At a special open meeting Monday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on a 2-1 vote issued a long-awaited transmission planning and cost allocation reform rule that aims to help the United States meet its long-range transmission needs.

The U.S. is experiencing significant load growth, the power supply mix is changing and the grid is being pushed to the brink by extreme weather, FERC Chairman Willie Phillips said during the meeting. But high-voltage power line construction hit a record low in 2022, and much of that construction was “Band Aid fixes,” he said, noting that FERC hasn’t updated its transmission planning requirements in more than a decade.

“This rule cannot come fast enough,” Phillips, a Democrat, said during the meeting. “There is an urgent need to act to ensure the reliability and the affordability of our grid.”