Certainty in Litigation for Electric Asset Reliability (CLEAR) Act of 2026

This bill changes the Federal Power Act's rules for how federal agencies coordinate permits for electric transmission lines. It expands the coordination process to cover both siting and building transmission facilities, and makes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the lead agency for facilities permitted under the Act's backstop siting authority. Each federal agency would have to publish its final permit decisions in the Federal Register, and the Secretary of Energy would combine permit records into a single joint record of decision where practicable. Challenges to federal permit approvals for coordinated transmission projects could only be brought through the rehearing and court review process in section 313 of the Act, with the lead agency acting in place of the Commission.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Scott H. Peters Democrat sponsor
• 1 cosponsors