Electric Grid Expansion in Permitting Push Splits US Lawmakers

US lawmakers are divided on how to modernize and expand the electric grid as electricity costs skyrocket.

Expanding transmission lines, or long-distance power lines, is a key component of the broader bipartisan effort in Congress to overhaul the federal environmental permitting process with a legislative package by the end of this year.

The House has passed multiple bipartisan bills aimed at streamlining environmental permitting as the Senate also negotiates a permit package behind closed doors. But House lawmakers have yet to agree on how to tackle transmission permitting issues, posing challenges for the permitting overhaul effort.

“We want to sit ...