Federal Permitting Reform Must Include Both Transmission and Interconnection
America is entering a new frontier of electricity demand. Growth in domestic manufacturing, data centers, electrification, and other large loads is driving an anticipated 25% increase in power demand over the next decade. The problems facing our grid will not be solved by fragmented upgrades and outdated processes: they require serious, substantial reforms at the federal level.
Advanced energy technologies continue to be clean, affordable, and quick to deploy. Even amidst this time of extreme regulatory uncertainty, 90% of new energy capacity added in the U.S. last year came from advanced energy sources. And, at a time when one in six American households – roughly 21 million – are struggling to pay their energy bills, we must deploy clean energy as rapidly as possible. The challenge is not a lack of technological advancement or private investment. Instead, outdated and duplicative bureaucratic processes continue to slow deployment of the resources needed to meet rising electricity demand and keep energy costs affordable.
As Congress considers bipartisan permitting reform, it must modernize how transmission is built and how generators connect to the grid: we deserve a modern grid for the modern problems facing our energy systems.
Our transmission system was not built for these modern energy needs. For years, incremental upgrades and retroactive fixes have helped the country keep the lights on. To meet the extreme escalation in demand, the U.S. must double its regional transmission capacity and quadruple its interregional capacity by 2050, and yet complex and outdated planning, siting, and approval processes have made the construction and updating of transmission lines more difficult than ever. The Department of Energy, in its draft Transmission Needs Study, reinforces the urgency of this challenge and the need for substantial investment in interregional transmission coordination.
Interconnection is the process by which new energy generators and storage projects connect to the grid. Before a project can begin delivering power, it must undergo engineering studies to evaluate its impacts on the transmission system and determine whether network upgrades are needed. Only after completing this process can a developer sign an interconnection agreement and move towards operation.
This system, however, has become overwhelmed. Regional grid operators are receiving far higher numbers of requests than the existing framework was designed to handle, resulting in years-long delays and mounting uncertainty for developers. Between 2000 and 2019, only 13 percent of projects entering interconnection queues ultimately reached commercial operation.
The scale of today’s project backlog underscores the need for reform. As of July 2026, there are nearly 8,000 generation and storage projects with active interconnection requests in grid operator queues. These projects could nearly double the installed capacity on the grid today and represent more than enough energy to meet projected demand. However, the average wait time for a project has ballooned, from about 20 months in 2005 to over five years in 2025. These delays postpone billions of dollars in investment, stifle the advent of emerging technology, and ultimately contribute to higher utility bills for consumers. In the thirteen-state PJM region alone, bringing just 10 percent of stalled projects online would have saved customers an estimated $3.5 billion in energy bills.
Addressing the interconnection queue cannot come at the expense of transmission. In fact, the two issues are inseparable.
America’s transmission system must expand and modernize to accommodate growing demand, replacing aging infrastructure, and move electricity where it is needed most. Congress has correctly recognized that streamlining transmission permitting and planning should be a cornerstone of any permitting reform negotiations. But even brand-new, high-voltage transmission lines cannot deliver their full benefits if energy sources are not able to connect to the grid. Likewise, improving the interconnection process without investing in transmission infrastructure would leave projects competing for limited capacity.
Fortunately, there are several legislative proposals that would advance these efforts. Senator Heinrich’s recently introduced Grid Connection and Congestion Management Act would require all regional operators to create a new, faster, energy-only delivery pathway for generation connection. Energy developers would then have the option to choose an expedited path, allowing them to bring projects online faster and deliver energy while accepting the risk of curtailment. By shortening lengthy study times and creating a more predictable process for developers, this bill would help bring clean energy online faster.
The principles outlined in Senator Cortez Masto’s Expediting Generator Interconnection Procedures Act (EGIPA) would provide comprehensive reforms to the entire process of interconnection, from entrance into the queue to implementation after generation interconnection agreements (GIAs) are signed. Not only are projects stuck in approval queues, but dozens of GWs of new energy resources have cleared the queue, only to be stalled due to additional permitting and construction delays. This bill would force RTO/ISOs to improve study efficiency, increase transparency around construction timelines, and promote more effective queue management practices.
As negotiations over permitting reform continue, lawmakers must understand that transmission development and generator interconnection reform are two complementary solutions to the same challenge: bringing new energy resources online quickly, reliably, and affordably. There are real, concrete solutions outlined in the Grid Congestion and Connection Management Act and EGIPA. The cost of inaction is high, and American consumers and businesses are already feeling the pressure.
Congress has an opportunity to modernize an outdated system, reduce wait times, and unlock thousands of projects that are ready to power America’s homes and businesses. Together, incentivizing transmission buildout and reforming the broken interconnection queue can help ensure the nation’s electric grid is prepared to meet the demands of our growing economy.