Grid Expansion and Reliability Act

Key Points

• The bill lets companies build or upgrade power lines in nationally designated transmission corridors by simply filing basic information with the government, replacing the traditional lengthy federal permitting process with a self-certification system.
• The self-certification requires only basic business details and a project description, not a full environmental or engineering review. This dramatically lowers the barrier to starting construction.
• FERC must create the rules for this new system within one year of the bill becoming law. FERC would also audit each certification annually and report to Congress on whether the process is working.
• The bill preserves eminent domain authority for builders using this process, meaning companies can acquire private land for transmission projects even if landowners object. Notably, it removes the requirement that companies show "good faith efforts to engage with landowners and other stakeholders."
• The bill shifts authority over designating national interest electric transmission corridors from the Secretary of Energy to FERC, consolidating both the corridor designation and project oversight under a single agency.