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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, led a hearing titled  The Fiscal Year 2026 Department of Energy Budget.   “Alongside Secretary Wright, the Committee on Energy and Commerce is working to unleash American energy dominance,”  said Chairman Latta.  “We need more energy, not less, and today’s hearing reinforced the importance of supporting baseload power sources including oil, natural gas, nuclear power, coal, and hydropower that can secure our grid and help us to meet the energy demands of AI.” Watch the full hearing here . Below are key excerpts from today’s hearing: Congressman Randy Weber (TX-14):  “Under President Biden, Mr. Secretary, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve—60 percent of it in my district—has been unbelievably drawn down. It has reached its lowest level since 1983. When President Biden took office, the SPR contained 638 million barrels of oil. Today it contains 375 million barrels, roughly 50 percent less. In his 2025 inaugural address, President Trump made a commitment to refill the SPR. In this Committee's reconciliation title, we authorized $2 billion to conduct repairs to the SPR and buy back 7 million barrels from mandated sales. So do you think the department's plan to refill the SPR will work with what we've done in the reconciliation package?” Secretary Wright:   “It's a start, absolutely. The immediate things we need to do is finish the repairs on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It was drawn down so quickly, and that causes some damage to the infrastructure itself. So those, those repairs are ongoing and it costs a non-trivial amount of money to repair the SPR. Then we also have to spend some money to offset planned additional sales of oil that were also entered into to reverse those, so we don't shrink the deposits. And then the additional funds will be used to fill it. So yes, I thank you for that funding.” Congressman Troy Balderson (OH-12):  “U.S. LNG exports have been a game changer for natural gas producers in Ohio, uh, the state where I represent, as well as our allies around the world. Opponents of LNG exports often push the narrative that exports raise domestic natural gas prices. However, the vast majority of studies showed the opposite, boosting exports increases domestic production, which lowers the price for American consumers. Mr. Secretary, can you talk about the potential of US LNG exports not only for our allies, but how boosting LNG can keep natural gas prices low for the consumers here at home?”  Secretary Wright:  “Thank you, Representative, I agree very much with your premise. 17 years ago, the United States was the largest importer of natural gas in the world, and we had over 1000 rigs drilling specifically to produce natural gas. Today, that over 1000 rigs is only 100 rigs drilling in the United States for natural gas, and as you pointed out, we've become the largest net exporter of natural gas in the world. This is technology, this is efficiency, and this is infrastructure that gets built to move natural gas at scale, all of those ultimately lower the cost to produce natural gas.” , Congressman John James (MI-10):   “In 2024, NERC’s long-term reliability assessments, they stated that the greatest threat to our power grid is our shift to intermittent resources and premature retirements of thermal generation. NERC’s 2024 long-term reliability assessment also projected that the Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator (MISO), which covers my district in Michigan, which will experience a 4.7-gigawatt shortfall by 2028 if current expected generator retirements occur. In your discussions with MISO have they discussed how any current state net-zero policies have contributed to current cost increases to consumers? And expected power shortfalls in the future?”   Secretary Wright: “Many people at DOE have been in dialogues with NERC and with MISO about these issues, but I think you hit the nail on the head. We want to reshore manufacturing to Michigan. We want to bring data centers to Michigan. We need to grow the supply of affordable, reliable electricity in Michigan and closing plants, the coal plant, for example, with 15 years less in its average lifetime, closed for political reasons, closed to show virtue signaling that we're going to move away from coal. That's not in the best interest of Michigan ratepayers and Michigan citizens. Yes, utilities get bullied and influenced by state politicians and national politicians that have political agendas around energy that are often not aligned with ratepayers and citizens in those districts.” ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, along with Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) led Republican members of the Committee to tour a hydraulic fracturing site and uranium enrichment facility. These site visits come as the Committee continues working to pass legislation to increase domestic energy production and unleash American energy dominance. “Yesterday we saw firsthand the critical work being done to power our country. We’re in a race with China to lead in AI, and winning that race will require reliable, affordable energy,”   said Chairman Guthrie.  “Oil, natural gas, and nuclear power are key to that effort, I’m grateful to our members who are driving solutions to bring more power online and meet America’s growing energy demands.”  “It was an honor to partner with Chairman Guthrie to bring members of the Energy and Commerce Committee to the Permian Basin for an impactful and informative visit. Chairman Guthrie has been a longtime advocate for the region—not just through his leadership on this trip, but also through his continued engagement and past visits to my district. Under Chairman Guthrie’s leadership, we are working in Congress and alongside the energy sector to support reliable baseload power. We know that natural gas is essential to securing our electric grid, and we are committed to protecting it to strengthen America’s energy future,”  said Congressman Pfluger.  Background:  During the tour, members saw firsthand the work and technology that goes into producing oil and natural gas through the hydraulic fracking process and the uranium enrichment process.  Currently, oil and natural gas account for about 74 percent of the primary energy sources consumed in the U.S. every year, with natural gas accounting for 43 percent of electric power generation.  Over the next 10 years, 115 gigawatts of dispatchable generation has been announced to be retired across the United States, while demand will increase by upwards of 151 gigawatts. Without more natural gas to provide power, American communities will face blackouts and brownouts.   Members of Congress who attended the visit included Chairman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Rep. Randy Weber (TX-14), Rep. Rick Allen (GA-12), Rep. August Pfluger (TX-11), Rep. Russell Fry (SC-07), Rep. Nick Langworthy (NY-23), and Rep. Craig Goldman (TX-12). ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, led a hearing titled Assuring Abundant, Reliable American Energy to Power Innovation :   “The prosperity and security of our nation has always been linked to abundant, reliable, and affordable energy,” said Chairman Latta. “Today’s challenges are no different – we need reliable and affordable energy to fuel developments in artificial intelligence, reshore domestic manufacturing facilities, support the agricultural industry, and lower costs for hardworking Americans.”    Watch the full hearing here .    Below are key excerpts from today’s hearing:   Congresswoman Miller-Meeks (IA-01):   “Most importantly, we have to pass thoughtful legislation that prioritizes affordability, abundance, reliability, and security. Dr. Goff, the Securing America's critical mineral Supply Act builds on the Department of Energy’s current efforts. Could you elaborate on the landscape critical minerals for the committee, which resources are most critical to energy supply and who supplies them and what actions the DOE is taking to secure these supply chains?”   Dr. Goff:   “Well, first, I think the present bill we’re looking at, the supply chain for critical minerals is a good step. It's doing an assessment, looking at vulnerabilities and looking at how we need to move forward.”   Congressman Troy Balderson (OH-12):   “In your testimony, you discuss the work you're doing to strengthen American supply chain, increase the production of domestic resources and approved permits for energy projects. As you're working to expand our energy systems, do you think it makes sense that we're also focusing on the reliability of the electric grid to ensure constituents have access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy to keep the lights on?”  Dr. Goff: “ Yes, it's critical that we maintain the grid to be able to get that power to the different communities, to the people, to the businesses as well. And a lot of those businesses, especially as we talked more and more about AI are requiring it to be very firm, reliable power delivered 24/7.”   Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (ND-AL):  “ We do want to make sure that the American people do have affordable, reliable and secure electricity. But alongside the American people, AI is critical for our economy as well as for our national security. We want to make sure that we have those capabilities on shore in the US. They're all very critical, and that's why we do have a major focus on addition as opposed to subtraction. We've got to make sure that we move forward on all energy technologies to make sure that we can try to meet all of those different goals.”   ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, announced a hearing titled Assuring Abundant, Reliable American Energy to Power Innovation . “Our nation is at an energy crossroads. It’s clear that securing our electric grid and powering AI will require abundant and reliable energy for decades to come,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Latta. “Over the past several months, our Committee has heard from energy producers, grid operators, and experts on AI that have discussed the need to produce more baseload power. This legislative hearing offers us the chance to discuss specific policy proposals to help achieve this goal and ensure American energy dominance.”   