House Energy and Commerce backs baseload power push for U.S. AI growth

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Baseload power for AI growth

Highlights

House Energy and Commerce backs bipartisan legislation including the Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act and Reliable Power Act to accelerate permitting for reliable baseload power infrastructure.
Guthrie argues expanded dispatchable generation—natural gas, coal, and nuclear—is critical for U.S. AI growth, manufacturing competitiveness, and consumer cost containment amid rising electric demand and China competition.
The committee highlights coordinated energy permitting reform as essential for onshoring manufacturing, supporting grid reliability, and enabling responsible data center development to upgrade infrastructure and manage system costs.

Permitting agenda tied to grid reliability

As reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Guthrie says in an op-ed published in the Washington Times that the main constraint on U.S. leadership in AI is access to on-demand, dispatchable power that can secure the grid while meeting energy needs from new technologies.

He argues that years of policy support for intermittent sources such as wind and solar have left the grid more exposed to blackout risks and less prepared for future demand growth. In his view, baseload generation from sources including natural gas, coal and nuclear remains necessary to ensure reliability, with backup capacity needed to prevent blackouts and brownouts.

Guthrie says the committee is advancing bipartisan legislation to speed infrastructure development and keep power plants from retiring too early. He highlights the Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act, which would strengthen FERC's role in federal permitting for interstate natural gas pipelines, and the Reliable Power Act, which would require FERC to review and comment on federal rules affecting electricity generation during periods of high reliability risk.

AI expansion and industry implications

Guthrie frames electricity policy as part of a broader economic and strategic competition, saying American companies currently lead in AI innovation but face growing pressure from China. He argues that reliable power supplies are needed not only for startups and manufacturers but also to keep long-term costs down for consumers as AI deployment expands across sectors.

He also says data centers, if connected responsibly, can help support grid upgrades, finance local services and absorb fixed system costs, potentially mitigating pressure on household electricity bills. At the same time, he says industry must work with local communities to address concerns tied to new energy and data infrastructure buildout.

More broadly, the op-ed links energy permitting reform to onshoring manufacturing and preserving U.S. competitiveness in advanced technologies. Guthrie says the country needs a coordinated approach among producers, grid operators, regulators and manufacturers to strengthen the grid and support AI development.

Our earlier report on House Republicans’ push to repeal the federal building electrification mandate under H.R. 4690 outlined concerns that forcing new and renovated government facilities to phase out on-site fossil fuels by 2030 could raise taxpayer costs and strain grid capacity. The piece highlighted industry arguments for a fuel-neutral approach that preserves operational flexibility and resilience for mission-critical sites, reflecting a broader debate over balancing decarbonization goals with reliability and infrastructure readiness.

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