Senator Martin Heinrich has introduced new legislation that could accelerate the integration of new generation and storage resources into the US grid. The bill would compel regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) across the nation to offer a ‘connect and manage’ interconnection service, modeled on an approach credited with rapid project onboarding in Texas. If passed, the policy would require compliance within 12 to 18 months of enactment.
Texas model inspires national mandate
The ‘connect and manage’ model has seen notable success in Texas, where grid operator ERCOT executed over 100 GW of interconnection agreements from 2020 through 2024. Comparative studies referenced by the bill’s sponsors suggest that this model enables much faster onboarding of new projects, helping meet rising demands for renewable and storage capacity. The bill points to a January 2026 Berkeley Lab report that directly connected ERCOT’s approach to its outperformance on interconnection volume relative to other US regions.
The Texas experience offers a compelling case study for federal policymakers looking to unlock transmission bottlenecks. Under ERCOT’s method, certain operational risks and congestion constraints are actively managed in real-time, rather than through up-front infrastructure expansion. This allows projects to begin delivering energy, subject to curtailment if grid reliability is threatened, without waiting years for major network upgrades.
The bill would make it unlawful for any federally regulated RTO or ISO to deny what it terms ‘Basic Access Service for Energy-Only Delivery’ (BASED), the federal name given to the connect and manage offering. RTOs and ISOs would be required to prioritize projects requesting BASED service, potentially moving them ahead in existing interconnection queues.
Key provisions for grid operators
The pending legislation sets out specific requirements for the new service. BASED evaluations would focus on essential technical studies, including steady-state thermal and voltage assessments, short-circuit and stability analyses, and specific facilities studies to determine if additional upgrades are strictly necessary for reliability.
Critically, BASED reviews must assume that many constraints will be handled operationally. For example, instead of triggering large capital upgrades, grid operators could use dispatch changes, curtailments, operating limits, or remedial action schemes to keep within reliability standards. Facilities or upgrades beyond this would only be identified if operational responses cannot assure compliance.
This framework represents a material shift from the traditional study-and-build process, where the full cost of upgrades for worst-case scenarios is charged to interconnecting developers up-front, often leading to long project delays and queue backlogs.
Intent to speed project interconnection
The central goal of the bill is to reduce the wait times and financial uncertainty faced by developers seeking to connect new generation and storage resources, including utility-scale solar, wind, and battery projects. The policy would shift part of the reliability management burden away from upfront infrastructure planning and toward operational grid management once resources are online.
By prioritizing BASED service applicants, the bill seeks to triage the current interconnection queue logjams that have been flagged by project sponsors in most grid regions. This offers an opportunity for developers to bring projects online more quickly, with curtailment risks made explicit and manageable by contract, but not faced with indefinite delays waiting for extensive network expansion.
The use of operational measures instead of hard infrastructure upgrades could, if effective, allow grid operators to accommodate more resources, albeit with new challenges in system balancing and curtailment risk that buyers and developers will need to actively manage.
Changes to the Federal Power Act
The regulatory pathway for these reforms is through amendment to the Federal Power Act. Upon enactment, it would be deemed “unjust and unreasonable” for an RTO or ISO not to offer BASED service. The bill gives grid operators a 12 to 18 month implementation window to develop and roll out their connect and manage process.
While the legislation sets the foundation for a federal standard, it leaves room for grid operators to condition service on curtailment, or to allow modifications proposed by interconnection customers, such as self-imposed operating limits or other mitigations. This flexibility could be key to managing risk for both buyers and system operators as new power sources come online.
The statutory focus on technical studies and operational interventions is designed to ensure that reliability standards are preserved, even as timelines and cost barriers are reduced for project sponsors.
Potential implications for market participants
Adopting BASED as a national standard would create a clearer, faster pathway from development to injection for new projects, reducing the uncertainty and risk that have often slowed US clean energy growth. The model’s shift toward managed curtailment and real-time system management could incentivize innovation in project siting, storage co-location, and portfolio risk sharing.
However, it may also introduce more variability in project revenues, especially for those resources likely to face frequent curtailment during network congestion or system stress events. Market participants will need to adapt financing structures, offtake agreements, and operational plans to account for these new dynamics.
For grid operators, a higher volume of projects with BASED service statuses could strain real-time management capabilities and necessitate new tools for congestion forecasting, redispatch, and reliability assurance. Effective coordination among developers, utilities, and regulators will be fundamental to keeping the grid stable as more resources operate with dynamic access rights.
What this means for buyers
For institutional buyers, developers, and investors, the ‘connect and manage’ model could unlock faster access to new capacity amid climbing demand for clean energy and digital infrastructure. While it could reduce time to energization, buyers must weigh the increased curtailment and operational risks attached to BASED service agreements. New financing, insurance, and contracting models will likely emerge in response to these changes, requiring close diligence and adaptive risk management strategies on the part of all market stakeholders.
