Fair Allocation of Interstate Rates Act
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Fair Allocation of Interstate Rates Act prevents electricity transmission companies from passing on costs of certain power transmission lines and facilities to consumers in states that did not agree to those projects. Specifically, if a transmission facility is built to implement one state's energy policy, consumers in other states cannot be forced to pay for it unless their state expressly consents.
Who Benefits and How
Electricity consumers in states that did not adopt renewable energy or other transmission-driving policies are the primary beneficiaries. They would be protected from having to subsidize transmission infrastructure built primarily to serve another state's policy goals. For example, if State A mandates renewable energy that requires new transmission lines, consumers in State B would not have to pay for those lines unless State B agrees.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Transmission providers (utility companies that operate interstate electricity transmission) face new restrictions on how they allocate costs across their service territories. They may need to restructure their cost recovery methods and cannot simply spread transmission facility costs across all customers in multiple states.
Consumers in states with covered policies may face higher electricity costs, as they would bear a larger share of transmission infrastructure costs that were previously spread across multiple states.
Key Provisions
- Prohibits transmission providers from allocating costs of "covered transmission facilities" to consumers in states that did not consent
- Defines "covered transmission facility" as any facility built in whole or in part to implement a state policy
- Creates a presumption that benefits of such facilities accrue only to the states whose policies drove their construction
- Allows states to expressly consent to receiving cost allocations if they choose
- Requires FERC to issue implementing regulations within 180 days of enactment
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Prohibits transmission providers from allocating costs for certain electric transmission facilities to consumers in states that did not expressly consent to the facility.
Key Policy Areas
Energy, Regulation
Primary Purpose
Prohibits transmission providers from allocating costs for certain electric transmission facilities to consumers in states that did not expressly consent to the facility.
Policy Domains
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Cramer (for himself and Mr. Hoeven) introduced the following …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and …
Introduced in Senate
Impact analysis is available but no clear stakeholder effects identified. View clause-level analysis →
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
a policy of a State, including any policy of a local political entity of a State
any facility, line, equipment, or system used for the transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce that is planned, constructed, or operated in whole or in part to implement a covered policy
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.
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