Recognizing that the retirement of nonintermittent electric generation facilities, before facilities with equal or greater reliability attributes are available, is a threat to the reliability of the United States electric grid.

Bill: 119-hres-290
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Fedorchak, Julie [R-ND-At Large]
Introduced: 2025-04-02
Policy area: Energy
Latest action: action_date: 2025-04-02
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Summaries:

tv_txt: IV 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 290 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 2, 2025 Ms. Fedorchak (for herself and Ms. Lee of Florida ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Recognizing that the retirement of nonintermittent electric generation facilities, before facilities with equal or greater reliability attributes are available, is a threat to the reliability of the United States electric grid.

Whereas the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, in the 2024 Long-Term Reliability Assessment, identified several transmission regions as being at elevated or high risk of electricity shortages during extreme weather conditions or normal peak conditions, including— (1) the Electric Reliability Council of Texas; (2) the Midcontinent Independent System Operator; (3) the New England Subregion of the Northeast Power Coordinating Council; (4) the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland Interconnection; (5) the East region of the SERC Reliability Corporation; (6) the Southwest Power Pool; and (7) the California and Mexico Subregion of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council; Whereas the North American Electric Reliability Corporation anticipates the reserve margins of 18 out of 20 transmission subregions to fall below their respective reference margins by 2034, 7 of which are anticipated to turn negative, meaning there will be less cushion, no cushion, or a negative cushion to handle unexpected spikes in electricity demand across most of the United States; Whereas the North American Electric Reliability Corporation considers the retirement of hydrocarbon-powered generation facilities, such as coal and natural gas, and the rapid interconnection of intermittent sources, such as solar and wind, as creating a variable and weather-dependent resource mix, negatively affecting essential services and overall electric grid reliability; Whereas the North American Electric Reliability Corporation acknowledges that natural gas pipelines are not being added to the United States resource mix fast enough to meet demand, leaving some areas with insufficient natural gas capacity for electric generation during peak demand; Whereas the North American Electric Reliability Corporation identified environmental regulations as the driving force behind retirements of coal, natural gas, and nuclear generators, which could have a profound and negative effect on the reliability of the bulk power system over the next decade; Whereas electricity consumption from artificial intelligence, regarded as a strategically important emerging technology by the Department of Defense, is expected to constitute up to 12 percent of total United States electricity consumption by 2030; Whereas total United States energy demand is expected to grow by 15 to 20 percent by 2035, according to the Department of Energy; Whereas the United States Energy Information Administration projects, under a high-growth scenario, that industrial sector energy consumption will increase by 32 percent by 2050; Whereas, on January 20, 2025, President Trump declared a National Energy Emergency, stating that the policies of the previous administration have pushed the United States into a crisis marked by an inadequate, intermittent energy supply and a growing risk of electric grid instability; Whereas addressing this National Energy Emergency requires immediate and decisive action to restore reliability and security to the United States electric grid; Whereas, on January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive order titled Unleashing American Energy which rightfully declares that it is in the national interest to unleash the affordable and reliable energy and natural resources of the United States; Whereas President Trump’s immediate attention to United States energy underscores the outsized role that energy has in the domestic economy, and how more domestic energy production will improve the affordability, reliability, and sustainability of the electric grid of the United States; and Whereas a free and competitive energy market will restore the United States to prosperity, including for middle-class men and women who have been forgotten by the economy in recent years, and will rebuild the economic and military security of the United States, which will deliver peace through strength: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1) recognizes the instability of the United States electric grid and the threat to electric grid reliability from the retirement of nonintermittent electric generation facilities without the replacement of such facilities with facilities with the same attributes; (2) recognizes that energy is not sustainable if it is not affordable and reliable; (3) recognizes that burdensome environmental regulations and market-distorting Federal incentives are the driving force behind premature retirements of nonintermittent electric generating facilities, which raises prices and reduces the reliability of electricity supply for United States households; and (4) supports President Trump’s efforts to unleash United States energy and encourages development of the God given resources of the United States.