Inside Washington: March 2026
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NECA Joins President Trump For Data Center Roundtable
BlackRock Infrastructure Summit Highlights Skilled Trades Opportunity
Electrical Execs Take Capitol Hill
E&C Examines Grid Reliability in Wake of Winter Storm Fern
House Advances Bipartisan Grid Cybersecurity Package
NECA Legislative Conference 2026
NECA Joins President Trump For Data Center Roundtable
On March 4, President Trump convened the nation's leading technology and energy executives at a White House roundtable to sign the Ratepayer Protection Pledge. Seven major tech companies committed to covering the full cost of new generation resources and power delivery infrastructure upgrades required for data center construction, ensuring costs are not passed on to American households. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI all signed the pledge, which also requires companies hire local and coordinate with grid operators to strengthen grid resilience.
NECA CEO David Long, President Mark Walter, and Vice President at Large Steve Stone, were in attendance alongside Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Speaker Mike Johnson.
"The electrical construction industry plays an essential role in building the infrastructure that powers America's digital economy," said David Long. "From large-scale data centers to grid modernization and energy integration, NECA contractors are on the front lines of delivering the electrical systems that support innovation, national security, economic growth and reliable power for communities across the country."
Steve Stone emphasized the scale of what lies ahead. "The rapid expansion of data center demand and AI factory infrastructure represents one of the most significant construction opportunities of our time. NECA contractors are uniquely positioned with the most highly skilled craftspeople paired with the advanced expertise and innovative solutions necessary to meet this generation-defining moment."
What’s Next for Contractors
The pledge is a direct response to growing political pressure over rising electricity costs tied to data center expansion. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has called for a national moratorium on AI data center construction, and similar measures have been introduced or considered in Colorado, New York, Maine, and other states. For NECA contractors, the pledge represents a formal commitment to responsible data center construction. It also represents trillions of dollars in work opportunity that NECA contractors are positioned to lead on.
BlackRock Infrastructure Summit Highlights Skilled Trades Opportunity
On March 11, BlackRock and Global Infrastructure Partners convened the U.S. Infrastructure Summit in Washington under the theme "Building America's Future Together." The panel of speakers included three Cabinet secretaries, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, six U.S. senators, NextEra Energy CEO John Ketchum, UPS CEO Carol Tomé, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, and Google President Ruth Porat. NECA’s own David Long also addressed the summit alongside labor leaders from the Building Trades and Teamsters.
The Future of American Infrastructure
The summit's central message was that the world is entering what BlackRock described as the greatest period of construction in human history, with as much as $85 trillion in global infrastructure investment projected over the next 15 years. Powering that buildout requires a scaled-up skilled trades workforce. BlackRock demonstrated their commitment to developing the workforce by launching a $100 million Future Builders initiative at the summit to train 50,000 Americans in skilled trades over the next five years.
The summit reinforced what NECA members are seeing on the ground. Demand for electricians and electrical construction professionals is accelerating faster than the overall labor market, and the investment figures cited are consistent with the project pipeline NECA contractors are being asked to fill. NECA's Government Affairs team is engaged in workforce development policy and appropriations efforts to ensure the pipeline of trained electrical workers keeps pace with demand.
Electrical Execs Take Capitol Hill
On March 4, NECA CEO David Long joined NEMA President & CEO Debra Phillips, NAED President & CEO Wes Smith for meetings on Capitol Hill to advance shared priorities including workforce development, trade, permitting reform, and grid modernization.
VETs Act and Veterans Workforce Development
The coalition met with Rep. Mike Bost (IL-12), Chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, to make the case for the VETs Act and the electrical industry's commitment to hiring veterans. NECA contractors are proud employers of veterans, and Registered Apprenticeship programs represent one of the most effective pathways for transitioning service members into high-wage careers in the electrical trades. With the U.S. needing an estimated 79,000 additional electricians per year over the next decade, veterans are an underutilized talent pool that NECA contractors are eager to recruit and train.
Trade Policy and Material Cost Pressures
With Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), the discussion centered on how tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper are driving up costs for electrical contractors and creating supply chain disruptions that make long-term project bidding difficult. Higher electrical construction costs ultimately slow grid modernization and infrastructure deployment. NECA urged support for targeted exclusions for electrical materials not manufactured domestically at scale.
REWIRE Act and Grid Modernization
On March 1, just days before the group met with Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), The Senator along with Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) introduced the bipartisan REWIRE Act. The legislation modernizes the electric grid through reconductoring and advanced conductors deployed within existing rights-of-way, representing immediate, shovel-ready work for NECA contractors without the lengthy permitting timelines of new transmission corridors.
Permitting Reform
Rounding out the day, the coalition met with Wendy Baig, Staff Director for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, to press for action on the permitting backlog that remains the single largest bottleneck to grid expansion. With electricity demand growing faster than at any point in decades, delays in permitting translate directly into delays in construction and lost jobs for NECA members who build the grid.
E&C Examines Grid Reliability in Wake of Winter Storm Fern
On March 17, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing titled "Winter Storm Fern Lessons: Supplying Reliable Power to Meet Peak Demand," led by Chairman Bob Latta (OH-05). The hearing examined how the nation's electric grid performed during the January storm, which brought widespread snow, sleet, and freezing rain from New England to the Gulf Coast, followed by a prolonged Arctic front that kept dangerously low temperatures across the country for days.
The storm left more than one million customers without power at its peak while initial damage assessments showed more than 470 miles of affected transmission lines. Where the broader grid held, it was dispatchable generation that carried the load, with peak coal generation rising 25 percent and peak natural gas up 47 percent, while intermittent resources fell short.
James Robb, President and CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), testified and told lawmakers the system "ran very close to the edge, leaving no room for error," and that operators "needed every tool at their disposal" to prevent rolling blackouts. Robb also warned that nearly two-thirds of the country is at elevated or high risk of energy shortfalls over the next five years, with summer peak demand projected to rise by 200 GW, 70 percent higher than what NERC projected just a year ago.
NECA will continue working with Congress and federal agencies to modernize and harden the grid.
House Advances Bipartisan Grid Cybersecurity Package
On March 6, the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up five bipartisan bills targeting the physical and cyber security of America's electric grid. All five bills passed with unanimous bipartisan support and now head to the House floor.
"These bipartisan cybersecurity bills will help combat those threats by strengthening DOE's leadership when it comes to securing the energy sector, providing targeted funding and technical assistance to rural and municipal utilities, and authorizing public-private partnerships on grid security that enhance information sharing," – Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie.
A bill of particular importance that NECA fully supports is the Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act which reauthorizes DOE's cybersecurity grant and technical assistance program for rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, and small investor-owned utilities through 2030 at $250 million per year. These are the utilities that NECA contractors build and maintain. Ensuring they have the resources to detect, protect against, and respond to cyber threats is critical to the resilience of local electrical infrastructure across the country.
Will We See You in DC?
Registration is OPEN for the 2026 NECA Legislative Conference – the electrical construction industry's premier advocacy event. Join NECA contractors and chapter staff from across the country at the historic Willard InterContinental Hotel to discuss the latest legislative and regulatory developments shaping our industry.
When: May 4-6, 2026
Where: Willard Intercontinental – Washington, DC
Click Here for more information.
Never been before? We've got you covered. We're offering a dedicated first-time attendee session that gives you everything you need to have productive, meaningful meetings with your elected officials.
