‘Keeping the Lights On’ in PA: In response to dire PUC warning, House Democrats share policy to prevent grid failures
Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler October 19, 2026 | 2:27 PM
HARRISBURG, Oct 19 – In early September, the PUC released a dire report warning about Pennsylvania’s energy future: because of the skyrocketing demand brought on by AI data centers, blackouts and other grid failures could be six times worse than PJM’s planning standard by 2030.
House Democrats and the House Energy Committee today announced a comprehensive, three-pronged approach to addressing and reversing this crisis: generation, efficiency and demand response.
The bills in the package are:
“The House Energy Committee has been sounding the alarm on this crisis since day one. We’ve put forward bills that would increase generation, stabilize and modernize our grid, and help us meet demand at those vulnerable, peak moments when power outages are most likely to occur,” said Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, committee chair. “My bill to modernize PEDA as a financing authority would unlock new energy supply, encourage innovation and put people to work across Pennsylvania.”
Renewables like solar and wind are currently the cheapest and fastest new energy sources to get online. Chris D’Agostino of Advanced Energy United, spoke about the urgent need for siting reform, which would allow more renewable energy projects to get sited in the Commonwealth.
“We know solar, wind and battery storage can help keep the lights on, and we’ve seen it in states like Texas,” said D’Agostino, principal of Pennsylvania policy at Advanced Energy United. “But here in Pennsylvania, these resources still make up a small share of our electricity supply, and too many barriers are standing in the way of building more. We need to get out of our own way and build the energy resources we need. At the end of the day, families and businesses should be able to go about their daily lives without worrying about whether the lights will stay on.”
Along with generation to meet demand, increasing efficiency with the energy already produced is another prong of the package. Rep. Kyle Donahue, D-Lackawanna, spoke about the importance of his grid efficiency bill, H.B. 550.
“Keeping the lights on means more than producing enough electricity. It means using energy more efficiently, strengthening our electric system and protecting consumers from unnecessary costs” Donahue said. “House Bill 505 takes a commonsense approach by modernizing outdated energy efficiency programs, helping families and businesses reduce energy use, and preparing our electric grid to meet growing demand. Pennsylvanians deserve reliable electricity and energy policies that put consumers first.”
Meanwhile, H.B. 660, which passed the House in February, would set minimum appliance efficiency standards for a set of 15 household and commercial appliances and plumbing fixtures sold new in the Commonwealth. If enacted, these standards would save enough electricity to power around 46,000 Pennsylvania homes each year. The legislation has been supported by over 30 environmental and consumer organizations, including PennEnvironment.
“Energy efficiency standards are such smart policies because they embody the idea that the cleanest, cheapest energy is the energy you don't need to use in the first place,” said Flora Cardoni, PennEnvironment’s deputy director. “Appliance energy efficiency standards are a small but powerful way to generate huge savings for Pennsylvania consumers and business, while also being a simple way to reduce pollution.”
Managing peak demand, such as during extreme weather events, is also a crucial aspect to preventing grid failures. Speakers made the case that modern technology can be utilized to lessen the impact of high demand, as well as reduce costs for regular ratepayers.
“The PUC recently issued an urgent warning that rapidly increasing electricity demand is threatening Pennsylvanians’ finances and well-being,” state Rep. Nikki Rivera, D-Lancaster, said. “Demand from cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, along with increasingly violent weather, is straining our power grid, driving rate increases and raising the risk of blackouts. We must act now. My battery storage legislation, H.B. 2380, offers a practical, proven solution. It stores electricity when it’s cheap and releases it when demand peaks, reducing strain on the grid, avoiding costly upgrades and lowering electricity bills. Thirteen states have already adopted battery storage targets. It’s time for Pennsylvania to join them, and I urge the Senate to pass this bill.”
Working in tandem with battery storage units would be Rep. Nate Davidson’s virtual power plant legislation, H.B. 2264.
“Pennsylvanians every day are facing rising energy costs, and the PUC has been clear about the strain that current demand growth will place on our grid,” said Davidson, D-Cumberland/Dauphin. “Demand response is the fastest tool to address rising energy costs, and standing up Virtual Power Plants through House Bill 2264 will reduce energy bills for Pennsylvanians within the year. Adding new baseload generation to our energy grid over the next decade is a shared priority, but ratepayers across Pennsylvania cannot wait a decade for action to lower their utility bills.”
“In the last five years, rates have steeply increased, outpacing inflation, despite the fact that energy usage has declined,” said Brad Barkdoll, director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance. “Residential bills rose around 39. Commercials bills rose around 51% to 59%. This is unaffordable and unsustainable. It's why KEEA is here today, proudly supporting this package of commonsense bills aimed at driving solutions that are available right now to deliver cost-effective results."
The majority of bills in the package have passed the House and await movement in the Senate.
The full press conference is available at this link: https://www.youtube.com/live/4eSpTD7mIvo.