The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security on Oct. 25 passed bills that would prohibit the Department of Energy from increasing distribution transformer conservation standards for five years, require federal energy regulators to review federal agency actions that are likely to have significant negative impacts on the reliability and adequacy of the bulk-power system, and reform the federal hydropower licensing process to protect existing resources and encourage the development of small and next-generation projects.