Flexible Grid Infrastructure Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1740 To move the United States toward greater energy independence and security, to increase the flexibility, efficiency, and reliability of the electric grid, to increase the competitiveness of the United States economy, to protect consumers, and to improve the energy performance of the Federal Gov- ernment, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 5, 2019 Mr. WYDEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To move the United States toward greater energy independ- ence and security, to increase the flexibility, efficiency, and reliability of the electric grid, to increase the com- petitiveness of the United States economy, to protect consumers, and to improve the energy performance of the Federal Government, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Flexible Grid Infrastructure Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1740.IS S1740 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1740 IS (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. Sec. 3. Analysis of distributed energy resources, the value of grid services, and advanced transmission assets. Sec. 4. Electrification of vehicles and heating. Sec. 5. Privacy, security, and resilience. Sec. 6. Workforce development. Sec. 7. Flexible Grid Challenge 2024. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this Act: 4 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 5 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Energy In- 6 formation Administration. 7 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 8 means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 9 (3) DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCE.— 10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘distributed 11 energy resource’’ means an electric device that 12 can produce or consume energy that is lo- 13 cated— 14 (i) on the distribution system or any 15 subsystem of the distribution system; or 16 (ii) behind a customer meter. 17 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘distributed 18 energy resource’’ includes— 19 (i) an energy storage resource; 20 (ii) an energy generation technology; 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1740.IS S1740 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1740 IS (iii) a demand response resource; 1 (iv) an energy efficiency resource; 2 (v) an electric vehicle and associated 3 supply equipment and systems; and 4 (vi) aggregations and integrated con- 5 trol systems, including virtual power 6 plants, microgrids, and networks of 7 microgrid cells. 8 (4) ELECTRIC CONSUMER; ELECTRIC UTILITY; 9 RATE.—The terms ‘‘electric consumer’’, ‘‘electric 10 utility’’, and ‘‘rate’’ have the meanings given the 11 terms in section 3 of the Public Utility Regulatory 12 Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2602). 13 (5) ELECTRIC RELIABILITY ORGANIZATION.— 14 The term ‘‘Electric Reliability Organization’’ has the 15 meaning given the term in section 215(a) of the 16 Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)). 17 (6) ENERGY STORAGE.—The term ‘‘energy 18 storage’’ means equipment or facilities capable of 19 absorbing energy, storing energy for a period of 20 time, and dispatching the stored energy, that— 21 (A) uses mechanical, electrochemical, hy- 22 droelectric, or thermal processes, as a single fa- 23 cility or as an aggregation of units, throughout 24 the electric grid, including behind the meter to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1740.IS S1740 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1740 IS store energy generated at 1 time for use at a 1 later time; 2 (B) uses mechanical, electrochemical, hy- 3 droelectric, or thermal processes, as a single fa- 4 cility or as an aggregation of units, throughout 5 the electric grid, including behind the meter to 6 store energy generated from mechanical proc- 7 esses that would otherwise be wasted for deliv- 8 ery at a later time; or 9 (C) stores thermal energy for direct use for 10 heating or cooling at a later time in a manner 11 that avoids the need to use electricity at that 12 later time. 13 (7) GRANULAR.—The term ‘‘granular’’, with re- 14 spect to a rate or other price for electricity, means 15 that the rate or price is established based on precise 16 accounting of the value, as determined by the time 17 and location of the production or consumption of the 18 electricity and the unique type of energy services 19 being provided, of electrical energy, capacity, and 20 ancillary services, including— 21 (A) time-of-use rates; 22 (B) peak-time rebates; 23 (C) critical peak pricing; 24 (D) real-time pricing; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1740.IS S1740 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1740 IS (E) transactive energy approaches; 1 (F) inverted time-of-use rates; 2 (G) forward-looking charges; 3 (H) peak-coincident capacity network 4 charges; and 5 (I) 3-part rates. 6 (8) LIGHT-DUTY CONSUMER VEHICLE.—The 7 term ‘‘light-duty consumer vehicle’’ has the meaning 8 given the term ‘‘light-duty vehicle’’ in section 9 1037.801 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations 10 (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act). 11 (9) LOCATIONAL VALUE.—The term ‘‘locational 12 value’’, with respect to an electric grid service, 13 means value that is contingent on the physical loca- 14 tion where the electric grid service is delivered. 15 (10) MICROGRID.—The term ‘‘microgrid’’ 16 means a localized grid that can disconnect from the 17 traditional grid to operate autonomously and help 18 mitigate grid disturbances to strengthen grid resil- 19 ience. 20 (11) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na- 21 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term 22 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 23 U.S.C. 15801). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1740.IS S1740 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1740 IS (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 1 means the Secretary of Energy. 2 (13) STATE ENERGY OFFICE.—The term ‘‘State 3 energy office’’ has the meaning given the term in 4 section 124(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 5 U.S.C. 15821(a)). 6 (14) TEMPORAL VALUE.—The term ‘‘temporal 7 value’’, with respect to an electric grid service, 8 means value that is contingent on the time when the 9 electric grid service is delivered. 10 (15) TRANSIT AGENCY.—The term ‘‘transit 11 agency’’ has the meaning given the term in section 12 630.3 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as 13 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act). 14 (16) TRANSIT VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘transit ve- 15 hicle’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘bus’’ in sec- 16 tion 1192.3 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations 17 (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act). 18 SEC. 3. ANALYSIS OF DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES, 19 THE VALUE OF GRID SERVICES, AND AD- 20 VANCED TRANSMISSION ASSETS. 21 (a) DATA AND ANALYSIS FOR PROMOTING GRID 22 FLEXIBILITY AND OPTIMIZING DISTRIBUTED ENERGY 23 RESOURCES.—Section 921 of the Energy Policy Act of 24 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16211) is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1740.IS S1740 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1740 IS (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 1 paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively, of subsection 2 (b) and indenting the paragraphs appropriately; 3 (2) in subsection (b)— 4 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre- 5 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘re- 6 source’’ after ‘‘carry out distributed energy’’; 7 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘sub- 8 section’’ and inserting ‘‘section’’; and 9 (C) in paragraphs (3) and (4) (as redesig- 10 nated by paragraph (1)), by striking ‘‘sub- 11 section (b)’’ each place it appears and inserting 12 ‘‘this subsection’’; 13 (3) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub- 14 section (h); 15 (4) in subsection (a), by striking the subsection 16 designation and heading and all that follows through 17 ‘‘The Secretary’’ in the first sentence and inserting 18 the following: 19 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 20 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’ 21 means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 22 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCE.—The 23 term ‘distributed energy resource’ has the meaning 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1740.IS S1740 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1740 IS given the term in section 2 of the Flexible Grid In- 1 frastructure Act of 2019. 2 ‘‘(3) GRID FLEXIBILITY.—The term ‘grid flexi- 3 bility’ means the ability of a power system— 4 ‘‘(A) from an operational perspective, to 5 respond to changes in supply and demand, such 6 as abrupt changes in load conditions or sharp 7 ramps in generation; and 8 ‘‘(B) from a long-term planning and in- 9 vestment perspective, to respond to changes in 10 technology, markets and policy, without incur- 11 ring stranded assets. 12 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION, 13 AND COMMERCIAL APPLICATION.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; 15 (5) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated), in 16 the second sentence, by striking ‘‘The programs’’ 17 and inserting the following: 18 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—The programs under this 19 subsection’’; and 20 (6) by inserting after subsection (b) (as so re- 21 designated) the following: 22 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL OF 23 DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES.