Congressmen Brett Guthrie and Bob Latta have announced a legislative hearing titled “Assuring Abundant, Reliable American Energy to Power Innovation.” The hearing is set to take place on April 30, 2025, at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.
Chairmen Guthrie and Latta said, “Our nation is at an energy crossroads. It’s clear that securing our electric grid and powering AI will require abundant and reliable energy for decades to come.” They emphasized the importance of producing more baseload power to ensure American energy dominance.
The hearing will focus on several bills aimed at creating affordable and reliable energy to maintain the grid and support new technologies. Among these are the Reliable Power Act, GRID Power Act (sponsored by Rep. Balderson), Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025, Electric Supply Chain Act, Reliability Protection for States Act, State Planning for Reliability and Affordability Act, Hydropower Relicensing Transparency Act, National Coal Council Reestablishment Act, Securing America’s Critical Minerals Supply Act, Researching Efficient Federal Improvements for Necessary Energy Refining (REFINER) Act, Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act, Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2025 (sponsored by Rep. Pfluger), Improving Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act, and Expediting Generator Interconnection Procedures Act of 2025.
David L. Morenoff from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will provide testimony during the hearing. Key points from his testimony include FERC’s role in ensuring just rates for electricity and natural gas transmission while overseeing system reliability. He noted challenges such as increased electric demand threatening grid reliability due to retiring dispatchable generation without adequate replacements.
Morenoff highlighted FERC’s actions like Order No. 2023 which reforms interconnection rules to streamline new generation projects. He also mentioned regional solutions approved by FERC that fast-track viable projects and address diverse generation types’ reliability contributions.
In conclusion, Morenoff emphasized the need for affordable and reliable energy amid rising demand while urging collaboration to modernize the grid.
The hearing will be open to the public and press with a livestream available online.
Information from this article can be found here.
