2024: Schweikert Voted To Prohibit The Implementation Of An FERC Order Regarding Regional Transmission Facilities. In July 2024, Schweikert voted for , according to Congressional Quarterly, "amendment no. 54 that would prohibit the use of funds provided by the bill to implement, administer or enforce a May 2024 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order related to long-term planning for regional transmission facilities." The vote was on the amendment. The underlying legislation was the FY 2025 Energy-Water appropriations. The House rejected the amendment by a vote of 209 to 213. [House Vote 375, 7/23/24; Congressional Quarterly, 7/23/24; Congressional Actions, H.Amdt.1115; Congressional Actions, H.R. 8997]
- The Rule Required Transmission Providers To Complete And Regularly Update Long-Term Planning For Facilities. According to the FERC, "The grid rule adopts specific requirements for transmission providers to conduct long-term planning for regional transmission facilities and determine how to pay for them. It reflects tens of thousands of pages of comments, filed over the course of the past three years, from hundreds of stakeholders representing all sectors of the electric power industry, advocacy groups and state and other government entities. The rule requires transmission operators to conduct and periodically update long-term transmission planning over a 20-year time horizon to anticipate future needs. It also provides for cost-effective expansion of transmission that is being replaced, when needed, known as 'right-sizing' transmission facilities. And it expressly provides for the states' pivotal role throughout the process of planning, selecting, and determining how to pay for transmission lines." [FERC, 5/13/24]