Key Takeaways
- •FERC is streamlining energy infrastructure permitting, exploring blanket authorizations for LNG and hydropower, and directed PJM to establish clear rules for co-located data centers to ensure reliability.
- •Witness Swett emphasized FERC's commitment to legal durability and reducing litigation by cleaning up regulations and streamlining processes for infrastructure development.
- •Frank Pallone (D-NJ-6) asked all five commissioners if they would commit to prioritizing energy affordability, to which all unanimously responded "yes."
- •Republicans (Latta, James) blamed "poor policy decisions" favoring renewables and "blue state policies" for high costs, while Democrats (Castor, Menendez) criticized the Trump administration's "sabotage" of clean energy.
- •FERC will continue implementing reforms and exploring new permitting approaches, focusing on cost allocation for large loads and grid modernization to ensure long-term affordability and reliability.
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Hearing Analysis
Overview
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy convened on February 3, 2026, for an oversight hearing titled “Oversight of FERC: Advancing Affordable and Reliable Energy for All Americans.” The hearing featured all five commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC): Chairman Laura Swett, and Commissioners David Rosner, Lindsay See, Judy Chang, and David LaCerte. The primary purpose of the session was to examine FERC’s role in managing a national "reliability crisis" characterized by skyrocketing electricity demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, aging infrastructure, and the retirement of traditional baseload power generation.
Chairman Robert Latta (R-OH-5) opened the hearing by highlighting a "five-alarm fire" in grid reliability, citing North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) data that suggests the risk of blackouts could increase 100-fold by 2030. He criticized "blue state" energy policies for prioritizing renewable goals over reliability and emphasized the need for FERC to remain an economic regulator focused on "just and reasonable" rates. Conversely, Ranking Member Kathy Castor (D-FL-14) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ-6) focused on the impact of recent extreme weather, such as Winter Storm Fern, and accused the Trump administration of "sabotaging" the grid by canceling funding for clean energy projects and slowing renewable permitting on federal lands.
Key Testimony
The testimony from the commissioners reflected a bipartisan consensus on the need for massive energy expansion. When asked by Chairman Latta if the U.S. needs more or less energy production, all five commissioners unanimously answered "more." Chairman Swett, appearing for the first time as chair, emphasized "legal durability" and "regulatory certainty" as her guiding principles. She announced that FERC is exploring the expansion of its "blanket authorization" program—currently used for natural gas pipelines—to include liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydropower facilities to speed up infrastructure development.
Overview
A significant portion of the hearing centered on the "speed to power" for AI data centers. Commissioner Rosner detailed FERC’s efforts to modernize the grid through Order No. 2023, which reforms generator interconnection processes. He highlighted the use of automation and AI tools in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region that reduced interconnection study times from 686 days to less than 10 days. Commissioner Chang emphasized that while load growth is an opportunity, FERC must ensure "consumer protection" so that large tech companies pay their fair share of grid upgrades rather than shifting costs to residential ratepayers. This was echoed by Rep. Robert Menendez (D-NJ-8), who discussed his "PRICE Act," which would require data centers to provide their own renewable energy to avoid burdening local communities.
Policy Proposals
Policy discussions also touched on transmission planning and federal-state jurisdictional boundaries. Commissioner See stressed the importance of respecting state authority in resource adequacy while advocating for "grid-enhancing technologies" (GETs) to maximize existing infrastructure. Commissioner Rosner discussed the implementation of Order No. 1920, which aims to modernize long-term transmission planning. Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA-50) pushed for more aggressive interregional transmission policies, suggesting that FERC should have more authority over "national interest corridors" currently managed by the Department of Energy (DOE).
Partisan Dynamics
Partisan friction was most evident regarding the fuel mix and the Trump administration’s executive actions. Republican members, including Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX-11) and Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL-6), argued that natural gas and coal remain the backbone of grid reliability, particularly during winter storms. They praised the administration for "righting the ship" toward baseload resources. Democrats, however, warned that the administration’s "war on clean energy" would ultimately raise prices and decrease reliability by blocking the cheapest forms of new generation. Rep. Menendez specifically called on the commissioners to act as "independent" regulators and stand up to "madness" coming from the White House regarding the cancellation of offshore wind and clean energy grants.
