Congressman Brett Guthrie, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Bob Latta, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, announced on May 6 a hearing titled ‘Wires, Rates, and States: Permitting Transmission for Reliable and Affordable Power.’ The hearing is scheduled for May 13 at 10:15 AM ET in the Rayburn House Office Building and will be open to the public and press.
According to Guthrie and Latta, “Strengthening our grid and winning the race for AI dominance requires the right power at the right time. As we continue to unleash American energy, it’s critical we have the infrastructure necessary to deliver electricity from power generators to those who need it. For more than a century, states have led the way on siting and permitting transmission lines, overseeing environmental reviews, and ensuring needed projects are built in a way that supports the communities where they are located. This hearing will provide the opportunity to examine ways we can meet growing demand, address the federal hurdles that too often slow down needed development, and deliver reliable and affordable energy.”
Michael Skelly, co-founder and CEO of Grid United LLC, is scheduled to testify before the subcommittee. According to Skelly’s prepared testimony: “Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the urgent need to permit and build transmission so we can deliver reliable, affordable power for American families and businesses. I am Michael Skelly, co-founder and CEO of Grid United. We develop and finance large, multi-state transmission projects that connect regions, move low-cost power to where it is needed, and strengthen reliability. Done right, transmission delivers three core benefits: (1) lower costs by relieving congestion and accessing the lowest-cost generators… (2) higher reliability by sharing reserves…; (3) better resilience by providing alternate pathways when extreme weather or equipment failures stress the grid.” Skelly said their projects are generation agnostic networked infrastructure designed to improve reliability across regions.
Skelly highlighted ongoing work such as the North Plains Connector Project—a 3 gigawatt connection between Bismarck, North Dakota and Colstrip, Montana—as an example of interregional transmission efforts intended to allow grids on each side to support one another during high demand periods. He said price disparities across U.S. regions demonstrate inefficiencies caused by limited grid connectivity.
In his testimony Skelly called for congressional action focused on permitting certainty with clear timelines as well as cost-allocation reform that aligns costs with benefits for interregional projects. He described Texas’ planning approach as an example of how regional upgrades can address local price disparities while improving overall system reliability.
The full details about this upcoming hearing are available at the organization’s press release.
