# 119-hr-10579: Energy Cost Fairness and Reliability Act of 2026

119-hr-10579, Energy Cost Fairness and Reliability Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Min, Dave [D-CA-47] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-06).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10579
- As of: 2026-10-06
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-10579
- Congress: 119
- Title: Energy Cost Fairness and Reliability Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-09-24
- Sponsor: Rep. Min, Dave [D-CA-47] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-06

## Summary

**A federal interconnection framework for large load facilities and colocated generation.** This bill would set national rules on who pays for interconnection and upgrades, how queueing and reliability are managed, and what labor and DOE research requirements apply. - Large load customers and data centers: would have to prove demand flexibility and curtailability, sign binding agreements with the transmission provider, and ensure any colocated generation meets Commission technical standards. They would remain subject to ongoing ancillary and black-start charges and would be paid wholesale locational marginal price or avoided-cost rates for exported power. - Utilities and ratepayers: the large load facility or customer would pay 100% of interconnection study costs and 100% of network upgrade costs, with payments nonrefundable. The Commission could authorize payment mechanisms and may bar interconnection or transmission service for nonpayment to enforce those obligations. - Workers, labor, and research: queue priority could be awarded for battery backup, prevailing wages, registered apprentices, and labor peace agreements. The Department of Energy would support an AI testbed at a National Laboratory and must produce a report within 1 year, after which the Commission would have 180 days to consider the recommendations.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10] (D-NY), 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Higher costs and payment rules for large loads: mixed, high. If enacted, a large load customer would be responsible for 100% of network upgrade costs assigned by interconnection studies and those payments would be nonrefundable. Transmission providers would require deposits that cover study costs, readiness or milestone payments, and withdrawal penalties; no…
- New rules for large-load interconnections: mixed, high. If enacted, FERC would have 1 year to write rules for a standard interconnection process and a load queue for large loads. After those rules take effect, a large load facility would only be permitted to interconnect after approval through the applicable load interconnection queue. A facility would…
- DOE AI testbed for data centers: mixed, medium. If enacted, the Department of Energy would set up an AI data-center testbed at a National Lab within 180 days. The Secretary would be able to require data centers to submit energy, water, and AI training/inference energy-use data and quarterly tracking. The Secretary must report to Congress and FER…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hr-5862: American Energy Independence and Affordability Act
- 119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-10579 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/10579)

## Related
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3069)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hr-5862: American Energy Independence and Affordability Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5862)
- [119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6900)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10579 (as of 2026-10-06).