Industry Impact
Notable exchanges included a discussion on "co-location," where data centers are built directly next to power plants. Commissioner Rosner explained that FERC’s recent orders in the PJM Interconnection and Southwest Power Pool (SPP) regions aim to make these arrangements legal and transparent, reducing the need for costly new transmission lines. Rep. Rick Allen (G-GA-12) highlighted Georgia’s vertically integrated market as a model for success, noting that Georgia Power recently approved 10,000 megawatts of new generation while maintaining rate stability.
Policy Proposals
In terms of next steps, the commissioners indicated they are working toward a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) regarding blanket authorizations for LNG and hydropower. They also committed to prioritizing affordability in upcoming decisions related to PJM’s tariff revisions for large loads. Chairman Swett concluded by reaffirming FERC’s commitment to hiring more professional staff to handle the increased workload brought on by the global "energy arms race." No specific deadlines for new regulations were set, but the Commission signaled a high-priority focus on resolving pending dockets related to data center interconnection and regional transmission cost allocation throughout 2026.
Transcript
[Gavel sounds.] Well, good morning. The Subcommittee on Energy will now come to order. The chair recognizes himself for five minutes for an opening statement. Again, good morning and welcome to today's Energy Subcommittee hearing with all five commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Again, welcome. We welcome Chairman Swett and Commissioner LaCerte for their first appearance before our subcommittee and welcome back Commissioners Rosner, See, and Chang. FERC was established in 1970 by Congress as an economic regulator to ensure that electricity, natural gas, and oil was delivered to the American people safely, securely, and reasonably priced. Now, as our nation stands at the precipice of substantial change in the global economy, it is imperative for FERC to remain steadfastly focused on their core mission in order to fuel technological advancements and stabilize the bulk power system to keep the lights on. [Lights turn on.] And they just came on. It is no secret that our grid is under extreme stress. The head of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or NERC, called the reliability crisis a five-alarm fire. Average utility bills rose by 11 percent in 2025 after increasing by 29 percent in the four years prior, and substantially higher across our nation's blue states. Grid operators are flashing red alarms about the mismatch between growing demands and dwindling base load resources. In fact, the Department of Energy found that the current pace of base load retirements and load growth raised the risk of blackouts by 100 times by the year 2030. And across the country, a growing number of Americans are concerned about the potential for data center development to raise their utility bills. How did we get here? Decades of poor policy decisions from federal and state governments steered utilities away from reliability-centric investments and toward one intended to meet renewable energy goals. Even while fuel generation costs have plummeted since the shale revolution, utility spending has been buoyed by costly investments on transmission and distribution to connect variable remote resources like wind and solar. Across the country, retail rate filing cases at state commissions have highlighted several reasons for upward price pressures: transmission development for state energy policies, interest rates, wildfire and disaster mitigation, among others. In our wholesale market states, higher prices should act as a signal for new entrants. Unfortunately, permitting delays, excessive litigation, and blue state policies prevent pipeline construction or prevent market forces from responding appropriately. The current situation is untenable and also unsustainable. It is important to remind everyone about what's at stake in the AI race. Ask yourself, do you want your family's personal banking or health information stored in Communist China? By winning the AI race, reshoring manufacturing jobs and lowering costs are not mutually exclusive. When done properly, research continues to show that the growth of large energy users like data centers and manufacturing facilities can help stabilize the grid and make electricity more affordable. To achieve this reality, we need FERC to remain laser-focused on its core mission as an economic regulator. Along with the Trump administration, the commission is righting the ship toward a more secure and prosperous future for all Americans. Throughout 2025, FERC returned to a methodical approach to permitting interstate natural gas lines and LNG facilities. They are working to streamline the process for licensing hydropower facilities to maintain and grow vital base load resources. The commission has also made substantial progress on addressing jurisdictional lines between federal and state authority over co-location and flexible power arrangements. FERC, along with the administration and states, are ensuring that costs associated with the development of data centers are not falling on the backs of ratepayers. And importantly, the commission has continued working through the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners collaborative to establish meaningful, productive, and effective dialogue between federal and state partners to tackle challenges facing our nation's energy systems. While substantial progress has been made to reaffirm American energy dominance, more work remains. Today's hearing is a pivotal opportunity for the committee to better understand how FERC can best serve the interests of the American people. I look forward to today's discussion. And I yield back the balance of my time, and the chair recognizes the gentlelady from Florida's 14th District, the subcommittee ranking member, for an opening statement for five minutes.
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