FAS Endorses the State Energy and Oversight Act of 2026
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) vigorously endorses the State Energy and Oversight Act of 2026. FAS commends the leadership of Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) who is introducing this important legislation that supports the essential functions of public utility commissions in providing affordable, resilient, and reliable energy for consumers across the country.
As FAS has argued time and again, we won’t solve the cost-of-living crisis without improving the capacity of state public utility commissions to protect customers, find and implement new solutions to meet rising demand, and realign broken utility incentives. This bill would take an important step to that end.
The State Energy Oversight Act would create a new Department of Energy (DOE) program to provide financial and technical assistance to public utility commissions, which are responsible for regulating utilities that provide the essential energy, telecommunications, and water services in each state.
The State Energy Oversight Act also authorizes DOE to provide information, recommendations
and best practices, and other forms of technical assistance to states to support rate cases, the design of rate structures, and other matters that come before commissions.
“State public utility commissions are the peoples’ best defense against skyrocketing bills and exploding data center energy use. Unfortunately these commissions are outdated, underfunded, and understaffed, and families and businesses are paying the price. This bill would strengthen states’ affordability arsenal through much-needed funding and technical support for commissions,” says Arjun Krishnaswami, FAS Senior Advisor.
For more information, contact Gil Ruiz at GRuiz@FAS.org or Arjun Krishnaswami at AKrishnaswami@FAS.org.
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