— 24 ‘‘(1) ASSESSMENTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1740.IS S1740 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1740 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 1 after the date of enactment of the Flexible Grid 2 Infrastructure Act of 2019, and not less fre- 3 quently than once every 3 years thereafter, the 4 Commission and the Secretary shall conduct a 5 national assessment of the technical and eco- 6 nomic potential of distributed energy resources 7 to provide electric grid services, including serv- 8 ices that enhance grid flexibility and the reli- 9 ability, resilience, affordability, efficiency, and 10 security of the electric grid. 11 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting an 12 assessment under subparagraph (A), the Com- 13 mission and the Secretary shall— 14 ‘‘(i) consider locational characteristics, 15 such as load pockets and electric grid con- 16 gestion; 17 ‘‘(ii) consider temporal characteristics, 18 such as hourly and subhourly electricity 19 generation costs and electricity network 20 costs; 21 ‘‘(iii) consider the specific electric grid 22 services identified by the study under sec- 23 tion 3(b) of the Flexible Grid Infrastruc- 24 ture Act of 2019; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1740.IS S1740 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1740 IS ‘‘(iv) consider unique State regulatory 1 and market characteristics and regional 2 electric grid characteristics; 3 ‘‘(v) incorporate a range of scenarios, 4 including scenarios that assume— 5 ‘‘(I) the existence of granular re- 6 tail electricity rates, including 7 transactive energy approaches; 8 ‘‘(II) no granular retail electricity 9 rates; 10 ‘‘(III) the existence of electricity 11 market products that remunerate the 12 electric grid services provided by dis- 13 tributed energy resources, incor- 14 porating the results of the most recent 15 study under section 3(b) of the Flexi- 16 ble Grid Infrastructure Act of 2019; 17 ‘‘(IV) no electricity market prod- 18 ucts that remunerate the electric grid 19 services provided by distributed en- 20 ergy resources, incorporating the re- 21 sults of the most recent study under 22 section 3(b) of the Flexible Grid In- 23 frastructure Act of 2019; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1740.IS S1740 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1740 IS ‘‘(V) various levels of renewable 1 energy generation penetration; 2 ‘‘(VI) various levels of distributed 3 energy resource penetration, including 4 electric vehicles; 5 ‘‘(VII) the implementation of 6 transactive energy approaches as a 7 means of coordinating at scale large 8 numbers of distributed energy re- 9 sources; and 10 ‘‘(VIII) different deployment sce- 11 narios, such as individual technology 12 applications, combination technology 13 applications, and integrated control 14 system applications; 15 ‘‘(vi) include— 16 ‘‘(I) an analysis of the use of a 17 comprehensive suite of distributed en- 18 ergy resources; and 19 ‘‘(II) an assessment of the com- 20 petitive markets for each distributed 21 energy resource; 22 ‘‘(vii) consider various electric grid ar- 23 chitecture concepts and tools, including the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1740.IS S1740 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1740 IS development of local energy networks inter- 1 connected with the electric grid; 2 ‘‘(viii) include an analysis of the ways 3 in which the different scenarios incor- 4 porated under clause (v) may impact the 5 broader energy system, such as the bulk 6 power system, the transmission network, 7 and natural gas infrastructure; 8 ‘‘(ix) assess any barriers to the ability 9 of distributed energy resources to provide 10 the identified electric grid services; 11 ‘‘(x) to the maximum extent prac- 12 ticable— 13 ‘‘(I) seek to use any relevant pre- 14 existing research and ongoing work; 15 and 16 ‘‘(II) avoid duplication of effort; 17 and 18 ‘‘(xi) conduct estimates for the 5-, 10- 19 , and 15-year periods beginning on the 20 date of enactment of the Flexible Grid In- 21 frastructure Act of 2019. 22 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—Not later than 18 months 23 after the date of enactment of the Flexible Grid In- 24 frastructure Act of 2019, and not less frequently 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1740.IS S1740 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1740 IS than once every 3 years thereafter, the Commission 1 and the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 2 describing the results of the most recent assessment 3 under paragraph (1) that includes— 4 ‘‘(A) a description of the details required 5 under clauses (i) through (xi) of paragraph [Text truncated for display. 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