1st Quarter 2026 Recap
ADVOCATES FOR CRE
Q1 2026 CRE Newsletter
Highlights from January–March 2026
The first quarter of 2026 showed CRE moving from concept to broad legislative debate. There were three big developments: federal and state bills, new work by Travis Fisher and Glen Lyons, and widening outside attention from legislators, think tanks, journalists, and public witnesses.
At a Glance
• Federal momentum: the DATA Act (S.3585) was introduced to exempt qualifying off-grid systems from key federal utility regulation.
• State momentum: Maryland’s SB 26 / HB 1190 and Colorado’s HB 26-1246 put CRE-style reforms directly before lawmakers.
• Thought leadership: Our Cato briefing paper and related commentary became anchor references in the CRE debate.
• Public engagement: Q1 featured hearings, written testimony, podcasts, and speeches that pushed CRE beyond narrow policy circles.
1. CRE Bills and Legislative Action
S.3585 – DATA Act of 2026
Advocates4CRE highlighted the new federal bill as a major step toward exempting certain off-grid electricity systems from the Federal Power Act, FERC, and NERC oversight. In Q1, this was the single most important federal CRE development.
Original: Congress.gov bill page
Maryland’s CRE Bill: SB 26
Senator Mike McKay’s bill was a direct response to rising prices, reliability concerns, and the need to attract new business. The core argument was that physically off-grid providers should not be regulated like utilities serving the shared grid.
Original: Maryland General Assembly bill page
Colorado HB 26-1246
The Colorado bill carried CRE into another statehouse. Rep. Ken DeGraaf’s made the case that Colorado can either keep customers captive to monopoly utility structures or create room for innovation, competition, and responsible private investment.
Original: Colorado bill page
2. Written Work
Cato’s briefing paper became a cornerstone CRE text
Our Cato briefing paper is the clearest single statement of CRE’s policy logic: privately financed, islanded utilities serving new customers under voluntary contracts without shifting costs or reliability risks onto existing ratepayers.
Original: Cato briefing paper
The Hill printed our op-ed offering a faster way to power AI ambitions
We made the case that CRE can enable the electricity buildout while protecting consumers. The key is allowing entrepreneurs and private investors to establish new, private utilities and grids outside the existing sector, free from utility regulations.
Original: The Hill op-ed
The Show-Me Institute on why the DATA Act matters at the state level
A Show-Me Institute piece explained why state CRE reform is stronger when paired with federal reform. The message: state approval alone is not enough if federal regulation still blocks speed-to-market for isolated systems.
Original: Show-Me Institute article
Louisiana's Pelican Institute sees this as the time for private grids
CRE provides an elegant solution. It is a complementary policy, a market-driven parallel path for large load customers that can work alongside all existing options. It enables regulators to deliver the speed to power that these hyperscalers desperately want, and it allows them to do that at no risk to the grid and no cost to ratepayers.
Original: Pelican Institute on private grids
The John Locke Foundation on North Carolina and the ‘build, bring, or buy’ approach
A John Locke Foundation piece argued that policymakers do not need to solve every grid problem themselves. Instead, they can let large-load customers build, bring, or buy power from systems off the grid while shielding existing ratepayers.
Original: John Locke Foundation article
Wisconsin's MacIver Institute Promotes Innovation
Writing for the MacIver Institute, Andrew Weiss sees the potential for CRE to give Wisconsin a competitive advantage over other states by reducing the time and uncertainty associated with large-scale energy deployments under the current system.
Original: MacIver Institute piece
Travis Fisher cited before the Minnesota Committee on State and Local Government
One of the clearest signs of CRE’s policy reach in Q1 was that Fisher’s news release on powering AI data centers without raising rates was cited in a state legislative setting outside the states carrying CRE bills.
Original: Cato media highlight
3. Podcasts and Public Testimony
U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources hearing on the State of the Bulk Power System
Travis Fisher testified before the committee that CRE would enable speed to power for the customers who value it most while not burdening the existing grid. CRE is therefore a policy proposal that offers a practical and simple tool for policymakers.
Original: Full Testimony
Maryland Senate hearing on SB 26
Senator Mike McKay’s gave a stellar five-minute presentation of the bill to Maryland’s Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee. He argued that CRE can accelerate energy availability and attract data centers without burdening the traditional system.
Original: YouTube hearing clip
Texas Power Summit
Glen Lyons used the inaugural Texas Power Summit to deliver a broader message to students: electricity will shape the future economy, and policy reform can create more room for entrepreneurship in the power sector.
Original: Texas Power Summit website
Podcast: The Case for Consumer Regulated Electricity
A roughly hour-long conversation with Tam Kemabonta helped move CRE from white paper to long-form public explanation. This was one of Q1’s most useful audio introductions for readers who wanted the full argument in spoken form.
