IIB 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3616 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
DECEMBER 18, 2025 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources 
AN ACT 
To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to 
review regulations that may affect the reliable operation 
of the bulk-power system. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reliable Power Act’’. 
SEC. 2. COMMISSION REVIEW AND COMMENT FOR COV-
ERED AGENCY ACTIONS. 
Section 215 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 
824o) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (g)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘The ERO’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The ERO’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) ANNUAL LONG-TERM ASSESSMENT.—The 
assessments under paragraph (1) shall include an 
annual long-term assessment, which shall include— 
‘‘(A) an analysis of the ability of the bulk- 
power system to supply sufficient electric en-
ergy necessary to maintain an adequate level of 
reliability, taking into account generation re-
source mix, transmission development, and elec-
tric energy demand trends; 
‘‘(B) an analysis of the risk of future elec-
tric energy supply shortfalls under normal and 
extreme weather conditions, and the risk of any 
such shortfalls within each region of the bulk- 
power system; and 
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‘‘(C) a determination of whether additional 
generation resources are necessary to supply 
sufficient electric energy to maintain an ade-
quate level of reliability during the assessment 
period. 
‘‘(3) NOTICE OF GENERATION INADEQUACY.— 
In conducting a long-term assessment under para-
graph (2), if the ERO finds that the bulk-power sys-
tem is at risk of not having adequate generation re-
sources to supply sufficient electric energy to main-
tain an adequate level of reliability, the ERO shall 
publicly notify the Commission that the bulk-power 
system is in a state of generation inadequacy. 
‘‘(4) DATA COLLECTION.—To conduct a long- 
term assessment under paragraph (2), the ERO may 
collect information and data from users, owners, and 
operators of the bulk-power system.’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsections (h) through (k) 
as subsections (i) through (l), respectively; and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(h) COMMISSION REVIEW AND COMMENT FOR COV-
ERED AGENCY ACTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) NOTICE TO FEDERAL AGENCIES.—If the 
ERO notifies the Commission under subsection 
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(g)(3) that the bulk-power system is in a state of 
generation 
inadequacy, 
the 
Commission 
shall 
promptly notify the Department of Energy, the En-
vironmental Protection Agency, and any other Fed-
eral agency the Commission determines appropriate 
of such state of generation inadequacy. 
‘‘(2) 
SUBMISSION.—Upon 
receiving 
notice 
under paragraph (1), the head of each Federal agen-
cy that received such notice shall provide to the 
Commission for review and comment any covered 
agency action by the Federal agency— 
‘‘(A) on the first date on which such cov-
ered agency action is provided to the Office of 
Management and Budget or any other Federal 
agency for review and comment; or 
‘‘(B) if such covered agency action is not 
provided to the Office of Management and 
Budget or any other Federal agency for review 
and comment, not later than 90 days before the 
date on which the covered agency action is pub-
lished in the Federal Register or is otherwise 
made available for public inspection or com-
ment. 
‘‘(3) COMMISSION
COMMENTS.—The Commis-
sion, in consultation with the ERO and transmission 
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organizations, shall, by order, provide to the agency 
head that provided to the Commission a covered 
agency action under paragraph (2)— 
‘‘(A) comments on such covered agency ac-
tion, which such comments may include an as-
sessment of the effect of the covered agency ac-
tion on rates, terms, and conditions for services 
pursuant to the authority of the Commission 
under sections 201 and 206; and 
‘‘(B) if applicable, recommendations for 
modifications to the covered agency action to 
prevent a significant negative impact on the 
ability of the bulk-power system to supply suffi-
cient electric energy necessary to maintain an 
adequate level of reliability. 
‘‘(4) AGENCY RESPONSE.—The head of a Fed-
eral agency may not finalize a covered agency action 
that is provided to the Commission under paragraph 
(2) until— 
‘‘(A) the agency head responds in writing 
to the Commission with an explanation of how 
the agency head modified, or why the agency 
head determined not to modify, such covered 
agency action in response to any comments and 
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recommendations provided by the Commission 
under paragraph (3); and 
‘‘(B) the Commission finds that the cov-
ered agency action will not be likely to have a 
significant negative impact on the ability of the 
bulk-power system to supply sufficient electric 
energy necessary to maintain an adequate level 
of reliability. 
‘‘(5) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF COMMENTS AND 
RESPONSES.—An agency head shall include any 
comments, recommendations, and responses for the 
covered agency action when— 
‘‘(A) submitting the covered agency action 
to the Federal Register for publication; or 
‘‘(B) otherwise making the covered agency 
action available for public inspection or com-
ment. 
‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) COVERED
AGENCY
ACTION.—The 
term ‘covered agency action’ means a regulation 
that— 
‘‘(i) relates to, or otherwise directly 
affects, any generation resource in the 
bulk-power system; and 
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‘‘(ii) is under development to be pro-
posed or otherwise under consideration in 
a rulemaking prior to finalization on the 
date on which the Federal agency receives 
notice from the Commission under para-
graph (1). 
‘‘(B) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘Fed-
eral agency’ means an Executive department 
(as that term is defined in section 101 of title 
5, United States Code) or any other Executive 
agency that is in the President’s cabinet.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives December 17, 
2025. 
Attest: 
KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 
Clerk. 
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