United States — H.R. 9340, Ratepayer Protection Act (119th Congress)

H.R. 9340 would amend section 111(d) of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2621(d)) to add a federal ratemaking standard for 'large-load customers', requiring that rates charged to such a customer be designed to recover from that customer the full incremental cost of any generation, transmission or distribution upgrade necessary to serve its load, including where the customer terminates its contract or ceases purchasing energy. Before making such an upgrade the utility would have to require the customer to provide financial assurances or contributions covering its cost. A 'large-load customer' is defined as a non-residential electric consumer requesting or contracting for electric energy for one or more facilities with an aggregate peak demand of 100 megawatts or more at a single site or campus.

Technical detail

Conforming amendments to PURPA section 112 would require each state regulatory authority and each nonregulated electric utility to commence consideration of the standard within one year of enactment and complete consideration and make a determination within two years, with an exception where a state has already implemented or considered a comparable standard. Introduced 2026-06-18 by Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO) with Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL); referred to Energy and Commerce; Energy Subcommittee forwarded by voice vote 2026-06-24; full committee 52-0 on 2026-07-21.

Who is protected: If enacted, ordinary electric ratepayers, by requiring that the incremental cost of grid upgrades serving very large loads be recovered from the large-load customer rather than spread across the ratebase.

Who must comply: If enacted, electric utilities setting rates for large-load customers, and state regulatory authorities and nonregulated utilities required to consider the standard; the cost obligation falls on non-residential customers with 100 MW or more aggregate peak demand at a single site or campus.

Key facts

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