The House just passed H.R. 3632, the Power Plant Reliability Act, and it’s a commonsense step to keep the lights on and costs from climbing even higher. For years, Washington and state-level mandates have pushed power plants to shut down before reliable replacements are in place. When supply shrinks and demand keeps rising, families and businesses pay the price. California knows this better than anyone, it’s seen the highest electricity price increases in the country over the last 20 years.
This bill strengthens existing law so states and grid operators can step in when a power plant closure in a neighboring state threatens reliability, and it requires a five-year notice before plants retire so planners aren’t caught flat-footed. The electric grid doesn’t stop at state lines, and one state’s decisions shouldn’t drive up costs or increase outage risks for everyone else. This legislation puts reliability and affordability back into the conversation and gives grid operators the tools they need to plan ahead instead of reacting to crises.
