[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1405 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1405

To require a coordinated response to coal fuel supply emergencies that 
      could impact electric power system adequacy or reliability.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 20, 2015

  Mr. Franken introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require a coordinated response to coal fuel supply emergencies that 
      could impact electric power system adequacy or reliability.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Severe Fuel Supply Emergency 
Response Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. SEVERE FUEL SUPPLY EMERGENCY RESPONSE.

    The Federal Power Act is amended by inserting after section 215 (16 
U.S.C. 824o) the following:

``SEC. 215A. EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO COAL SUPPLY DEFICIENCIES.

    ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            ``(1) electric utilities operating coal-fired generating 
        units seek to maintain target levels of coal inventories in 
        order to meet forecasted demand;
            ``(2) by coordinating generator actions and coal levels 
        with Reliability Coordinators, electric utilities seek to 
        ensure adequacy and reliability for the Bulk Power System;
            ``(3) rail service issues have resulted in critically low 
        coal inventory levels at numerous utilities;
            ``(4) coal shortages can threaten the adequacy and 
        reliability of electricity supplies, and may jeopardize the 
        health and safety of electricity consumers;
            ``(5) when faced with declining coal inventories, electric 
        utilities have taken actions to curtail coal-fired electricity 
        production, including by closing electric generating units, in 
        order to preserve coal stockpiles;
            ``(6) under the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 
        (15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.), electric utilities are required to 
        file a mandatory Electric Emergency Incident and Disturbance 
        Report with the Department of Energy regarding fuel supply 
        emergencies that could impact electric power system adequacy or 
        reliability; and
            ``(7) the depletion of coal inventories due to rail service 
        issues may constitute a fuel supply emergency.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Board.--The term `Board' means the Surface 
        Transportation Board.
            ``(2) Bulk-power system.--The term `bulk-power system' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 215.
            ``(3) Electric reliability organization.--The term 
        `Electric Reliability Organization' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 215.
            ``(4) Form oe-417.--The term `Form OE-417' means the form 
        entitled `Electric Emergency Incident and Disturbance Report' 
        and filed in accordance with the Federal Energy Administration 
        Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.).
            ``(5) Regional entity.--The term `Regional Entity' means an 
        entity delegated authority by the Electric Reliability 
        Organization to propose and enforce reliability standards in 
        the region of the entity.
            ``(6) Reliability coordinator.--The term `Reliability 
        Coordinator' means an entity recognized by the Electric 
        Reliability Organization as responsible for continually 
        assessing transmission reliability and coordinating emergency 
        operations to ensure the reliable operation of the bulk-power 
        system.
            ``(7) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
            ``(8) Severe fuel supply emergency.--The term `severe fuel 
        supply emergency' means a coal supply deficiency reported to 
        the Department of Energy on Form OE-417 that has the potential 
        to affect at least 500 MW of electricity generation or 100,000 
        electricity customers.
    ``(c) Coordinated Response to Emergencies.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall lead the Federal 
        response to severe fuel supply emergencies.
            ``(2) Duties of the secretary.--On the filing of a Form OE-
        417 that reports a severe fuel supply emergency, the Secretary 
        shall--
                    ``(A) promptly investigate the circumstances of the 
                severe fuel supply emergency;
                    ``(B) notify the Board and the Federal Energy 
                Regulatory Commission of the existence of the severe 
                fuel supply emergency;
                    ``(C) convene a meeting with the Board, the Federal 
                Energy Regulatory Commission, and, as appropriate, the 
                Electric Reliability Organization and affected Regional 
                Entities and Reliability Coordinators; and
                    ``(D) submit in writing to the Board and the 
                Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and post publicly 
                on the website of the Department of Energy, 
                recommendations for actions the Board or Federal Energy 
                Regulatory Commission should consider to alleviate the 
                severe fuel supply emergency and prevent recurrences of 
                the severe fuel supply emergency.
    ``(d) Effect on Other Laws.--Nothing in this section limits any 
existing authority of any Federal agency.''.
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