Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025

Sponsor: H. Morgan Griffith (Republican-VA)May 29, 2025

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Requires power plants to give 5 years' notice before closing and lets federal regulators order them to stay open.

This bill would require power plants to give 5 years' notice before they plan to shut down. It would also give federal regulators the power to order power plants to keep running if electricity service is at risk. This could lead to steadier electricity for homes and businesses, but might also mean higher costs and allow plants to bypass some environmental rules when following these orders.

What Would Change

Today, federal regulators cannot force power plants to stay open, nor do power plants have to give a 5-year warning before closing. If this bill passes, federal regulators would gain the power to order power plants to continue operating to ensure reliable electricity, and power plants producing 5 megawatts or more would need to give a 5-year notice before planned retirements. Actions taken to comply with these orders would also be protected from environmental law violations.

Key Provisions

Lets federal regulators order power plants to keep operating if electricity service is found to be or likely to become inadequate within 5 years.
Requires power plant owners to give at least 5 years' notice before planning to shut down electric generating units that produce 5 megawatts or more.
Would prevent actions taken to follow a federal order to keep a power plant running from being considered a violation of federal, state, or local environmental laws.
Requires federal regulators to decide how much power plant owners are paid for keeping plants running and how those costs are shared among customers.
Allows federal regulators to require states and utilities to create long-term plans for power lines needed to provide reliable electricity.