Wildfire Resilient Power Grid Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4931 To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program to reduce the risk of wildfires caused by power lines, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 1, 2020 Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources A BILL To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program to reduce the risk of wildfires caused by power lines, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wildfire Resilient 4 Power Grid Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 8 ty’’ means an electric utility, including— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4931.IS S4931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4931 IS (A) a publicly owned electric utility; 1 (B) a municipal electric utility; 2 (C) a cooperatively owned electric utility; 3 (D) an investor-owned electric utility; and 4 (E) a Federal agency or federally owned 5 corporation that is an electric utility (as defined 6 in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 7 U.S.C. 796)). 8 (2) POWER LINE.—The term ‘‘power line’’ in- 9 cludes a transmission line or a distribution line, as 10 applicable. 11 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 12 the program established under subsection (b). 13 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 14 the Secretary of Energy. 15 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es- 17 tablish within the Office of Electricity Delivery and En- 18 ergy Reliability a program under which the Secretary shall 19 make grants to eligible entities to carry out activities 20 that— 21 (1) reduce the risk of any power lines owned or 22 operated by the eligible entity causing a wildfire; 23 (2) are designed to enhance public safety; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4931.IS S4931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4931 IS (3) are supplemental to the existing wildfire 1 risk mitigation efforts of the eligible entity planned 2 for any given year. 3 (c) APPLICATION.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 5 grant under the program shall submit to the Sec- 6 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 7 and containing such information as the Secretary 8 may require. 9 (2) REQUIREMENT.—As a condition of receiving 10 a grant under the program, an eligible entity shall 11 submit to the Secretary as part of the application of 12 the eligible entity under paragraph (1) a wildfire 13 mitigation plan. 14 (d) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—An eligible entity may 15 use a grant provided under the program— 16 (1) for the undergrounding of new and existing 17 power lines and circuits; 18 (2) to harden overhead power lines with fire re- 19 sistant equipment, such as steel poles and covered 20 wires; 21 (3) to install underground circuits; 22 (4) to install fast-tripping protection systems; 23 (5) to construct and operate 1 or more weather 24 monitoring stations; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4931.IS S4931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4931 IS (6) to install fault location equipment; 1 (7) for the relocation of power lines to road- 2 ways; 3 (8) to carry out vegetation or fuels management 4 activities in accordance with Federal, State, and 5 local laws (including regulations); 6 (9) for installation of cameras, sensors, or other 7 technology that provides real-time information about 8 conditions; and 9 (10) for other, related electric grid upgrades to 10 reduce the risk of wildfire ignition. 11 (e) PRIORITY.—In making grants under the program, 12 the Secretary shall give priority to projects that, in the 13 determination of the Secretary, will generate the greatest 14 community benefit in reducing the risk of wildfire ignition 15 from power lines or equipment relative to the cost of the 16 project. 17 (f) SET ASIDE.—In making grants under the pro- 18 gram, the Secretary shall ensure that not less than 20 per- 19 cent of the amounts made available to eligible entities 20 under the program are made available to eligible entities 21 that sell not more than 4,000,000 megawatt hours of elec- 22 tricity per year. 23 (g) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4931.IS S4931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4931 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 1 graph (2), as a condition of receiving a grant under 2 the program, an eligible entity shall provide match- 3 ing funds in the form of cash or an in-kind contribu- 4 tion in an amount equal to not less than 100 percent 5 of the amounts made available under the grant. 6 (2) EXCEPTION FOR SMALL UTILITIES.—With 7 respect to an eligible entity that sells not more than 8 4,000,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year, as 9 a condition of receiving a grant under the program, 10 the eligible entity shall provide matching funds in 11 the form of cash or an in-kind contribution in an 12 amount equal to not less than 1⁄3 of the amounts 13 made available under the grant. 14 (3) EXISTING EFFORTS.—On approval by the 15 Secretary, amounts expended by an eligible entity on 16 wildfire risk mitigation efforts during the 1-year pe- 17 riod ending on the date on which a grant is received 18 under the program shall count toward the matching 19 requirement described in paragraph (1) or (2), as 20 applicable. 21 (h) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after 22 the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there- 23 after, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on En- 24 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4931.IS S4931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4931 IS mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep- 1 resentatives a report describing the quantity by which the 2 risk of wildfires caused by power lines has been reduced 3 under the program during the year covered by the report. 4 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 5 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 6 out the program $1,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 7 2022 through 2031. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4931.IS S4931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS