So this week, I was proud to work with Senator Hickenlooper and other colleagues from this committee to build on the bipartisan Energy and Permitting Reform Act from last Congress and develop new legislative language to tackle these issues and lead us towards the construction of a next-generation electrical grid. ... the draft legislation includes new additions to support implementation of advanced grid upgrades and high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines, planning for demand growth, improving interconnection procedures, and reauthorization of grid resilience grant programs.
Introduce and work to pass legislation to modernize U.S. transmission infrastructure, including supporting advanced grid upgrades, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines, improved planning for demand growth, improved interconnection procedures, and reauthorization of grid resilience grant programs.
Occurrences
So this week, I was proud to work with Senator Hickenlooper and other colleagues from this committee to build on the bipartisan Energy and Permitting Reform Act from last Congress and develop new legislative language to tackle these issues and lead us towards the construction of a next-generation electrical grid. ... The draft transmission bill ... would improve how the United States builds next-generation transmission lines while strengthening existing systems to make them more cost-effective, efficient, and reliable. Building on the bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, the draft legislation includes new additions to support implementation of advanced grid upgrades and high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines, planning for demand growth, improving interconnection procedures, and reauthorization of grid resilience grant programs.
The bipartisan bill includes Padilla’s POWER On Act and would invest $5 billion over five years to help prevent blackouts, shutoffs, and utility-caused wildfires by funding projects that enhance the physical resilience of the electric grid in response to extreme weather events and natural disasters. The bill would fund thousands of miles of new, resilient transmission lines to facilitate the expansion of renewable energy and create a new Grid Deployment Authority, invest in research and development for advanced transmission and electricity distribution technologies, and promote smart grid technologies that deliver flexibility and resilience.
So this week, I was proud to work with Senator Hickenlooper and other colleagues from this committee to build on the bipartisan Energy and Permitting Reform Act from last Congress and develop new legislative language to tackle these issues and lead us towards the construction of a next-generation electrical grid. I believe our effort represents not just a commonsense plan, but one that will build a cheaper, stronger, more reliable electrical grid that protects ratepayers, respects communities, and keeps our economy competitive. ...the draft transmission bill – co-led by U.S. Senators Padilla, John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), and Angus King (I-Maine) – would improve how the United States builds next-generation transmission lines while strengthening existing systems to make them more cost-effective, efficient, and reliable. Building on the bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, the draft legislation includes new additions to support implementation of advanced grid upgrades and high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines, planning for demand growth, improving interconnection procedures, and reauthorization of grid resilience grant programs.
develop new legislative language to tackle these issues and lead us towards the construction of a next-generation electrical grid ... the draft legislation includes new additions to support implementation of advanced grid upgrades and high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines, planning for demand growth, improving interconnection procedures, and reauthorization of grid resilience grant programs.
Evidence
On March 25, 2026, Senator Alex Padilla introduced a draft transmission bill co-led with Senators Hickenlooper, Cortez Masto, Gallego, and King. The legislation aims to modernize transmission infrastructure by supporting advanced grid upgrades, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines, improved planning for demand growth, improved interconnection procedures, and reauthorization of grid resilience grant programs.
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes Senator Padilla's POWER On Act, which invests $5 billion over five years to enhance the physical resilience of the electric grid in response to extreme weather events and natural disasters. The bill funds new, resilient transmission lines, creates a new Grid Deployment Authority, invests in research and development for advanced transmission and electricity distribution technologies, and promotes smart grid technologies.
On March 25, 2026, Senator Alex Padilla introduced a draft transmission bill co-led by Senators John Hickenlooper, Catherine Cortez Masto, Ruben Gallego, and Angus King. The legislation aims to modernize U.S. transmission infrastructure by supporting advanced grid upgrades, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines, improved planning for demand growth, improved interconnection procedures, and reauthorization of grid resilience grant programs.
Senator Padilla's POWER On Act, included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, allocates $5 billion over five years to enhance the physical resilience of the electric grid in response to extreme weather events and natural disasters. The law funds thousands of miles of new, resilient transmission lines to facilitate the expansion of renewable energy and creates a new Grid Deployment Authority, invests in research and development for advanced transmission and electricity distribution technologies, and promotes smart grid technologies that deliver flexibility and resilience.
Padilla said he was unveiling a new legislative effort to modernize transmission infrastructure, and the press release states the draft transmission bill would support advanced grid upgrades and high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines, planning for demand growth, improved interconnection procedures, and reauthorization of grid resilience grant programs.
The enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes Division D, Title I, Grid Infrastructure and Resiliency, with sections on preventing outages and enhancing electric-grid resilience, electric grid reliability and resilience research, development, and demonstration, siting of interstate electric transmission facilities, transmission facilitation, and deployment of technologies to enhance grid flexibility.
The Senate record shows Sen. Padilla joined Sen. Cornyn in introducing the POWER ON Act of 2021, which would require DOE to establish electric grid resilience grants and a grid resilience research and development program to strengthen the electric grid against natural disasters.
Padilla used ENR questions to press witnesses on the need for stronger regional and interregional transmission policy, asking how federal transmission permitting could be reformed to close the U.S. gap with China. The record also notes his framing that planning, paying, and permitting are the core barriers to new large transmission lines and that Congress may need to legislate to complement FERC reforms.
The Senate passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the committee summary says its Power and Grid section included funding for grid reliability and resiliency plus support for a Grid Deployment Authority, with related transmission and distribution planning. That enacted part of the broader grid-modernization and resilience agenda Padilla has championed, even though it did not enact his later full transmission-modernization package.
The June 10, 2026 ENR business-meeting agenda listed pending legislation for committee consideration, including two Padilla bills on California water/public lands matters, but did not list Padilla's transmission-modernization discussion draft or any bill matching its HVDC, interconnection, planning, or grid-resilience-grant package.
The June 17, 2026 ENR business-meeting agenda listed only S.1547, a National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund bill, for committee consideration; it did not show committee action on Padilla's transmission-modernization draft.
The discussion draft is a 119th Congress, 2nd Session Senate bill text naming Hickenlooper, Padilla, King, Gallego, and Cortez Masto. It would amend the Federal Power Act on interstate electric transmission, define advanced transmission conductors and grid-enhancing technology, create transmission permitting and planning provisions, and require FERC action to expedite generator interconnection procedures.
Padilla's office said he unveiled a legislative effort to modernize transmission infrastructure, including advanced grid upgrades, high-voltage direct current lines, planning for demand growth, improved interconnection procedures, and reauthorization of grid resilience grant programs.
The enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes Division D, Title I on grid infrastructure and resiliency, with provisions on electric-grid resilience, transmission siting, transmission facilitation, and deployment of technologies to enhance grid flexibility.
Public Law 119-21 rescinded unobligated balances from several Inflation Reduction Act energy sections, including section 50151, 50152, and 50153, while separately adding energy-dominance financing language that includes transmission among eligible energy activities.
Assessments
Padilla materially advanced the promise in office by introducing or co-leading transmission and grid-resilience legislation, including a 2026 discussion draft that directly covered HVDC lines, advanced grid upgrades, demand-growth planning, interconnection reform, and grid-resilience grant reauthorization. Earlier, his POWER ON Act provisions were credited as included in the enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which delivered meaningful grid-resilience and transmission-related funding and authorities. However, the full later transmission-modernization package had not passed or advanced through committee, so the complete promised outcome was not delivered.
Padilla clearly introduced and pressed for transmission-modernization legislation while in office, including a draft bill in 2026 that tracked the promise’s core components and earlier work that fed parts of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. But the evidence does not show that the full package he promised was enacted, so this is meaningful legislative effort and partial delivery rather than full fulfillment.
Padilla materially advanced the promise by introducing a 2026 draft transmission bill that directly matches the promised components, including HVDC, advanced grid upgrades, demand-growth planning, interconnection procedures, and grid resilience grant reauthorization. He also had related grid-resilience provisions from his POWER On Act included in the enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, delivering part of the broader transmission/grid modernization agenda. However, the specific comprehensive 2026 transmission modernization package appears to be a draft/introduced effort rather than enacted law, and the enacted IIJA provisions do not fully cover every promised item. This supports partial delivery with serious legislative effort in the same federal term context.
Senator Padilla introduced and helped pass significant legislation (notably, the POWER On Act as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) that modernized U.S. transmission infrastructure, provided billions in funding, and supported advanced grid upgrades. Additionally, he introduced a new draft transmission bill in 2026 directly addressing the promise components such as HVDC lines, interconnection, and planning. However, some measures (such as supporting advanced procedures and full passage of all newly introduced bills) have not been entirely realized within the same term, indicating ongoing but incomplete fulfillment.
Senator Padilla introduced and worked on legislation to modernize U.S. transmission infrastructure and secured partial delivery through inclusion of his POWER On Act in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which allocates significant funding and policy support to grid modernization efforts. However, the full legislative package as envisioned in the campaign promise (including all specified priorities) was not enacted, as the introduced draft bill was not passed into law during the term. These efforts constitute substantial progress and legislative initiative, but do not amount to complete fulfillment.