulation terminates on a date the Commission sets, which cannot be more than 5 years after the Commission issues it. An affected State commission, Transmission Organization, or public utility may ask the Commission to extend the order; the request must be submitted between 180 and 60 days before the order's termination date. Once the Commission receives an extension request, it must notify each affected State commission, Transmission Organization, and public utility within 14 days, must provide an opportunity for a hearing on the request, and must accept or deny the request within 60 days of receiving it. If the Commission grants the extension, the extended order, rule, or regulation terminates on a date the Commission sets, which cannot be more than 5 years after the date of the extension. To the extent that complying with an adequate-service order, rule, or regulation, including voluntary compliance, causes a party to be out of compliance with a Federal, State, or local environmental law or regulation, that noncompliance is not treated as a violation of the environmental law, and the party is not subject to any requirement, civil or criminal liability, or citizen suit under that environmental law because of it. Advance notice of planned retirements: an owner or operator of a generating facility that plans to retire an electric generating unit must notify the Commission and any affected State commission or Transmission Organization of the plan at least 5 years before the planned retirement date. This notice requirement does not apply if the unit is retired because of an unplanned catastrophe, emergency, disaster, or similar event that makes the unit inoperable. The Commission must make each notice it receives about a planned retirement publicly available. Definitions: bulk-power system has the meaning already given in section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act. An electric generating unit is an electric energy producing unit that is part of a generating facility, has a power production capacity of at least 5 megawatts, and is interconnected to the bulk-power system. To retire a unit means to idle it, disconnect it from the bulk-power system, or otherwise make all of the electric energy it generates unavailable for sale, for an indefinite period of time.
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2. Furnishing of adequate service; advance notice of planned retirements Section 207 of the Federal Power Act ( 16 U.S.C. 824f ) is amended to read as follows: 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. .
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In the House.