To prohibit the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army from retiring an energy generation source if that retirement would raise customer electricity rates and decrease regional energy reliability by more than 10 percent, and for other purposes.
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Committee
Latest Action · April 29, 2024
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
The Electric Act prohibits the federal government from retiring any federally operated hydroelectric dams if doing so would raise customer electricity rates by more than 10 percent or reduce regional energy reliability by more than 10 percent in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and California. The legislation applies to dams operated by either the Bureau of Reclamation under the Department of Interior or the Army Corps of Engineers under the Department of Defense. If a dam is retired despite these restrictions, the responsible federal agency must replace 100 percent of the baseload generation capacity within 30 days. The bill includes a safety exception that allows retirement in certain circumstances, though specific details are not fully outlined in the text provided. This measure would significantly constrain federal agencies' ability to decommission aging hydroelectric facilities in the western United States.
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