Reliable Power Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 951, I call up the bill (H.R. 3616) to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to review regulations that may affect the reliable operation of the bulk-power system, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

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Mr. WEBER of Texas. 3616.

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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3616, the Reliable Power Act, sponsored by my colleague from Ohio's 12th Congressional District, Mr. Troy Balderson.

Put simply, this bill protects reliability that is critical to the economy as well as public health.

The bill protects the public from future Federal rules that would force the premature retirement of power generation that is absolutely essential to keeping our grid reliable.

Madam Speaker, our Nation today is confronting a reliability crisis. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, which is the Nation's electric reliability organization, shows vast regions of our Nation are at risk for blackouts when weather events and peak demand collide. It is only going to get worse.

The Energy and Commerce Committee has repeatedly heard from grid authorities about the massive number of premature retirements of baseload power in our very own electric system. These retirements take much-needed energy out of the grid system without adequate replacement of the types of baseload power needed to maintain reliability.

The numbers are staggering, Madam Speaker. Over the next decade, 115GW of power is expected to come offline while 151GW of demand is needed to come online. Do that math.

For too long, radical green activists in the Obama and Biden administrations were able to hijack environmental agencies with no authority over the grid to force shutdowns of power plants without regard to the impacts on that very reliability I said we depend on.

Madam Speaker, if the Biden EPA's radical clean power plan 2.0 had gone forward, it would have shut down most of the Nation's coal-fired power and threatened the closing of a substantial number of existing gas generation plants to disastrous effect.

We cannot--we must not--let Federal agencies with no authority over electric reliability undermine that very vital electric service. Congress already established the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as the reliability authority, but when FERC is needed most, there is no requirement that its expert views should be accommodated. This bill fixes that. Let me repeat: This bill fixes that.

During periods of increased reliability risks, FERC, informed by the technical expertise of grid operators and NERC, can require changes before a rule can be finalized. FERC will not stop agencies from pursuing their policy responsibilities effectively. It just protects reliable power.

The legislation is necessary to provide a mechanism to adjust Federal rules to ensure they protect electric reliability, which is so essential, Mr. Speaker, to the economy, our public health, and, yes, our safety.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3616, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. WEBER of Texas.

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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio's 12th Congressional District, Troy Balderson, for sponsoring this important legislation.

H.R. 3616, the Reliable Power Act, provides a critical tool to protect the public from future Federal rules that would force the premature retirement of power generation that is absolutely essential to keeping our grid reliable.

The Reliable Power Act, Mr. Speaker, is about safety. It is about security. It is also, quite frankly, about affordability. There is nothing more expensive, Mr. Speaker, than a blackout, a rolling blackout. I know.

There is nothing more costly than green visions that drive out affordable power for expensive overbuilding of weather-dependent generation and backup power. That is why these electric bills are rising.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot afford to let radical rules destroy reliability in our great Nation. H.R. 3616 provides a way to adjust proposed rules to absolutely ensure good Federal policies while protecting electric reliability. A ``yes'' vote on H.R. 3616 is a vote for that kind of reliable power. There is nothing more important for our electric policy than that, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3616, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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