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206 Reps Voted Against Grid Reliability

September 26, 2025

Need to know

 

Common sense

PRIORITY FOR DISPATCHABLE POWER: Rep. Troy Balderson’s (R-OH) latest energy legislation is a massive step in the right direction, giving dispatchable power plants priority in interconnection queues. This comes as America faces a looming energy crisis.

The GRID Power Act directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to develop rules that authorize grid operators — transmission providers, regional and independent operators — to expedite critical projects that ensure grid reliability and meet growing power demands.

Why it matters: Manufacturers, traditional energy producers and business and industry leaders have voiced their support of Balderson’s measure, which passed 216-206, with 5 Democrats crossing the aisle.

Those pro-energy Democrats, as shown in our TEA candidate scorecards last year, like Henry Cuellar, Texas; Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Washington; Donald Davis, North Carolina; Luis Correa, California; and Jared Golden, Maine; supported the measure.

We ask why did Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania vote Nay, since he represents a major energy producing state? Seems a bit odd that he would not support a bill that strengthens our power grid.

Sens. John Hoeven (R-North Dakota) and Todd Young (R-Indiana) have introduced a companion bill in the Senate.

Consider:

  • With the nation’s power demand far outpacing its ability to generate more electricity, our grid is heading toward a reliability crisis.
  • This bill speeds up the wait time. In recent years, wait times for power projects have skyrocketed, averaging up to five years, while electricity demand surges.
  • New data centers and emerging AI technology will only further strain the grid in the future.

Balderson hits the nail squarely on the head, saying: “These facilities are powering the American AI revolution, but we must ensure we can keep them running while also providing reliable, affordable energy to Ohio families.”

But Ohio isn’t the only state affected; others in the 13-state PJM territory are facing similar power issues. This legislation empowers grid operators to expedite the dispatch of power projects, such as those utilizing natural gas, to enhance grid reliability and stability.

“The interconnection queue is overwhelmed and bogged down, leaving shovel-ready power projects waiting for years while demand continues to climb,” Balderson said in a news release.

We urge the passage of these two pieces of legislation and a signature by President Trump. To further bolster America’s energy needs, Congress should enact federal energy legislation that ensures “affordable energy” through the ARC Energy Security Act.

Bottom line: By prioritizing dispatchable power generation, the GRID Power Act bolsters grid reliability and energy security. Once again, Rep. Balderson leads on smart energy policy.

 

Nonsense

BLAME GAME HOLDS NO WATER: Rising electricity prices are being blamed on President Trump by those on the left and many in the media.

Why it matters: This Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Rahm Emanuel is, to put it bluntly, ignorant. His premise is that higher electricity bills are a direct result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut green-energy subsidies.

Others have written similar narratives, all equally uninformed.

Here are the facts:

  • Wind and solar subsidies established by the Inflation Reduction Act are still available for projects that are placed in service before December 31, 2027. In other words, the cuts haven’t taken effect yet.
  • The recent price increases all occurred while massive solar and wind subsidies were in place.
  • Billions in subsidies have been handed out to wind and solar over the past decade. After the passage of the IRA, those numbers grew even more.

  • From 2015 to 2024, the cost of federal subsidies ballooned from $20 billion in annual spending to $421 billion.

Mr. Emanuel is right about one thing. Prices were already rising.

However, he maintains that these cuts only add insult to injury. More than 11,000 power generation and consumption projects await regulatory approval, with interconnections stalled for an average of five years.

The Democrat operative fails to mention that much of this backlog occurred under the leadership of his friend and former President Joe Biden.

Here is a dose of reality: The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, was certainly not the beginning of exponentially higher federal subsidies going to renewable energy sources over traditional energy sources, such as natural gas, nuclear, and oil.

However, those advocating for free money for unreliable renewables (like Mr. Emanuel) conceal the real story. Based on the “projections” from organizations like Energy Innovation, all those tax breaks (that come out of the pockets of American taxpayers) for wind and solar energy over the last decade should have resulted in significant savings on our energy bills, right?

Not so much. Why?

Their numbers aren’t real. They’re based on “simulators” and “models.” As TEA has pointed out, it’s all a Green Fairy Tale.

Bottom line:The green-at-all-costs movement is arguing that IRA subsidy cuts resulted in higher electricity prices. The facts tell the opposite story: green subsidies helped create the situation we’re currently in.

 

A look ahead

Nothing on the calendar for next week!

 

Quote of the week

“Natural gas is a strategic advantage for the United States, and the advantage keeps growing.”

— Energy consultant Steve Everley, on X.