Guaranteeing Reliability Through the Interconnection of Dispatchable Power Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 707, I call up the bill (H.R. 1047) to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reform the interconnection queue process for the prioritization and approval of certain projects, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

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Mr. GUTHRIE. 1047.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1047, the GRID Power Act, sponsored by my colleague, Representative Troy Balderson of Ohio's 12th District.

This legislation would ensure that grid operators have the tools they need to secure the reliability of the electricity grid in the event there is a capacity shortfall.

Across two-thirds of the country, grid operators are charged with ensuring that the lights stay on when you flip a switch. Reliability isn't a luxury. It is a critical necessity to our way of life and one of the reasons our economy is the greatest in the world.

Unfortunately, decisions made by the last administration favoring intermittent, unreliable sources, often at the expense of on-demand, dispatchable resources like fossil fuels, have made the grid operators' jobs nearly impossible.

We know that baseload and dispatchable power resources provide the essential reliability services necessary to maintain the stability of the electric system at an affordable price. This legislation provides a pathway for grid operators to bring these resources online quickly if there is a demonstrated need.

Importantly, this bill does not alter the existing interconnection process and will work in tandem with reforms made in FERC order number 2023 to alleviate some of the backlogs we have witnessed over the past several years.

If we fail to build the dispatchable resources needed to power next- generation industries, we will cede American leadership on the world stage to Communist regimes such as China and raise costs on consumers along the way.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation as it will make our grid more reliable and lower America's electricity bills.

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Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Balderson for sponsoring the GRID Power Act.

Mr. Speaker, this is part of the strategy we all have to do to produce more power so we can have cheaper power. Demand is rising. We need supply to rise. We need supply of dispatchable power to rise.

I do believe in the all of the above. I also believe it is also the best of the above. Dispatchable power is important, and I encourage a ``yes'' vote.

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