This legislation seeks to protect the reliability of the electric grid by preempting State climate mandates that could obstruct energy infrastructure planning or inflate electricity costs. Its primary purpose is to prevent States, political subdivisions, or regulatory authorities from establishing or enforcing requirements for electricity generation, retail sales, or procurement to include a specified percentage or quantity of electricity from renewable, zero-emission, or carbon-free energy resources . The bill also prohibits conditioning participation in electricity markets, cost recovery, or utility regulation on compliance with such mandates. Any State law or requirement found to be inconsistent with these provisions is explicitly preempted and shall have no force or effect . However, the legislation includes a savings provision, clarifying that it does not prohibit a State from owning or operating generation facilities that utilize renewable, zero-emission, or carbon-free energy resources.
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Timeline
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Energy
Ratepayer Affordability and Transparency in Energy Act of 2026
USA119th CongressS-3839| Senate
| Updated: 2/11/2026
This legislation seeks to protect the reliability of the electric grid by preempting State climate mandates that could obstruct energy infrastructure planning or inflate electricity costs. Its primary purpose is to prevent States, political subdivisions, or regulatory authorities from establishing or enforcing requirements for electricity generation, retail sales, or procurement to include a specified percentage or quantity of electricity from renewable, zero-emission, or carbon-free energy resources . The bill also prohibits conditioning participation in electricity markets, cost recovery, or utility regulation on compliance with such mandates. Any State law or requirement found to be inconsistent with these provisions is explicitly preempted and shall have no force or effect . However, the legislation includes a savings provision, clarifying that it does not prohibit a State from owning or operating generation facilities that utilize renewable, zero-emission, or carbon-free energy resources.