Legislation· Dec 2025Sponsored by H. Morgan Griffith (R)
Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025
Would let FERC order power plants to stay open for up to five years if their closure threatens grid reliability.
Tradeoff
Allows federal regulators to keep aging power plants operating to prevent blackouts. Exempts those plants from some environmental rules while operating under the order.
What's in it
No measurable federal cost or deficit impact over 2025–2035; small workload effect on FERC offset by fee authority.
The $0 federal cost reflects only FERC's administrative overhead to implement the rule, which is recovered through existing fee authority; the policy's real burden falls on power plant owners who must comply with retention orders and on electricity consumers who may pay higher rates to cover those operational costs.
The House passed this 222-202 on December 16, 2025. A failed 207-218 the same day. The bill is now in the Senate.
House
Introduced
(May 29, 2025)
House
Committee on Energy and Commerce(May 29, 2025)
House
The Committee on Energy and Commerce voted to send it to the floor
Reported 25 - 21(Jun 25, 2025)
Committee report H. Rept. 119-307.
House
On
Failed(Roll #341 · Dec 16, 2025)
207 yeanay 218House
Passage of the bill
Passed(Roll #342 · Dec 16, 2025)
222 yeanay 202Senate
Received from the House
on Energy and Natural Resources(Dec 17, 2025)
- Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA)
- Jay Obernolte (R-CA)
- Robert F. Onder (R-MO)
- Carol D. Miller (R-WV)
Passage votes so far· Dec 16, 2025· 119th Congress · 2025–2027