# 119-s-4559: Energy Cost Fairness and Reliability Act of 2026

119-s-4559, Energy Cost Fairness and Reliability Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-06).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4559
- As of: 2026-10-06
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4559
- Congress: 119
- Title: Energy Cost Fairness and Reliability Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-05-18
- Sponsor: Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-06

## Summary

**Clarify cost responsibility for large electric loads** while standardizing and speeding how very large customers connect to the interstate grid. This bill would create a single federal framework for facilities over 50 megawatts and tighten payment, study, and reliability rules. - Developers of large loads, such as data centers, would have to pay 100 percent of interconnection study costs up front and bear all network upgrade costs via a non‑refundable payment, a structured surcharge, or another Commission-approved mechanism. - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would be directed to issue final interconnection rules within one year and transmission providers would file tariff amendments within 180 days; the bill also forces stricter queue management and allows use of automation or AI to speed studies. - The Commission must review cost-allocation to limit shifting upgrade costs to other customers while preserving State retail authority, and the Department of Energy would collect confidential data from data centers and set up an AI testbed at a National Laboratory within 180 days to study efficiency and grid impacts.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL), 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- State control of retail electricity rates: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would say the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could not regulate retail electricity rates, charges, or service terms. State utility commissions would keep their existing authority over retail rates and terms of service. This provision would not change State retail-rate pow…
- Large loads pay transmission upgrades: cost, medium. If enacted, the bill would make a large load customer responsible for 100% of network upgrades that interconnection studies assign to that customer. Payments could be collected as a nonrefundable upfront fee, a structured surcharge over time, or another Commission-approved mechanism and could be in…
- DOE AI data-center testbed: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would require the Secretary of Energy to establish an AI data-center testbed at a National Laboratory within 180 days. The Secretary could require data-center operators to submit energy, water, commissioning, and AI-demand data under the Federal Energy Administration Act, with…
- New interconnection rules for large loads: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue final interconnection rules for "large loads" within 1 year. A "large load" would be any site with peak demand over 50 megawatts. The rules would require large loads to pay 100% of interconnection study costs and a…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-4949: Water Resources Development Act of 2026
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act
- 119-s-3597: National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act

## Sources
- [119-s-4559 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4559)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-4949: Water Resources Development Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4949)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [119-s-3597: National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3597)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4559 (as of 2026-10-06).