DATA Act of 2026
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
This bill creates a new kind of electric utility called a consumer-regulated electric utility, or CREU. A CREU must be a newly established, physically islanded system serving new electric loads outside the bulk-power system. If it qualifies, it is largely exempt from Federal energy regulation, including major parts of the Federal Power Act, DOE and FERC oversight, PURPA requirements, and PUHCA holding-company regulation.
Who Benefits and How
Developers and operators of new islanded power systems would get a broad deregulatory carveout, and large new electricity users that can be served by those systems would gain another supply option. Holding companies owning only those exempt systems would also avoid certain Federal holding-company rules. The bill also allows CREUs to use existing public rights-of-way under a narrower permitting review.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Incumbent regulated utilities and grid-connected suppliers could face new competition for large new loads. Federal energy regulators and reliability bodies would lose jurisdiction over qualifying CREUs unless they later connect to the grid. State and local governments would retain some right-of-way permitting authority, but their review would be limited to restoration and storm-response issues.
Key Provisions
- Defines CREUs as newly established, physically islanded systems serving new electric loads outside regulated utilities and the bulk-power system.
- Exempts CREUs from the Federal Power Act, reliability registration, DOE and FERC regulation, PURPA obligations, and PUHCA rules tied solely to CREU ownership.
- Provides that a CREU that connects to the bulk-power system immediately loses its exempt status and becomes subject to ordinary Federal regulation.
- Allows CREUs to construct and operate facilities in existing public rights-of-way while limiting permit review to restoration and storm-response adequacy.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Create a new category of physically islanded consumer-regulated electric utilities that can serve new electric loads while remaining exempt from most Federal energy regulation unless they connect to the broader grid.
Key Policy Areas
Energy
Primary Purpose
Create a new category of physically islanded consumer-regulated electric utilities that can serve new electric loads while remaining exempt from most Federal energy regulation unless they connect to the broader grid.
Policy Domains
Section 7 - Public rights-of-way construction
Identified Gains
- Consumer-regulated electric utilities building facilities in existing public rights-of-way
- New-load customers waiting for CREU service
Identified Costs
- State and local governments reviewing right-of-way applications
Sections 2-6 - Definitions and Federal energy-law exemptions
Identified Gains
- Developers and operators of new consumer-regulated electric utilities
- Large new electricity users that can be served by islanded CREUs
- Holding companies owning only consumer-regulated electric utilities
Identified Costs
- Incumbent regulated utilities and grid-connected power suppliers
- Federal energy regulators and reliability bodies
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Cotton introduced the following bill; which was read twice …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and …
Introduced in Senate
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Consumer-regulated electric utilities, Consumer-regulated electric utilities building facilities in existing public rights-of-way, Consumer-regulated electric utilities that later connect to the grid
Positive-direction: Consumer-regulated electric utilities, Consumer-regulated electric utilities building facilities in existing public rights-of-way, Holding companies that own only consumer-regulated electric utilities, New consumer-regulated electric utilities operating off-grid
Negative-direction: Consumer-regulated electric utilities that later connect to the grid
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Energy
- "electric_reliability_organization"
- → Electric Reliability Organization
- "consumer_regulated_electric_utility"
- → A newly established, physically islanded electric generation and supply system serving new loads
- "federal_energy_regulatory_commission"
- → Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- "public_utility"
- → A public utility as defined by the Federal Power Act
- "consumer_regulated_electric_utility"
- → A qualifying CREU seeking to build facilities in existing public rights-of-way
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Has the meaning given in section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act.
Has the meaning given in section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act.
An entity that buys retail electricity from a CREU, receives service exclusively through CREU-owned facilities, and is located on premises that are physically islanded from regulated utilities and the bulk-power system.
A newly established electric generation and supply system that serves only new electric loads, can own and operate generation, storage, transmission, distribution, and retail supply facilities, remains physically islanded from regulated utilities and the bulk-power system, and operates independently of any public utility.
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