H.R. 3751

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3751 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3751

To prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
from enforcing a rule or regulation that restricts certain operations 
of certain electric generating units, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 5, 2025

Mr. Burlison (for himself, Mr. Gill of Texas, and Ms. Hageman) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
from enforcing a rule or regulation that restricts certain operations 
of certain electric generating units, 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 ``Reliable Grid Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) reliable, affordable electricity is a fundamental 
prerequisite for a healthy human environment and must be a 
central consideration in all regulations;
(2) the Administrator should prioritize the reliability of 
the electric grid when considering new regulations and avoid 
imposing any regulations that may compromise such reliability 
by prematurely retiring essential electric generating units;
(3) NERC has already identified the threats of 
``insufficient dispatchable resources'' and ``low capacity 
reserves'' across the United States, at the same time as demand 
increases from electrification, including the forced adoption 
of electric vehicles and the decline of reliable capacity such 
as natural gas, coal, petroleum, nuclear, and geothermal energy 
in favor of unreliable solar and wind capacity;
(4) the operators of major regional power grids in the 
United States notified former Administrator Regan in August 
2023, in response to proposed rulemaking, that energy and 
environmental policies ``could well exacerbate the disturbing 
trends and growing risk wherein the pace of retirements of 
generation with attributes needed to ensure grid reliability is 
rapidly exceeding the commercialization of new resources 
capable of providing those reliability attributes'';
(5) administrators under the Biden administration and 
certain administrations preceding the Biden administration 
imposed regulations that forced the premature retirement of 
reliable power generation capacity, which was not replaced with 
adequate new reliable capacity, primarily from coal and natural 
gas electric generating units, causing increased shortages of 
electricity and challenges to the reliable operation of the 
power grid;
(6) such regulations included the--
(A) ``New Source Performance Standards for 
Greenhouse Gas Emissions From New, Modified, and 
Reconstructed Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating 
Units; Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions 
From Existing Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating 
Units; and Repeal of the Affordable Clean Energy Rule'' 
(89 Fed. Reg. 39798 (May 9, 2024));
(B) ``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air 
Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam 
Generating Units Review of the Residual Risk and 
Technology Review'' (89 Fed. Reg. 38508 (May 7, 2024)); 
and
(C) ``Supplemental Effluent Limitations Guidelines 
and Standards for the Steam Electric Power Generating 
Point Source Category'' (89 Fed. Reg. 40198 (May 9, 
2024));
(7) such regulations have led to the retirement of reliable 
electric generating units and major capacity inadequacies in 
Texas, California, and other areas across the United States, 
and regulations continue to threaten the reliability of the 
grid in the United States;
(8) jeopardizing the reliability of the electric grid 
through regulations that have the potential to prematurely 
retire reliable electric generating units immediately endangers 
the human environment, health, and life of all individuals in 
the United States;
(9) such jeopardization runs counter to the mission of the 
Environmental Protection Agency to ``protect human health and 
the environment'';
(10) the desire of former Administrator Regan to rapidly 
retire reliable coal and natural gas electric generating units 
in favor of unreliable solar and wind electric generating units 
has exacerbated the shortfall of reliable capacity beyond the 
alarming projections noted by industry in 2023;
(11) the desire of former Administrator Regan to electrify 
many energy uses, from cooking and heating to transportation, 
across the United States has exacerbated the threat of capacity 
inadequacy and reduced the reliability of the electric grid 
during peak demand periods;
(12) the Administrator should, in coordination with public 
utilities and operators of electric generating units--
(A) identify the electric generating units in 
danger of premature retirement because of existing 
regulations; and
(B) provide waivers, to the extent possible, to 
prevent the premature shutdown of such electric 
generating units due to such regulations and support 
the supply of reliable electricity, especially given 
the warnings from Chairman Christie of the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission that the United States is 
``heading for a reliability crisis'';
(13) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should 
coordinate with NERC to develop new standards relating to the 
reliability of the grid in the United States that acknowledge 
that unreliable solar and wind electric generating units can 
perform at near-zero capacity during peak demand and under 
extreme weather conditions;
(14) the operators of regional power grids have assumed a 
higher level of power generation from such solar and wind 
electric generating units, which has caused such operators to 
plan the electric generation resources and dispatchable 
reserves of such operators poorly; and
(15) the Administrator should halt the implementation of 
rules and regulations from former Administrator Regan related 
to the electric power sector and ensure that any future rules 
related to the electric power sector are proposed concurrently 
with sufficient evidence that--
(A) such rules and regulations do not lead to any 
further premature retirement of a reliable electric 
generating unit; and
(B) the bulk-power system across all regional 
transmission organizations and independent system 
operators in the United States can reliably meet the 
demand for electricity without frequent outages and 
inadequately low capacity safety margins.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON ENFORCEMENT OF RULES AND REGULATIONS RELATING TO 
CERTAIN ELECTRIC GENERATING UNITS.

The Administrator may not enforce a rule or regulation that 
restricts the continuous, previously permitted operation of any 
dispatchable electric generating unit unless and until NERC categorizes 
all areas served by the bulk-power system as ``normal risk'', pursuant 
to the assessment published by NERC in December 2023 entitled the 
``2023 Long-Term Reliability Assessment''.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) Bulk-power system.--The term ``bulk-power system'' has 
the meaning given such term in section 215(a)(1) of the Federal 
Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)(1)).
(3) Dispatchable electric generating unit.--The term 
``dispatchable electric generating unit'' means any steam 
generating unit, integrated gasification combined cycle unit, 
stationary combustion turbine, or other type of unit that 
generates electricity that--
(A) is connected to the bulk-power system and 
subject to rules and regulations of the Environmental 
Protection Agency; and
(B) can, on demand, adjust the generation of such 
generating unit, combined cycle unit, combustion 
turbine, or other unit with precision to meet the 
requirements of the bulk-power system.
(4) NERC.--The term ``NERC'' means the North American 
Electric Reliability Corporation.
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