HR 8248

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 13, 2026

Mr. Gottheimer (for himself and Mr. Lawler) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To amend the Federal Power Act to allow a person to construct or modify an electric transmission facility in a national interest electric transmission corridor if the person self-certifies certain information to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Grid Expansion and Reliability Act”.

SEC. 2. SITING OF INTERSTATE ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION FACILITIES.

Section 216 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824p) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)—

(A) in paragraph (1), by striking “Secretary of Energy (referred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’)” and inserting “Federal Energy Regulatory Commission”; and

(B) in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), by striking “Secretary” each place it appears and inserting “Federal Energy Regulatory Commission”;

(2) by striking subsections (b) and (d) and inserting the following:

“(b) Self Certification Prior to Construction or Modification of Electric Transmission Facilities.—

“(1) In general.—Beginning on the date on which regulations are issued under paragraph (3), any person may construct or modify an electric transmission facility located in a national interest electric transmission corridor designated under subsection (a) if such person certifies the information described in paragraph (2).

“(2) Information described.—The information described in this paragraph is the following:

“(A) The exact legal name, title, mailing address, and principal place of business of the person who will construct or modify the electric transmission facility.

“(B) Whether the person who will construct or modify the electric transmission facility is an individual or corporation, and if the person is a corporation, the State under the laws of which such corporation is organized.

“(C) A concise description of any existing operations of the person who will construct or modify the electric transmission facility.

“(D) A concise description of the electric transmission facility to be constructed or modified, including the dates on which such construction or modification is expected to begin and be completed.

“(E) A table of contents that lists each document included in the certification.

“(3) Regulations.—Not later than 365 days after the date of enactment of the Grid Expansion and Reliability Act, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall issue regulations to carry out this subsection.

“(c) Annual Audits and Reports.—

“(1) Audits.—The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall annually audit each certification made under subsection

(b) to determine whether the certification included the information required by paragraph (2) of such subsection.

“(2) Reports.—Not later than 365 days after the date of enactment of the Grid Expansion and Reliability Act, and annually thereafter, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall submit to Congress a report describing—

“(A) the efficacy of the certification process under subsection (b) for authorizing the construction and modification of electric transmission facilities;

“(B) any issues that result from such process; and

“(C) recommendations for how to improve such process through additional legislation or regulation, if needed.”;

(3) in subsection (e)(1)—

(A) by striking “a permit under subsection (b) for electric transmission facilities to be located” and inserting “a person authorized pursuant to subsection

(b) to construct or modify an electric transmission facility”;

(B) by striking “the permit holder” each place it appears and inserting “such person”; and

(C) by striking “and, in the determination of the Commission, the permit holder has made good faith efforts to engage with landowners and other stakeholders early in the applicable permitting process” and inserting “permitting process”;

(4) in subsection (h)—

(A) by striking “Secretary” each place it appears and inserting “Federal Energy Regulatory Commission”;

(B) in paragraph (2), by striking “Department of Energy” and inserting “Federal Energy Regulatory Commission”; and

(C) in paragraph (9)—

(i) by striking subparagraph (A); and

(ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and

(C) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; and

(5) in subsection (i)—

(A) in paragraph (2), by striking “Secretary” and inserting “Federal Energy Regulatory Commission”; and

(B) in paragraph (4)—

(i) by inserting “Federal Energy Regulatory” before “Commission”;

(ii) by striking “Secretary” and inserting “Federal Energy Regulatory Commission”; and

(iii) by striking “in disagreement” and all that follows through “subsection (a).” and inserting the following: “in disagreement about the siting of transmission facilities within any State that is a party to the compact.”. <all>