A Senate bill introduced August 3 would require large electricity users to bear the cost of grid upgrades needed to connect them to the transmission system, protecting households from infrastructure bills driven by data centers, industrial facilities, and other high-demand customers.
What the GRID Savings Act would do
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) introduced the GRID Savings Act, formally titled the Guarding Ratepayers from Increased Demand-costs (GRID) Savings Act of 2026, on August 3. The bill would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rulemaking jurisdiction over large load customers, defined as facilities demanding more than 150 megawatts of electricity.
The bill would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a board of five presidential appointees who regulate interstate transmission, to establish rules on what grid upgrades large power users would ultimately pay. The GRID Savings Act requires that FERC issue a final rule on large load interconnections applicable to all transmitting utilities.
The GRID Savings Act assigns interconnection costs to the customer rather than the rate base, and requires a payment guarantee that survives the facility closing. It also allows a large load customer to voluntarily fund backbone transmission in exchange for transmission service.
Heinrich said: “If a company is driving the need for expensive new facilities, that company should pay for it, not families and small businesses. That’s the basic principle behind my GRID Savings Act.”
FERC’s June orders set the stage
On June 18, 2026, FERC issued show cause orders under Section 206 of the Federal Power Act to PJM Interconnection, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Southwest Power Pool, California Independent System Operator, ISO New England, and the New York Independent System Operator, together with their transmission owners, directing each region to justify or reform the tariff provisions governing how large loads connect to and receive service from the transmission grid.
The orders set out five categories of reforms and require the RTOs to demonstrate how their tariffs currently comply, or propose reforms to comply. FERC explained that the show cause orders are intended to accelerate speed-to-power timelines for hyperscalers and data center operators through flexible, region-specific reforms while establishing strict financial safeguards and preserving state authority to shield residential ratepayers from misaligned cost allocation.
The orders reflect FERC’s preliminary view that current frameworks may be inadequate to address reliability, cost allocation, and timing challenges associated with large load growth. FERC has not yet issued a final rulemaking.
What is driving demand
The rapid growth of data centers, advanced manufacturing, and other energy-intensive industries is reshaping electricity demand across the United States. The surge also extends to EV fleet charging depots, manufacturing sites, and other industrial customers whose connection requests have lengthened grid queues across multiple regions.
Utilities and grid planners have consistently flagged the challenge of forecasting where concentrated demand will land. A DOE-supported guide set out 20 best practices for utilities planning grid upgrades, underscoring that demand can strain local systems with little warning.
Who pays and what comes next
The core dispute is straightforward: when a large load customer requires significant transmission upgrades, someone has to pay. The Heinrich bill forces large load customers, like data centers, to pay for the facilities needed to connect them to the grid, mirroring the cost-causation approach FERC identified in its own proceedings.
The stakes for everyday bills are real. Utilities in several states have already sought rate increases linked to infrastructure investment, including a case that pushed residential bills up $28 a month in Washington state even after $529 million in federal tax credits were applied.
On September 17, 2026, Heinrich asked the Senate to pass his bill by unanimous consent, but Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) objected, and the bill did not receive a recorded vote. The bill was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Whether Congress advances the Heinrich approach or FERC acts independently, the outcome will set the template for how the next generation of grid load is financed across the country.