Original: Gridlocked / Unlocked interview
Former FERC Chairman Willie Phillips testimony in support of Maryland's HB 1190
Chairman Phillips delivered powerful testimony: “I speak in favor of it of it on the merits, not just as good policy, energy policy, because it addresses a genuine gap in the Maryland regulatory structure. This gap pertains to electric generation facilities that are not connected to the Maryland grid. This gap creates ambiguity for developers, investors, as well as local communities. Now, uncertainty is important in my experience for a few reasons. Number one, as you know, agencies like the Maryland Public Service Commission, they don't have infinite resources. The PSC must focus its resources on facilities that impact directly rateayers as well as the reliability of the grid. Number two, this bill provides enhanced resilience for certain facilities, especially critical infrastructure facilities. And also, by definition, an off-grid generating facility does not have the same impact on Maryland rateayers as on-rid resources do. Now there are many people who may raise a question about whether or not this creates a regulatory gap. I want to be clear. This is not deregulation. This is appropriate regulation.”
Original: Chairman Phillip's testimony
Colorado testimony in support of HB 26-1246
Sarah Montalbano testified for the Independence Institute, and described CRE utilities as a second track for serving new large loads through systems physically separated from the existing grid.
Original: Independence Institute testimony
4. Others Writing and Speaking About CRE
Heatmap: CRE gains attention across ideological lines
The blog flagged Heatmap’s coverage as evidence that CRE was no longer just an internal policy argument. It was being noticed as a nonpartisan or cross-partisan response to the data center and electricity challenge.
Original: Heatmap article
Grid Brief highlights CRE
In Grid Brief's view CRE is now moving quickly enough in policy circles that it deserves a proper look. It's emerging as a serious solution to two of the grid’s most urgent problems: rising electric bills and the challenge of serving large new loads like data centers without blowing up the system for everyone else.
Original: Grid Brief newsletter
Coalition push for off-grid federal reform
The Competitive Enterprise Institute spearheaded a coalition letter and outside coverage of it, showing organized support from multiple conservative and libertarian groups for removing federal barriers to off-grid power.
Original: CEI coalition letter
Colorado debate broadened beyond the legislature
Rocky Mountain Voice allowed HB 26-1246 to start attracting third-party validation beyond the legislature. That kind of ecosystem support matters in early-stage legislative campaigns.
Original: Rocky Mountain Voice article
5. How You Can Advance CRE
The bills below are the concrete Q1 legislative vehicles. For federal advocacy, Senate offices generally do not publish public constituent email addresses; they route messages through official webforms. Where no public constituent email is listed, this newsletter provides the official contact form and phone number instead.
Bill
Why it matters
Current status noted in sources
Who to contact
Federal: S.3585 – DATA Act of 2026
Creates the federal pathway for qualifying off-grid CRE-style systems by exempting certain new systems from key federal regulation.
Referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Sen. Tom Cotton: Official contact form | (202) 224-2353
Senate ENR Committee: Committee office | (202) 224-4971
Your two U.S. senators: Senate contact directory | Use your senators’ listed office numbers
Maryland: SB 26 / HB 1190
Would exempt qualifying off-grid electricity providers from conventional utility regulation in Maryland while preserving certain siting and construction approvals.
SB 26 remained in the Senate after a Feb. 19 hearing; HB 1190 was the House cross-file and had a March 3 hearing.
Sen. Mike McKay: mike.mckay@senate.maryland.gov | 410-841-3565
Sen. Brian Feldman (EEE Chair): brian.feldman@senate.maryland.gov| 410-841-3169
Del. Jim Hinebaugh: jim.hinebaugh@house.maryland.gov| 410-841-3435
Colorado: HB 26-1246
Would establish consumer-regulated electric utilities for new nonresidential electric loads and exempt them from certain public utility regulation.
Under consideration; the official bill page showed an upcoming House Energy & Environment meeting on Apr. 22.
Rep. Ken DeGraaf: ken.degraaf.house@coleg.gov | 303-866-2927
Rep. Alex Valdez (Chair): alex.valdez.house@coleg.gov | 303-866-2925
Best advocacy message in one sentence
CRE lets new large loads build or buy power off-grid, faster and at private risk, without shifting costs or reliability risks onto existing ratepayers.
Suggested ask
Please support CRE-style legislation that creates a parallel path for new large electric loads served by physically isolated systems under voluntary contracts.
Bottom Line
Q1 2026 was the quarter when CRE looked less like a thought experiment and more like an emerging legislative and policy campaign. Federal reform, live state bills, cited scholarship, hearing testimony, and outside media attention all pointed in the same direction: CRE is becoming a real option in the debate over how to power large new loads without burdening existing customers.