Subcommittee on Energy hearing titled Assuring Abundant, Reliable American Energy to Power Innovation   WHAT : Subcommittee on Energy hearing to discuss legislation that would help our nation create affordable and reliable energy in order to maintain our grid and power new technologies.  DATE : Wednesday, April 30, 2025        TIME :  10:15 AM ET  LOCATION : 2123 Rayburn House Office Building    This hearing will focus on the following bills: H.R. ____ , Reliable Power Act H.R. 1047 , GRID Power Act (Rep. Balderson) H.R. ____ , Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025 H.R. ____ , Electric Supply Chain Act H.R. ____ , Reliability Protection for States Act H.R. ____ , State Planning for Reliability and Affordability Act  H.R. ____ , Hydropower Relicensing Transparency Act H.R. ____ , National Coal Council Reestablishment Act H.R. ____ , Securing America’s Critical Minerals Supply Act  H.R. ____ , Researching Efficient Federal Improvements for Necessary Energy Refining Act (REFINER) Act H.R. ____ , Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act  H.R. 1949 , Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2025 (Rep. Pfluger) H.R. ____ , Improving Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act H.R. ____ , Expediting Generator Interconnection Procedures Act of 2025   This notice is at the direction of the Chairman. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be livestreamed online at energycommerce.house.gov. If you have any questions concerning this hearing, please contact Calvin Huggins at Calvin.Huggins1@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Ben Mullany at Ben.Mullany@mail.house.gov .   ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, released the following statement celebrating the work being done by President Trump to support American coal and its role in domestic energy production. “Today’s executive order is an important step toward ensuring American energy dominance. As a baseload power source, coal provides reliable and affordable power for our communities, and it can help to power our AI future, too.” said Chairman Guthrie. “Our coal industry supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and generates billions of dollars for our economy annually, and it does so in cleaner, safer ways than ever. By cutting red tape and expanding access to this importance resource, President Trump is keeping his promise to lower energy prices, support the development of more baseload power, and stand with American workers.” Background: President Trump’s Executive Order directs the Chair of the National Energy Dominance Council to designate coal as a “mineral” under Executive Order 14241, entitling coal to all of the benefits of that prior order, which takes action to increase American mineral production. Further, the order directs relevant agencies to identify coal resources on Federal lands, lift barriers to coal mining, and prioritize coal leasing on those lands. ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, issued the following statement after the House passed H.J. Res. 24 and H.J. Res. 75, to rescind Biden-Harris Administration rules that were on track to create costly new standards for commercial refrigerators and freezers. “The Biden-Harris Administration placed new and harmful regulations on commercial refrigeration units, yet another example of needless regulation raising prices for businesses and families while failing to provide cost savings or increasing food safety,”   said Chairmen Guthrie and Latta.  “These Congressional Review Act resolutions are a critical part of our work to eliminate costly and burdensome regulations that failed to serve the American people. Thank you to Congressman Goldman and Congresswoman Bice for your leadership on these important issues.”   Today, the House continues its efforts to repeal costly regulations imposed during the final months of the Biden administration,”  s aid Congressman Goldman .  “The passage of my resolution, H.J. Res. 75, is a key step in eliminating unnecessary regulations that would have increased costs for small businesses and consumers. I appreciate Chairman Guthrie and my colleagues on the House Energy and Commerce Committee for their support in rolling back excessive regulations on small businesses.” “Today, House Republicans acted to overturn more last-minute environmental regulations from the Biden Administration. Walk-in coolers and freezers are essential for pharmacies, convenience stores, food processing facilities, food banks, restaurants, and many other establishments nationwide,”  said Congresswoman Bice.  “This regulation, which had an estimated cost of a billion dollars, would have been crippling for businesses throughout the country, especially in rural areas. We must continue to push back against federal overreach, and I appreciate the support of my colleagues on this critical measure.” Background: H.J. Res. 24 ,  Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Energy relating to “Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Walk-In Coolers and Walk-In Freezers,”  led by Congresswoman Stephanie Bice (OK-05), repeals the Biden-Harris Administration’s burdensome efficiency standards on the refrigeration units commonly used in grocery stores, convenience stores, and other businesses. These standards would have significantly harmed smaller stores and retailers, who may be forced to incur expensive electrical or structural upgrades to comply with the amended standard without significant benefits in efficiency. H.J. Res. 75 ,  Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy relating to “Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Commercial Refrigerators, Freezers, and Refrigerator-Freezers,”  led by Congressman Craig Goldman (TX-12), would repeal refrigeration standards put in place only three years ago that would lead to major new costs for businesses and families across the country, with the Biden-Harris Department of Energy itself estimating that at least one standard would have a payback period of more than 90 years, clearly demonstrating the absurdity of the regulation.  ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, led a hearing titled Keeping the Lights On: Examining the State of Regional Grid Reliability . “Today’s grid operators made it clear that America needs more energy to be produced to keep up with our growing needs not just for consumers, but for the many small businesses, manufacturers, agriculture industry, and medical facilities that employ them,” said Chairman Latta. “Too many electric-generating facilities have been retired in recent years while new and emerging technologies are increasing the need. It is critical that we meet the growing demand for power, the need to secure it, and address the reliability challenges confronting our electric industry.” Watch the full hearing here . Below are key excerpts from today’s hearing : Congressman Troy Balderson (OH-12): “ Last year, PJM, ERCOT, SPP, and MISO jointly filed an amicus brief with the DC Circuit Court against the Biden EPA’s Clean Power Plan 2.0. I’m extremely grateful that just a few weeks ago, Administrator Zeldin announced the EPA will be reconsidering the Clean Power Plan 2.0, along with dozens of other Biden era rules and regulations. If the Clean Power Plan 2.0 were to remain in effect, would your service territory see an increased risk of rolling brownouts and blackouts?” Mr. Pablo Vegas: “ Yes, that plan had risked more than 14,000 megawatts of existing coal plants that are serving the grid today, they would be at risk and that would be a significant reliability concern.” Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01): “In the 2024 long-term reliability assessment report, NERC recommends that to maintain demand and supply balance, dispatchable generators including carbon-based fuel generators must be available and capable of following changing electricity demand. And for the past two years when I was on this committee, we’ve hammered on this to ensure reliability. What measures are you taking to discourage premature retirement of carbon-based fuels, fuel generators such as the Clean Power Plan 2.0 rule? How are we able to maintain dispatchable or energy uh when we’re retiring, uh, carbon-based, uh, fuel generators prematurely?” Mr. Manu Asthana: “Part of it is sending the right market price signal to induce them to stay. Part of it is through, is working with our states and federal regulators to try to ensure that we don’t have rules that force these generators offline prematurely.” Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger (TN-01): “ In this scenario, let’s say that you experienced a wind drought that lasts 40 consecutive hours. How do you make up for that?” Ms. Jennifer Curran: “Thank you. Another familiar scenario that did happen to us. The way you make up for it is with resources that do have fuels that are available on demand. So, in MISO, that would be coal and gas generation that is able to run for that duration.” ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing titled  Keeping the Lights On: Examining the State of Regional Grid Reliability . Subcommittee Chairman Latta’s opening statement as prepared for delivery: “Welcome to today’s hearing ‘Keeping the Lights on: Examining the State of Regional Grid Reliability.’ “Today, we will continue this subcommittee’s work to address the ongoing electric reliability crisis facing our nation. “The witnesses before us are each of the regional grid operators, and ERCOT, who collectively cover two thirds of our country.  “These organizations are charged with overseeing reliability of their state or region, administering markets for the sale and purchase of electricity products, and coordinating transmission development.  “While each grid operator functions in a similar manner, they all take unique approaches to addressing the regional and demographic differences of communities in their footprints.  “But no matter where in the country they serve, they are all confronting the challenges facing our power sector.  “It’s no secret that our country is in the midst of a reliability crisis, and it could not come at a worse time.  “The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or NERC, recently stated that 52 GW of generation will retire in the next four years. “To put this into context, that is the rough equivalent of 40 nuclear plants or 500 square miles of solar panels. “While dangerous amounts of baseload generation are leaving the grid, we’re witnessing historic levels of demand entering the system and interconnection queues that are backlogged with intermittent resources and battery storage facilities.  “We know that renewables are not a one-for-one replacement for dispatchable, baseload power that is essential to reliability and provides spinning reserves needed to stabilize the system through fluctuations.  “It is not clear that the pace at which baseload generation is coming online will bridge the gap of retiring supply and meet increasing demands over the next few short years.  “As we are all well aware, these new demands are largely driven by developments in artificial intelligence and domestic manufacturing. “Achieving a leadership position in the development of AI and reshoring domestic manufacturing is not an unattainable goal to strive for – it is a national security imperative that could shape America’s place in the future global economy.  “Regional grid operators before us today are on the front lines of the reliability crisis and this new era of historic electricity demand. “When operating correctly, electricity markets should allow clear market signals to drive investment into new generation, efficient interconnection of new resources should address increasing demand, and coordinated transmission planning should bring needed electricity supplies to growing load centers.  “However, these organizations and their electricity markets do not operate in a vacuum.  “Excessive federal overreach, like the Clean Power Plan 2.0, drove significant premature retirements of baseload power and discouraged long-term investment into baseload generation sources.  “Significant subsidies for intermittent generation undermine the economics of baseload, or on-demand, dispatchable, generation resources that are essential to keeping the lights on.  “These grid operators are also tasked with the difficult job of maintaining reliability and resource adequacy as States implement restrictive policies designed to attack fossil resources.  “Because of the interconnected nature of much of our bulk power system, the decisions of one State to drive out baseload power inherently impact the reliability of neighboring states.  “All of these problems are compounded by systemic permitting challenges that make it nearly impossible to develop new infrastructure in large parts of our country.  “Markets cannot build what governments do not let them.  “We need to address these challenges through a pragmatic whole of government approach that recognizes the benefits of different fuel sources, the limitation of others, and prioritizes energy expansion. “There is value to ensuring a diverse resource mix, but it is important to recognize that not all electrons should be treated equally.  “The variability of intermittent sources like wind and solar innately require back up generation during inclement weather conditions and where battery storage facilities are operationally restricted.  “Often it is during these periods of inclement weather when we need electricity the most to protect the health and safety of our communities.  “I look forward to today’s discussion regarding the ongoing reliability crisis and the important steps regional grid operators are taking to correct market inefficiencies to keep the lights on for all Americans.  “Thank you and I yield back the balance of my time.”  ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, announced a hearing titled Keeping the Lights On: Examining the State of Regional Grid Reliability . “The continued safety and reliability of our electric grid is essential to supporting small businesses, manufacturing processes, the agriculture industry, hospitals, and homes across the United States. Numerous electric-generating facilities have been prematurely retired in recent years, making it critical that we look for solutions to once again harness and expand the baseload power our communities rely on as new and emerging technologies increase the need,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Latta. “During this hearing, we will have the opportunity to hear from our nation’s regional grid operators and to discuss how we can meet the growing demand for power, the need to secure it, and address the reliability challenges confronting our electric industry.”  Subcommittee on Energy hearing titled Keeping the Lights On: Examining the State of Regional Grid Reliability.   WHAT : Subcommittee on Energy hearing examining how the nation’s regional grid operators plan to address grid reliability challenges, as demand for power increases across the nation. DATE : Tuesday, March 25, 2025        TIME : 10:15 AM ET LOCATION : 2123 Rayburn House Office Building   This notice is at the direction of the Chairman. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be livestreamed online at energycommerce.house.gov . If you have any questions concerning this hearing, please contact Calvin Huggins at Calvin.Huggins1@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Ben Mullany at Ben.Mullany@mail.house.gov .   ###