To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to add a standard related to State consideration of reliable generation, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the …
Mr. Evans of Colorado (for himself and Mr. Langworthy) introduced …
On Passage
State Planning for Reliability and Affordability Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act to require state utility commissions to consider standards for maintaining "reliable generation" - power plants that can operate continuously for at least 30 days with on-site fuel or guaranteed fuel contracts. States must begin considering these standards within one year.
Who Benefits and How
Fossil fuel power plants (coal, natural gas) and nuclear plants benefit as they meet the "30-day continuous operation" standard with on-site or contracted fuel. Coal mining companies and natural gas producers benefit from requirements that favor their fuel sources. Grid reliability advocates benefit from explicit reliability planning requirements.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Renewable energy providers (solar, wind) may face disadvantages as intermittent sources typically cannot guarantee 30-day continuous operation. State utility regulators face new compliance obligations to consider these standards. Ratepayers may face higher costs if utilities must maintain older fossil fuel plants for reliability purposes.
Key Provisions
- Defines "reliable generation facility" as one that can operate continuously for 30+ days
- Requires facilities to have on-site fuel or contractual fuel supply guarantees
- Mandates facilities provide emergency operation capability and grid support services
- Requires state consideration of these standards within 1 year
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Requires states to consider maintaining reliable generation facilities that can operate continuously for 30 days, including during emergencies, as part of electric utility integrated resource planning
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Use PURPA standards process to favor baseload fossil fuel and nuclear generation over intermittent renewables by defining reliability in terms of fuel availability"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "state_regulatory_authority"
- → State public utility commissions with ratemaking authority
- "state_regulated_electric_utility"
- → Electric utilities subject to state regulation
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Electric generation facility with: (1) operational characteristics for 30+ day continuous operation, (2) adequate on-site fuel or contractual fuel supply for 30 days, (3) emergency/severe weather operation capability, (4) frequency and voltage support services
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology