Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation
“America's electricity grid was designed for a slower era. It wasn't built for AI data centers, advanced manufacturing, or the explosive energy demand of the 21st century — and it's showing.
A new briefing paper from the Cato Institute makes a compelling case for a bold idea: Consumer-Regulated Electricity (hashtag#CRE).
In a nutshell: instead of forcing every new large energy user to wait years in a backlogged utility queue, CRE would let private investors build independent, off-grid power systems — generation and transmission — and sell electricity directly to sophisticated customers under voluntary contracts, without connecting to the existing regulated grid. Think of it as bringing market competition to an industry that's operated as a monopoly for over a century.
Why does this matter right now?
* Utilities designed for slow, predictable demand growth can't keep pace with data centers and AI infrastructure
* The current interconnection process involves years of studies, regulatory approvals, and rate negotiations
* When big industrial customers arrive, ratepayers often end up footing the bill for grid upgrades
CRE offers a parallel path. Private grids would:
✔ Come online faster, bypassing interconnection backlogs
✔ Serve large, sophisticated customers who voluntarily opt in and manage their own risk
✔ Inject competition and innovation into a stagnant sector
✔ Relieve pressure on the existing grid rather than overloading it
This isn't deregulation for its own sake — it's a targeted, practical fix. CRE entities would still comply with environmental rules, safety standards, building codes, and federal oversight where applicable (think: the NRC for nuclear). What they'd be free from is the slow, centralized utility regulatory apparatus that wasn't designed for today's energy needs.
The idea is gaining real traction: ALEC has adopted it as model legislation, multiple state legislatures are considering it, and federal legislation (the DATA Act) has been introduced to clear the path nationally.
Energy abundance doesn't have to wait. We just need to make room for competition.’
