BIG WIRES Act

Building Integrated Grids With Inter-Regional Energy Supply Act
Great Seal of the United States
Other short titlesBIG WIRES Act
Long titleA bill to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to establish minimum interregional transfer capabilities, and for other purposes.
Legislative history

The Building Integrated Grids With Inter-Regional Energy Supply (BIG WIRES) Act is a bill in the 118th United States Congress. Its provisions direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to "establish minimum interregional transfer capabilities", better coordinating construction of electrical transmission lines.[1]

The BIG WIRES Act was introduced in the United States Senate on September 18, 2023 by Senator John Hickenlooper (D‑CO) as S. 2827[2] and in the House of Representatives by Representative Scott Peters (D‑CA) as H.R. 5551.[3]

A map of United States electrical transmission needs; the 2021 Average $/MWh value of interregional price differences.
A map of United States electrical transmission needs; the 2021 Average $/MWh value of interregional price differences. The highest-value links are from Texas (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) to its neighboring regional interconnections, such as from Texas to the west, with a value of $138 million/MWh.

The BIG WIRES Act's provisions require each of the FERC transmission planning regions to have interregional transfer capacity equal to 30% of their peak electrical demand,[4] or an increase of 15% from the present, whichever is lower.[5] Its intent is to improve the United States electrical grid and make electricity more affordable.[6] After an 18-month rulemaking period, FERC would give its individual planning regions two years to plan grid upgrades.[7] Among other steps, regions would negotiate bilateral agreements on construction responsibility, funding, and timelines. If a region fails to file a plan with FERC for approval, FERC would be empowered to make those interregional plans.[8]

Representative Peters describes the bill as part of a larger effort to address climate change by reforming the construction permitting process in the United States and constructing more high-voltage transmission lines to enable clean energy investments.[9]

  1. ^ "Hickenlooper, Peters Introduce BIG WIRES Act to Reform Permitting, Lower Energy Costs | Senator John Hickenlooper" (Press release). September 15, 2023. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  2. ^ "BIG WIRES Act (S. 2827)". GovTrack.us. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  3. ^ "Text of H.R. 5551: BIG WIRES Act (Introduced version)". GovTrack.us. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  4. ^ Rochas, Anna Flávia (August 25, 2023). "US regulator urged to enforce grid build as Senators apply pressure". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  5. ^ Joselow, Maxine (September 15, 2023). "Analysis | Democrats hope to juice permitting talks with transmission bill". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Politico_DemsBet was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Hickenlooper-Peters BIG WIRES Act Would Speed Permitting Reform, Simplify Grid Upgrades | Senator John Hickenlooper". Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  8. ^ "Pending Senate bill would require 30% transfer capacity between regions: Hickenlooper aide". Utility Dive. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).