Affordable, Reliable, Clean Energy Security Act of 2025
H.R. 5765, the Affordable, Reliable, Clean Energy Security Act of 2025, would establish uniform, statute-based definitions for three energy terms—affordable, reliable, and clean—and require federal departments and agencies to identify, publish, and ultimately incorporate these definitions into their regulations, grants, guidance, and policies. The bill directs the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Secretaries of the Interior and EPA Administrator, to map existing programs to these definitions, publish the results, and then update relevant programs accordingly. It also requires reports to Congress and public posting of those reports. The overarching aim is to standardize how the federal government assesses and incentivizes energy across programs, potentially affecting which energy sources qualify as “affordable,” “reliable,” or “clean” and how federal funding and rules are applied. Key elements include a definition set that specifically outlines what counts as affordable (low-cost electricity considering full system costs), reliable (based on a 60% or higher effective load carrying capability and not intermittent or weather-impacted), and clean (covering certain listed energy sources, nuclear, and hydrocarbon combustion that meets air quality standards). The process creates a multi-step timeline for identification, adoption, and reporting, with mandatory updates to regulations and public disclosure.
Key Points
- 1Establishes formal definitions for affordable, reliable, and clean energy to be used across federal programs.
- 2Identification Report due within 90 days: energy-related regulations, grants, guidance, and policies across federal agencies must be cataloged and shared publicly.
- 3Definition Adoption due within 180 days: agencies must update regulations, grants, guidance, and policies to reflect the Act’s definitions.
- 4Incorporation Report due within 180 days: agencies must report to Congress on how and to what extent the definitions have been incorporated, with public posting.
- 5Public transparency: all identification and incorporation reports must be published on the respective agency websites (Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, and EPA).