Utilities get new power to shift transmission costs to ratepayers
H.R. 9843 — Enhancing Electric Grid Resilience Act · Filed by Kathy Castor (D-FL) · Introduced Jul 22, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends federal power law to allow utilities proposing large interstate or offshore transmission lines (1,000+ megawatts capacity, or 500+ megawatt expansions) to file tariffs with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that allocate construction costs to customers in their region based on the benefits those customers receive. The bill requires cost allocation to be 'roughly commensurate' with anticipated benefits across reliability, economics, public policy, and resilience factors.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to establish a new regulatory mechanism allowing utilities to propose cost-allocation tariffs for major transmission projects, shifting authority from FERC's existing cost-allocation standards to utility-proposed tariffs tied to broad benefit categories.
What the text implies
- The phrase 'broad range of reliability, economic, public policy, resilience, and other reasonably anticipated benefits' is undefined and grants utilities significant discretion to classify costs as benefits, potentially allowing cost-shifting to ratepayers who do not directly benefit from the transmission facility.
- By allowing utilities to propose tariffs rather than requiring FERC to set cost allocation ex ante, the bill shifts the burden of proof: FERC must reject a tariff rather than approve one, potentially favoring utility proposals.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
large integrated utilities (WEC, AEP, EIX, NRG); transmission-focused utilities and operators; offshore wind developers and transmission operators