# H.R. 3632 (119th): Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025

Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025 This bill modifies the process that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) uses to determine, upon a complaint from a state commission, whether a public utility (i.e., power plant) must remain open because the retirement of the power plant will make the bulk power system unreliable, including by allowing transmission organizations to also file complaints with FERC. If FERC finds that any interstate service of any public utility is inadequate or insufficient, or is likely to become inadequate or insufficient within five years of receiving such complaint, then FERC must determine the proper, adequate, or sufficient service to be furnished through an order, rule, or regulation (order). The bill specifies that FERC may order a power plant to remain open for up to five years. Any affected state commission, transmission organization, or power plant may request that FERC extend such order. A FERC order must determine (1) any rate or charge necessary to provide compensation for the additional costs of the service, and (2) the cost allocation of any rate or charge. A power plant owner or operator must notify FERC and affected state commissions or transmission organizations at least five years before any planned retirement of a unit of an electric generating facility except in the case of an emergency or similar event that renders a unit inoperable. The bill exempts from federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations any action taken by a generating facility to comply with such orders.

## How this bill is scored

Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Lane: energy_policy. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: environmental_regulation. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: grid_reliability. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: ratepayer_costs. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: regulation. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Stored polarity: mixed. Only tags the rules mark scoreable on a mixed bill are scored. A yea can draw a penalty or a credit according to the tag. A nay on a tag scored as good can draw a penalty.
Roll 341: On Motion to Recommit. Vote type: recommit.
Roll 342: On Passage. Vote type: final_passage.
Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: The measure pursues a prudential goal of grid reliability and cost recovery, which is an ordinary policy good. It also overrides federal, state, and local environmental and related laws for compliance actions, which raises real concerns about environmental stewardship and legal accountability. Because the measure combines a prudential purpose with a concrete legal exemption, it is best classified as mixed rather than good or evil.
Theological note: The bill raises issues of stewardship over reliable energy that serves neighbors, prudent governance of shared infrastructure, and the fair allocation of costs among ratepayers. It also raises a concern about setting aside environmental and local legal protections for a class of actions, which touches on general equity and the rule of law. These are issue-relevance observations only and do not constitute a final moral judgment on the measure.

## Recorded votes

Roll 341: On Motion to Recommit. Yea 207 · Nay 218 · Other 8.
Roll 342: On Passage. Yea 222 · Nay 202 · Other 9.

HTML: https://justmeasure.org/bill/hr-3632-119/