ENSURE Act

Ensuring National Security Using Reliable Energy Act or the ENSURE Act

This bill reverts certain policies under which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission processes applications for natural gas pipelines and related projects to previous policies until specified conditions for power system reliability and natural gas and electricity pricing are met.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4451 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4451

    To provide that certain policy statements of the Federal Energy 
  Regulatory Commission shall have no force or effect unless certain 
              conditions are met, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 22, 2022

Mr. Barrasso (for himself, Mr. Daines, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Lankford, and 
 Mrs. Capito) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide that certain policy statements of the Federal Energy 
  Regulatory Commission shall have no force or effect unless certain 
              conditions are met, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ensuring National Security Using 
Reliable Energy Act'' or the ``ENSURE Act''.

SEC. 2. FERC APPLICATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The following issuances by the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission shall have no force or effect until the date 
described in subsection (b):
            (1) The updated policy statement entitled ``Updated Policy 
        Statement on Certification of New Interstate Natural Gas 
        Facilities'' (Docket No. PL18-1-000 (February 18, 2022)).
            (2) The interim policy statement entitled ``Consideration 
        of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Natural Gas Infrastructure 
        Project Reviews'' (Docket No. PL21-3-000 (February 18, 2022)).
            (3) Any update to the policy statement entitled 
        ``Certification of New Interstate Natural Gas Pipeline 
        Facilities'' (Docket No. PL99-3-000 (September 15, 1999)).
    (b) Date Described.--The date referred to in subsection (a) is the 
later of--
            (1) the date on which the Electric Reliability Organization 
        (as defined in section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 
        U.S.C. 824o(a))) certifies that disruption to pipeline natural 
        gas supplies does not pose material risk to power system 
        reliability in any season of the year in the territory served 
        by any regional reliability entity, including the Western 
        Electricity Coordinating Council, the Midwest Reliability 
        Organization, the Texas Reliability Entity, and the Northeast 
        Power Coordinating Council; and
            (2) the date on which, as determined by the Administrator 
        of the Energy Information Administration, prices for natural 
        gas and wholesale electricity do not exceed, for not fewer than 
        3 successive calendar quarters, the average of prices for 
        natural gas and wholesale electricity that were in effect for 
        calendar years 2018, 2019, and 2020.
    (c) Requirement To Timely Process FERC Applications.--Unless and 
until the conditions described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection 
(b) are met, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall timely 
process applications under section 3(e) and section 7 of the Natural 
Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(e), 717f) pursuant to the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission policy statement entitled ``Certification of New 
Interstate Natural Gas Pipeline Facilities'' (Docket No. PL99-3-000 
(September 15, 1999)).
    (d) Right To Seek Relief.--Any party aggrieved by the failure of 
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to process an application 
described in subsection (c) in a reasonable time period may seek 
equitable relief in any Federal court of competent jurisdiction.
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