# 119-hr-7729: SURGE Act of 2026

119-hr-7729, SURGE Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Casten, Sean [D-IL-6] (D-IL); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7729
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-7729
- Congress: 119
- Title: SURGE Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-02-26
- Sponsor: Rep. Casten, Sean [D-IL-6] (D-IL)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**This bill would create a shared-savings incentive framework that lets transmission utilities recover part of verified cost savings for efficiency and grid-enhancing technologies.** It pairs a FERC rule for utilities it regulates with DOE guidance, state grant support, and recurring DOE studies to measure impacts. - Covered transmitting utilities under FERC jurisdiction could recover a portion of verified savings as an incentive. The rule would set recoverable shares between 10% and 60% and allow recovery over 2 to 5 years while requiring initial filings, annual reports, and reconciliations to customers for any excess recoveries. - Utilities not under FERC would get DOE guidance for State ratemaking paths to recover savings, and a DOE grant program on a two-year schedule would help state regulators build and oversee frameworks with at least 30% of funds reserved for implementation and oversight. - The Secretary of Energy must study transmission rate inefficiencies and report findings within 3 years and every 5 years after. Those studies must assess effects on customers, bulk-power reliability, congestion, and deployment of cost-effective grid technologies to inform future rulemaking.

## Provisions PRIA read

- DOE grants, guidance, and studies: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Secretary of Energy would publish guidance within two years to help states design shared-savings frameworks for non‑FERC utilities. The Secretary would also set up a grant program within two years to help state regulators pay for framework design and oversight; grants could not be u…
- Shared-savings rules for utilities: mixed, high. If enacted, the Commission would have one year to write a rule letting FERC-jurisdictional transmitting utilities recover part of verified transmission cost savings as an incentive. The rule would set a recoverable share between 10% and 60% and let utilities spread recovery over 2 to 5 years. Utili…
- Which utilities and actions qualify: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would define who can use these shared-savings rules. A "covered transmitting utility" would be one subject to FERC Part II ratemaking and a "covered electric utility" would be one not under that FERC jurisdiction. A "covered action" must create cost savings for ratepayers and w…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act
- 119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hres-1058: Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights to protect and codify the rights of transgender…

## Sources
- [119-hr-7729 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7729)

## 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-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3971)
- [119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2725)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hres-1058: Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implem…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-1058)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7729 (as of 2026-04-21).