The Affordable, Reliable, Clean Energy Security Act of 2025 defines three core terms—affordable, reliable, and clean energy—and directs federal departments to reflect those definitions in regulations, grants, and guidance. It creates a structured process for identifying current policies that mention these terms and requires agencies to publish findings and update rules to align with the new definitions.
The bill also requires transparency through public reporting on how agencies incorporate these definitions into their programs. The aim is to standardize what counts as affordable, reliable, and clean energy across federal policy to reduce ambiguity and improve consistency in how programs are administered and funded.
At a Glance
What It Does
It establishes formal definitions for affordable, reliable, and clean energy and requires three agencies to identify relevant regulations, grants, and policies and to update them to reflect the definitions. It also mandates publication of these assessments and incorporation reports.
Who It Affects
The Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency lead the process; their updates shape how federal programs operate and how energy-related regulations are interpreted by state and local entities and by industry stakeholders.
Why It Matters
The definitions create a common framework for evaluating energy programs, potentially affecting funding criteria, regulatory standards, and policy priorities across federal agencies. This reduces ambiguity and aims to align federal actions with a unified energy strategy.
More articles like this one.
A weekly email with all the latest developments on this topic.
What This Bill Actually Does
The bill starts by defining three terms that will shape federal energy policy. Affordable energy is defined as a low-cost method of producing electricity that accounts for the full system cost of each generation source.
Reliable energy is characterized by a 60 percent or higher Effective Load Carrying Capability, absence of intermittent availability, and immunity to routine weather that would diminish output. Clean energy includes sources listed in federal law, nuclear power, and energy produced from hydrocarbons that complies with air quality standards, including natural gas.
These definitions set the boundaries for how energy projects and programs will be evaluated going forward.
To implement these definitions, the bill requires the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Secretary of the Interior and the Administrator of the EPA, to submit an Identification Report to Congress within 90 days of enactment. That report must identify regulations, grants, guidance, and policies currently in effect that touch on affordable, reliable, or clean energy.
The same trio must publish this report on their public websites. Not later than 90 days after the report is submitted, they must update all relevant regulations, grants, guidance, and policies to incorporate the new definitions.
Finally, within 180 days of enactment, each agency must submit a report detailing how they have incorporated these definitions into their regulations, grants, guidance, and policies, with that report also published publicly. These steps create a transparent, auditable path from definitions to ongoing regulatory changes.Taken together, the act seeks to standardize federal energy terminology and align agency policies accordingly.
By requiring public reporting and concrete updates, it aims to reduce regulatory ambiguity and help stakeholders plan with a clearer, federally consistent framework for what counts as affordable, reliable, and clean energy.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill defines affordable energy as a low-cost method of producing electricity considering full system costs.
Reliable energy is defined as having an Effective Load Carrying Capability of 60% or greater, with no routine weather-related interruptions.
Clean energy includes EPAct-listed sources, nuclear energy, and hydrocarbon combustion that meets Clean Air Act standards (including natural gas).
Three federal agencies must submit an Identification Report within 90 days identifying regulations, grants, guidance, and policies related to the defined terms.
Within 90 days after the Identification Report, agencies must update all relevant regulations and publish incorporation progress; a second report due within 180 days documents incorporation efforts.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Definitions of affordable, reliable, and clean energy
Section 2 provides the core definitions that will guide all related federal energy policy. Affordable energy centers on the full system cost of generation; reliable energy requires a minimum ELC threshold and protection from routine weather disruptions; clean energy includes listed sources, nuclear power, and hydrocarbon combustion meeting air quality standards, including natural gas. These definitions set the baseline for how programs, grants, and regulations will be evaluated going forward.
Incorporation of definitions into federal policy
Section 3 creates a three-part process: (a) an Identification Report due within 90 days identifying relevant regulations, grants, guidance, and policies; (b) public publication of that report on agency websites; (c) a definition-adoption step not later than 90 days after the Identification Report is submitted, requiring updates to regulations, grants, guidance, and policies to reflect the definitions; and (d)-(e) periodic incorporation reporting and public publication showing how the definitions are implemented. This establishes a formal, auditable path from definitions to policy updates.
This bill is one of many.
Codify tracks hundreds of bills on Energy across all five countries.
Explore Energy in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Federal agencies (DOE, Interior, EPA) gain a statutory process and criteria for aligning policies with explicit energy definitions.
- Utilities and energy project developers benefit from reduced regulatory ambiguity as programs and standards cohere around common terms.
- State energy regulators and utility commissions gain clearer references for implementing federal standards at state and local levels.
- Consumers and ratepayers potentially benefit from more predictable energy pricing and reliability standards due to standardized definitions.
Who Bears the Cost
- Federal agencies incur staff time and administrative costs to prepare the Identification Report, update regulations, and produce incorporation reports.
- Regulated entities (utilities, project developers, and grant recipients) may face compliance costs to align operations and funding criteria with the new definitions.
- States and local governments might incur costs to harmonize their own programs with the updated federal standards and reporting expectations.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The bill asks agencies to formalize definitions that may broaden or narrow the set of energy sources considered affordable, reliable, and clean. This creates a trade-off between clarity and the risk of unintentionally constraining the energy mix or shifting funding criteria. The reliance on a specific reliability metric (60% ELC) and the inclusion of hydrocarbons—subject to air quality standards—pose practical questions about measurement, compliance, and environmental impact as programs are updated.
A central policy tension is that the definitions could redefine what counts as
Try it yourself.
Ask a question in plain English, or pick a topic below. Results in seconds.