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.
Assessments
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.