Grid Reliability and Resiliency Improvements Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2875 To direct the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis- sion, Regional Transmission Organizations, and Independent System Op- erators, to submit a report to Congress on the reliability of the electric grid. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 26, 2023 Mr. BALDERSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the North American Electric Reliability Corpora- tion, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Regional Trans- mission Organizations, and Independent System Opera- tors, to submit a report to Congress on the reliability of the electric grid. 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 ‘‘Grid Reliability and 4 Resiliency Improvements Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2875.IH H2875 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2875 IH SEC. 2. IDENTIFYING AND PREVENTING RISKS TO THE 1 LONG TERM RELIABILITY OF ELECTRIC GRID 2 AND ELECTRICITY GENERATION. 3 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 4 of this Act, and every two years thereafter, the Electric 5 Reliability Organization (as defined in section 215(a)(2) 6 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)(2))), in con- 7 sultation with the Secretary of Energy, the Federal En- 8 ergy Regulatory Commission, Regional Transmission Or- 9 ganizations, and Independent System Operators, shall 10 submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re- 11 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 12 Commerce of the House of Representatives a report 13 that— 14 (1) identifies State and Federal policies that af- 15 fect, or could affect, the retirement of facilities that 16 generate electricity, including retirement of such fa- 17 cilities that may occur because the costs of compli- 18 ance with such policies economically disadvantages 19 such facilities; 20 (2) describes the impact of electric utility-level 21 environmental, social, and governance (ESG) com- 22 mitments and policies on electric grid reliability and 23 whether such commitments and policies contribute to 24 the retirement of facilities that generate electricity; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2875.IH H2875 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2875 IH (3) identifies the estimated number of facilities 1 that generate electricity in the United States that 2 will be retired, per calendar year, until 2030; 3 (4) describes the estimated increase in demand 4 for electricity until calendar year 2030, taking into 5 consideration State and Federal economy-wide elec- 6 trification efforts, and whether the estimated level of 7 new electricity generation that will connect to the 8 bulk-power system, including facilities and control 9 facilities and control systems necessary for operating 10 an interconnected electricity transmission network 11 and electricity from generation facilities needed to 12 maintain transmission system reliability, will meet 13 such estimated increase in demand for electricity by 14 calendar year 2030; 15 (5) outlines whether the current pace of facili- 16 ties that generate electricity from non-dispatchable 17 variable energy resources connecting to the bulk- 18 power system is sufficient— 19 (A) to exceed the pace of retirement of fa- 20 cilities that generate electricity from 21 dispatchable, firm, or flexible resources; and 22 (B) to meet the estimated increase in de- 23 mand for electricity by calendar year 2030; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2875.IH H2875 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2875 IH (6) provides recommendations to improve the 1 reliability of the electric grid and to ensure that elec- 2 tricity generation can meet estimated demand for 3 electricity by calendar year 2030, as well as antici- 4 pated reserve margins; 5 (7) identifies whether increased electricity gen- 6 eration from natural gas and increased natural gas 7 transportation is essential to the reliability of the 8 electric grid by calendar year 2030 and the impor- 9 tance of natural gas for electricity generation as a 10 balancing, flexible resource; and 11 (8) quantifies the benefits of generation of elec- 12 tricity using flexible resources that can dispatch on 13 demand, are able to counter variations in electricity 14 generation and demand, and balance generation of 15 electricity using intermittent and non-dispatchable 16 resources. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2875.IH H2875 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB