Noncontiguous Energy Relief and Access Act of 2025
The Noncontiguous Energy Relief and Access Act of 2025 would amend 46 U.S.C. § 55102 to create a new category of trade and provide an exemption for transporting energy products within that category. Specifically, it defines “covered noncontiguous trade” as shipments between a contiguous U.S. state and one of Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, or Puerto Rico, or between two points within Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, or Puerto Rico. It also defines what counts as energy products, energy sources, equipment, and related terms. The bill then inserts an exemptions clause clarifying that the existing coastwise transportation requirements (the Jones Act constraints on moving goods between U.S. ports) do not apply to the transportation of energy products in these covered noncontiguous trades. The overall aim is to improve energy relief and access for noncontiguous regions by expanding permissible domestic shipping of energy-related goods within the defined framework. In short, the bill would allow energy products (such as fuels and components used for electricity generation and distribution) to be transported by vessels between U.S. ports in a broader set of noncontiguous trade routes, without being bound by certain coastwise restrictions that otherwise apply to other cargo, provided at least one endpoint is in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, or Puerto Rico.
Key Points
- 1Creation of “covered noncontiguous trade”: Defines trade between a contiguous 48-state port and a port in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, or Puerto Rico, or between two ports within those noncontiguous areas, as a distinct category.
- 2Expanded definitions for energy-related cargo: Establishes what counts as energy products, energy sources, and equipment (including LNG, petroleum products, generators, storage, wind/solar/hydro components, and other equipment needed for electricity generation, transmission, or distribution).
- 3Energy Products Exemption: Adds a specific exemption stating that the general restrictions on transportation under subsection (b) do not apply to the transportation of energy products in covered noncontiguous trade on a vessel.
- 4Structural changes to the statutory text: Redesignates subsections to accommodate the new exemption, inserting a new subsection (c) labeled “Energy Products Exemption,” and moving the existing subsection (c) to become subsection (d).
- 5Purpose and scope: The bill is titled to emphasize energy relief and access for noncontiguous U.S. regions, signaling a policy objective to improve energy supply and resilience for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico by facilitating certain domestic vessel movements.