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On March 2, 2026, U.S. Senators Dave McCormick (R‑PA) and Peter Welch (D‑VT) introduced the Reconductoring Existing Wires for Infrastructure Reliability and Expansion (REWIRE) Act of 2026, a bipartisan bill that would modify federal permitting rules and address upgrades to the existing U.S. electric transmission system. The legislation proposes, among other things, to create a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) categorical exclusion for certain grid capacity projects in existing rights-of-way, direct FERC to revise its rules on return on equity for advanced transmission conductors, authorize additional uses of the Department of Energy (DOE) State Energy Program funds, and establish new DOE programs for grid modeling and technical assistance.

On June 2, the California Assembly passed a proposal to amend the state constitution and reduce the California Public Utilities Commission’s (“CPUC”) regulatory authority. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 11 (“ACA”), also referred to as the Public Utility Reform Act of 2016, was passed by the California Assembly by a 61-to-9 vote, and may ultimately be placed on the November 2016 ballot for consideration by California’s voters. If passed, the ACA would restructure the CPUC and reallocate many of the CPUC’s functions to other state agencies, departments, or boards. 

On May 14, 2014, the Interagency Infrastructure Steering Committee released its plan to address permitting for large-scale infrastructure, specifically electric and natural gas projects.  The Plan (titled “Implementation Plan for the Presidential Memorandum on Modernizing Infrastructure Permitting”) is designed to reduce the time needed to permit major projects by: (1) streamlining the permitting process at all levels of government; (2) reducing uncertainty in the application process; and (3) enabling hiring of more Federal agency staff.  The Plan is a result of the 2013 Presidential Memorandum directing the Steering Committee to develop an implementation plan for permitting reforms.

On October 29, 2013, Jeff Wright, Director of FERC’s Office of Energy Projects, testified before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Energy and Power regarding H.R. 3301, the proposed North American Energy Infrastructure Act (“H.R. 3301”).  In part, H.R. 3301 requires that FERC approve new pipeline projects at the Canadian and Mexican borders within 120 days of receiving requests for approval, unless the project is not in the interest of national security, and that approval of such projects are not major federal actions under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”).

On May 9, 2012, the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Energy and Power held a hearing on H.R. 4273: “Resolving Environmental and Grid Reliability Conflicts Act of 2012” and the “Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2012.”  H.R. 4273 purports to resolve the conflict for an electric generator who may be asked by DOE to run for the sake of electric reliability, even though it may be unable to comply with the recent suite of EPA power plant regulations.

On January 3, 2012, President Obama signed the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation Act of 2011 (“Pipeline Safety Act” or the “Act”) into law.  This Act marks the culmination of bipartisan efforts in the House and the Senate to examine and improve the state of pipeline safety regulation. The Act gives enhanced safety review authority to the Department of Transportation (“DOT”).