High-Capacity Grid Act

H.R. 6633


DATE INTRODUCED:

12/11/25

 
 

WHAT:

The High-Capacity Grid Act directs FERC to establish a best-available transmission conductor standard, requiring utilities to use the highest-capacity, highest-efficiency, and lowest-sag commercially available conductors for interstate transmission.

The High-Capacity Grid Act amends Section 205 of the Federal Power Act to:

  • Define best-available transmission conductor to include conductors that provide the greatest feasible capacity at a given voltage, deliver the highest electrical efficiency, and mitigate thermal sag.
  • Apply the standard to all covered projects, which are defined as new FERC-jurisdictional lines and upgrades, modifications, replacements, or reconductoring of existing lines.
  • Establish cost-recovery presumptions to preclude Utilities from recovering the costs of non-best-available conductors through consumers’ electric bills, unless the utility can clearly demonstrate that a lesser conductor is the best available in their specific context.
 
 

WHY IT MATTERS:

America’s grid is old and facing unprecedented demand growth and wildfire risks. While America is a leader in developing innovative grid technologies, it lags behind in their deployment. Greater deployment of best available conductor technologies can:

  • Save consumers money through greater efficiency and avoiding more expensive solutions;
  • Accelerate demand growth by significantly increasing the capacity of existing rights of way in a fraction of the time it takes to build new transmission lines; and
  • Enhance resilience and reliability by reducing thermal expansion that increases wildfire and equipment failure risks.
 
 

WHAT'S NEXT:

Best-available conductors are American innovations that improve grid reliability and affordability, and can play a key role in AI leadership. Supporting greater adoption of these innovations can play a key role in growing the grid to accelerate demand growth and bring clean firm technologies on faster, all while improving reliability and keeping bills low for customers.

 
 

ORIGINAL SPONSOR:

H.R. 6474
Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-ND-At-Large)

COSPONSOR:

Rep. Hamadeh, Abraham J. (R-AZ-8)

 
 

SUPPORT:

ClearPath Action

 
 

CONGRESS.GOV LINK:

H.R. 6633

 

PRINTABLE SUMMARY:

Printable summary of H.R. 6633