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Harder backs transmission cost sharing as permitting bill awaits Senate action
An October 29 interview highlights proposed FERC powers in S.5653. The introduced bill would change transmission planning and utility incentives; it has not made those changes law or delivered household savings.
By Greener Numbers Editorial Team · Published October 29, 2026 · Updated 10/29/2026
Rep. Josh Harder is emphasizing transmission cost sharing as a way to advance grid construction under the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act. In an October 29 Utility Dive interview, the California Democrat described cost sharing as a particularly important part of the proposal. The Senate bill, S.5653, was introduced September 30; it is proposed legislation, not an enacted change.
The introduced text would prohibit a federal right of first refusal for a transmission facility selected in a regional or interregional plan for cost allocation. This concerns a federal preference for incumbent utilities. It should not be described as an immediate abolition of every state-level utility right.
The bill would also direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to create a consolidated generation-interconnection and transmission-planning process. Its framework connects regional and interregional planning with cost allocation. Those requirements would need enactment and implementation before they could change actual project development.
For advanced transmission technologies, the text provides for FERC-directed upgrades when the applicable benefit-cost ratio exceeds one. It also provides for a penalty when a utility fails to implement required technologies within FERC's timeframe, including a possible reduction in the effective return on equity for its transmission system.
Utility Dive reports that a cloture vote on the motion to proceed is scheduled for November 9, citing the Bipartisan Policy Center. That would be a procedural step, not final passage. The same report includes concerns about financing and about what happens if regions fail to submit a planning process.
The immediate news is Harder's public case for the proposal and its transmission provisions. The bill does not establish that any particular line has been built, that new generation is connected or that household electricity bills have fallen. Those outcomes would depend on later lawmaking, regulation, financing and construction.