New Energy Bill Mandates 10-Year Reliability Plans: Utilities Must Prove 30-Day Power Reserves

This new piece of legislation, the State Planning for Reliability and Affordability Act, is essentially a mandate to state utility regulators: make sure the lights stay on for the next decade. It requires states that use integrated resource planning (IRP—fancy talk for long-term energy strategy) to force their electric utilities to guarantee reliable power for at least 10 years into the future. Utilities have two ways to meet this: keep their own reliable power plants running, or sign contracts to buy power from reliable sources (SEC. 2).

The 30-Day Reliability Test: Fuel or Bust

What exactly counts as “reliable” under this act? It’s specific, and this is where the rubber meets the road. A reliable generation facility must be able to keep generating electricity continuously for a minimum of 30 days straight. To prove this, the facility must either have enough fuel stored on site to run for that entire month, or it must have rock-solid contracts guaranteeing that fuel supply. On top of the fuel requirement, the facility must also be able to handle emergencies and provide essential grid services, like keeping the frequency and voltage stable (SEC. 2).

For the average person, this sounds great—more reliable power means fewer outages during the next big heat wave or winter storm. But this 30-day rule is a massive detail. It heavily favors power sources that can store fuel, like natural gas, coal, or nuclear plants, or large hydro facilities. For developers pushing intermittent sources like wind and solar, unless they pair them with massive battery storage systems that can truly last 30 days—which is still a huge challenge—this definition makes it tougher to count them toward the state’s reliability mandate. This could mean utilities lean on existing, older plants to meet the requirement, potentially slowing down the transition to newer, cleaner energy sources.

The Regulatory Sprint

State regulatory authorities—the commissions that approve your utility rates—are now on a tight timeline. They have one year from the law’s enactment to start considering this new reliability standard and two years to finish their review and make a final decision on implementation. This is a quick turnaround for complex policy changes, putting pressure on regulators who are already juggling rising energy costs and infrastructure demands. While states that have already implemented similar reliability standards are exempt from these deadlines, most will have to scramble to meet the new requirement (SEC. 2).

The Real-World Trade-Off

So, what does this mean for the person paying the electric bill? On one hand, the bill aims to reduce the risk of catastrophic grid failure, which is a huge win for everyone, from the small business owner running a server to the parent relying on electricity for medical equipment. On the other hand, mandating specific, fuel-intensive reliability measures almost always comes with a cost. If utilities are required to maintain older, sometimes less efficient plants, or purchase expensive fuel reserves, those costs will eventually be passed down to consumers in the form of higher electricity rates. This act guarantees reliability, but the price tag for that security remains to be seen.