Regulatory Affairs news highlights: July 2026

 

Recent regulatory headlines we’re tracking include:

 

U.S. House passes four bills related to reliability and resilience

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed four different bills related to reliability and resilience: HR 7257 (the SECURE Grid Act); HR 7258 (the Energy Emergency Leadership Act); HR 7266 (the Rural and Municipal Cybersecurity Act); and HR 7305 (the Energy Threat Analysis Center Act). The bills now go to the Senate for consideration.

The SECURE Grid act would require states to address the security of local distribution systems in their state energy security plans (including planning for physical threats, weather-related risks, and cyber security threats). The Energy Emergency Leadership Act would expand the list of responsibilities assigned to the Department of Energy (DOE) assistant secretaries to include energy emergency and security functions (e.g., responsibilities related to resilience, emerging threats, cybersecurity, supply, and emergency planning and preparedness). It would also require the DOE to provide technical assistance upon request to help protect against, detect, and respond to energy security threats.

The Rural and Municipal Cybersecurity Act would reauthorize a DOE program that provides cyber security-related assistance and funding to rural electric cooperatives and municipal or small investor-owned utilities. It also specifies that information shared under the program would be exempt from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosure or any other similar open disclosure laws. The Energy Threat Analysis Center Act would reauthorize and expand a DOE program for the Energy Threat Analysis Center, a public-private partnership that uses industry data and government intelligence to identify and analyze threats.

 

U.S. House introduces bill aimed at using advanced transmission technology to reduce rates

The U.S. House introduced a new bill (H.R. 9335) titled the “Advanced Transmission Technology to Reduce Rates Act,” that if passed would require the DOE to create a “public clearinghouse” that includes: 1) a list of DOE projects and activities related to advanced transmission technology (ATT); 2) information on financial assistance available for ATT; 3) analysis of the effects of ATT on the “efficient transmission of electricity” (such as expanded capacity); 4) analysis of costs and benefits of ATT to electric utilities and ratepayers; and 5) analysis of how geography or weather affects the cost-effectiveness of ATT. ATT includes any technology that increases the capacity, efficiency, or reliability of an existing or new transmission facility (such as dynamic line ratings or advanced conductors).

The bill also states that the DOE would provide technical assistance to utilities upon request to help them use the public clearinghouse and to transmission organizations upon request to help them include ATT in their transmission planning. The DOE would also provide technical assistance to state regulatory authorities upon request to help them develop regulatory frameworks and conduct cost-benefit analyses for ATT in their states.

 

FERC technical conference focuses on increasing market and planning efficiency through improved software

FERC held a technical conference on Increasing Market and Planning Efficiency through Improved Software on July 7-8. The first day focused on opportunities and challenges associated with successfully deploying grid-enhancing technologies and improving load forecasting practices in the face of rapid increases in demand on the system. Day two included presentations from Argonne National Laboratory and others on software to optimize rechargeable storage resources, and software to improve modeling and rapid deployment of resources near load. A recording of the conference is available here.

 

DOE seeks public input on transmission needs study to help inform investments and planning

The DOE’s Office of Electricity has published a draft of its 2026 National Transmission Needs Study to Strengthen America’s Grid for a 60-day public comment period. The DOE is seeking public comment to help inform how it will address these needs with investments and planning.

The draft study shows that there is a pressing need for additional electric transmission infrastructure due to load growth from data centers, expanding domestic manufacturing, large industrial loads, and a growing economy.

Required by the Federal Power Act (FPA), the study identifies high impact needs and provides information about current and anticipated future capacity constraints and congestion on the nation’s electric transmission grid. The DOE’s Office of Electricity has published an informational webinar about the study that is available here and the full draft is available here.