By Skip Estes, Director of Government Affairs, SAFE
In late April, the House Energy & Commerce Energy Subcommittee held a hearing on the importance of meeting rising electricity demand while protecting ratepayers. American leadership in AI computing, reindustrialization, and consumer electrification represents the first rapid increase in electricity demand since air conditioning became prevalent. This demand must be met with new infrastructure, including generation and transmission assets. Unfortunately, this grid expansion imperative coincides with rising electricity bills for many Americans. This combination of energy policy problems has had the unexpected benefit of fostering bipartisan interest in growing the grid in Congress, and even between the Trump Administration and Democratic lawmakers.
When the 119th Congress gaveled in, Republicans found themselves with governing majorities in both Congressional chambers and control of the White House. Four years of the Biden Administration’s focus on wind and solar energy and states passing net-zero energy plans had the unintended consequence of implicating transmission—a necessary grid component—with Democratic priorities. New generation requires new transmission, and because wind and solar projects were responsible for almost all new capacity additions this decade, conservatives argued that new transmission projects were serving Democratic policy goals at ratepayers’ expense. Republican skepticism of transmission policy was first indicated through opposition to FERC Order No. 1920 and grid provisions of the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024. Actions like terminating the Grain Belt Express project and advancement of generation-focused bills confirmed these misgivings.
In late 2025, Republican attitudes toward transmission started to shift. Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY) joined Congressman Scott Peters (D-CA) in sponsoring the “SPEED and Reliability Act,” which would strengthen opportunities for transmission project owners to seek Federal siting approval. Senator David McCormick (R-PA) and Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced the “REWIRE Act,” which would exempt transmission upgrade projects from permitting requirements and require states to collaborate on interregional grid planning. The U.S. Department of Energy proudly offered $1.6 billion in loans to American Electric Power’s transmission subsidiary for line upgrades across five states, and $26.5 billion in loans to Southern Company for grid upgrades, including 1,300 miles of transmission projects in Georgia and Alabama. In April 2026, House Energy & Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) remarked that there is “common ground” between Democrats and Republicans on transmission and increasing grid efficiency.
What prompted Republicans to become more comfortable with transmission policy? Rising power bills are a core component of affordability politics ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Both newly elected Governors of Virginia and New Jersey, Abigail Spanberger (D) and Mikie Sherrill (D), respectively, made electricity prices a core part of their campaigns. In Georgia, voters elected two Democratic candidates over Republican incumbents to serve on the Public Service Commission, which regulates electricity bills, in response to campaign promises to increase oversight of Georgia Power, the Peach State’s vertically integrated utility. Democratic criticisms of the Trump Administration’s energy policy have also directly tied reduced public support for grid projects to rising power bills.
Data also began showing that power prices were rising, not because generation was becoming more expensive (generation has decreased in price), but because power line project costs were rising. An October 2025 report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that refurbishment and replacement of transmission and distribution lines are the primary cause of rising power bills. Energy Information Administration data demonstrate that transmission costs have nearly doubled since 2014, and utilities planned to spend $37 billion on transmission in 2025.
Since taking control of the Federal government in 2025, Republicans have come to realize that the grid has both a generation and transmission problem, and this dynamic feeds into the political problem of rising power bills. During April’s hearing, House Republicans agreed with Democrats that utilities should do more to deploy grid-enhancing technologies to increase grid efficiency. Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) introduced legislation to advance transmission reconductoring to increase capacity of existing infrastructure, and Congressman Rick Allen (R-GA) asked witnesses how new transmission technologies should be factored into transmission planning decisions.
Republicans have always recognized that the U.S. needs more baseload and dispatchable generation to meet the energy demands of an advanced economy. What was not clear until recently was that generation and linear infrastructure are two parts of the same coin, and the U.S. transmission network is woefully unprepared to deliver power to industrial and commercial customers. Recognition of the multifaceted problems facing America’s electric grid provides an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to work together on important issues, like transmission upgrades, grid-enhancing technology deployment, and permitting reform. Since these policy changes require bipartisan agreement to advance from Congress to President Trump’s desk, this new common ground is welcome news for advocates of a strong, abundant U.S. grid.
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