SHIELD Act
Sponsored By: Representative Levin
Introduced
Summary
Large load facility class created to make very large electricity users a distinct customer class and require that class to cover grid upgrade costs. It also lets utilities prioritize service for those users if they adopt peak-reduction measures and meet all demand with zero-emission energy generated onsite or procured within the same balancing authority.
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- Owners/operators of large load facilities: Applies to a single-site facility or aggregated facilities with peak demand over 75 megawatts. To get prioritized service owners must adopt peak-reduction features like energy efficiency, onsite storage, or demand-response and meet all demand with zero-emission energy such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, tidal, fission, or fusion.
- Electric utilities: Must treat the class as distinct and fully recover from that class all costs for generation, transmission, and distribution upgrades, including local upgrades and costs if a facility later uses less energy or ceases operations than projected.
- State regulators and nonregulated utilities: Must begin consideration of these standards within 1 year and complete determinations within 2 years, with exceptions for states that already implemented or are actively considering comparable standards.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 2 mixed.
Large facilities pay grid upgrade costs
If enacted, each electric utility serving the designated large load facility class would be required to recover from that class all costs tied to upgrades of generation, transmission, or distribution, including local facilities, made to meet the class's demand. Utilities would be allowed to collect those costs from the large load class even if a large load facility later stops operations or uses less electric energy than projected when the upgrade was made.
Priority for clean large electricity users
If enacted, a "large load facility" would be treated as its own class when peak demand exceeds 75 megawatts. Utilities would give priority to interconnection or service requests from those facilities when the owner agrees to both lower peak demand (for example, efficiency, onsite storage, or demand response) and meet all demand with zero-emission energy generated onsite or bought within the same balancing authority under a power purchase agreement. Zero-emission electric energy would be defined to include solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, tidal, fission, and fusion. This priority would apply to utilities' prioritization decisions, not as an absolute guarantee of service.
State deadlines and exemption rules
If enacted, each State utility regulator and each nonregulated electric utility would need to start considering the new standards or set a hearing date within 1 year, finish consideration and make a determination within 2 years, and report to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee within 30 days after deciding. A State would be exempt from these timing and reporting rules if, before enactment, it already implemented a comparable standard, held a proceeding to consider it, or had a legislature vote on it during the prior 3 years. References to the "date of enactment" for these standards would be treated as the date those specific paragraphs are enacted.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Levin
CA • D
Cosponsors
Castor (FL)
FL • D
Sponsored 1/14/2026
Quigley
IL • D
Sponsored 1/14/2026
Landsman
OH • D
Sponsored 1/14/2026
Goldman (NY)
NY • D
Sponsored 1/14/2026
Latimer
NY • D
Sponsored 1/14/2026
Casten
IL • D
Sponsored 1/14/2026
Pingree
ME • D
Sponsored 1/14/2026
Magaziner
RI • D
Sponsored 2/3/2026
Lieu
CA • D
Sponsored 2/9/2026
Mullin
CA • D
Sponsored 3/3/2026
Carbajal
CA • D
Sponsored 3/17/2026
Sykes
OH • D
Sponsored 3/30/2026
Houlahan
PA • D
Sponsored 4/2/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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