Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Representative Kathy Castor (D-Fla.-14) introduced bicameral legislation to make it easier for new energy projects to connect to the U.S. electricity grid – in order to improve reliability and lower costs for families across the country.
“There are new energy projects being developed all over the country and we need to make sure they can get online as quickly as possible,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “By speeding up the slow and outdated process of connecting new projects to the grid, my bicameral legislation will lower energy costs for Nevada families and make our grids more reliable.”
“Across the United States, new energy projects are stalled, waiting in long lines to interconnect to the grid,” said Representative Castor. “Our bill would make commonsense reforms to the outdated, sluggish interconnection process and enable new energy generation to come online, faster. More energy generation on the grid means lower prices for consumers and more reliability throughout the electricity system.”
“Reducing barriers to all power plant development is a commonsense bipartisan imperative,” said Devin Hartman of R Street Institute. “These barriers threaten grid reliability in an era of resurgent growth in demand. Fortunately, the Expediting Generator Interconnection Procedures Act (EGIPA) would ensure the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finishes the job. It would bolster grid reliability, lower energy costs, and improve environmental outcomes by reducing regulatory impediments and facilitating freer markets. EGIPA is simply sound public policy.”
“The ongoing transformation of our energy landscape, characterized by the rapid retirement of power plants, the emergence of new technologies, the electrification of various sectors, a resurgence in load growth unseen for decades, and increasingly frequent extreme weather events, underscores consumers’ undeniable concerns regarding reliable and affordable electricity services,” said Karen Onaran, President and CEO of the Electricity Consumers Resource Council (ELCON). It is essential that we rapidly connect replacement resources to an upgraded and modern electricity grid. While we commend the efforts of FERC in streamlining the resource interconnection process, there remains more work to be done to address the challenges of tomorrow. The Expediting Generator Interconnection Procedures Act (EGIPA) proposes measures to further expedite and standardize the generator interconnection process, aiming for efficient and cost-effective solutions.”
The process of connecting new power plants to the national power grid – called interconnection – is complicated, expensive, and can take years to complete. Cortez Masto’s Expediting Generator Interconnection Procedures Act (EGIPA) would improve FERC’s interconnection process, making it faster and easier to complete. The bill would improve grid reliability and lower prices for consumers by making more energy options available.
The legislation is supported by 20 different organizations, including the Electricity Consumers Resource Council (ELCON), Electricity Customer Alliance, Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA), and R Street Institute.
As part of her Innovation State Initiative, Senator Cortez Masto has led efforts in Congress to support Nevada’s energy industries and cut through red tape, while lowering costs for families. At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing in March, she discussed the need to speed up interconnection processes with FERC nominees.
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