[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3879 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3879

   To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to promulgate 
 regulations on regional and interregional transmission planning, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 17, 2022

  Mr. Markey (for himself, Ms. Smith, Mr. Whitehouse, and Ms. Warren) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to promulgate 
 regulations on regional and interregional transmission planning, and 
                          for other purposes.

    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 ``Connecting Hard-to-reach Areas with 
Renewably Generated Energy Act of 2022'' or the ``CHARGE Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) current transmission planning is fractured across many 
        jurisdictions, prioritizes incumbent entities and highly 
        localized transmission, and fails to identify cost-effective 
        solutions for 21st century needs;
            (2) the historical structure, regulations, and incentives 
        of the electric power system lead to under-planning and under-
        investment in the regional and interregional transmission lines 
        that are needed for a reliable and resilient grid;
            (3) much of the existing transmission infrastructure of the 
        United States is in need of significant upgrade or replacement;
            (4) the energy sector of the United States is at a critical 
        juncture, with a rapidly changing power generation mix and new 
        public policy mandates;
            (5) it is imperative to proactively plan for electricity 
        transmission in the future, including by taking into account 
        long-term changes to demand and load growth;
            (6) renewable energy resources must be incorporated into 
        the grid efficiently in order to meet State and Federal 
        decarbonization goals;
            (7) the public desires, and has a right to, electricity 
        data that is transparent, organized, and accessible;
            (8) having reliable and diverse sources of electricity 
        generation is a foundational need for the entire economy;
            (9) climate change has increased the frequency and 
        intensity of severe weather events that affect the grid;
            (10) it is in the national interest to implement policies 
        that provide effective electric infrastructure to save 
        consumers money, avoid preventable damage, ensure energy 
        reliability, and save lives;
            (11) the Federal Government has a responsibility to combat 
        rising transmission costs and ensure customers receive just and 
        reasonable rates for electricity; and
            (12) industry experience, scientific studies, and modern 
        examples of reformed electricity transmission provide 
        confidence that new public policies and regulatory guidance 
        will achieve more efficient and beneficial planning than the 
        status quo.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Energy Regulatory Commission.
            (2) Independent system operator.--The term ``Independent 
        System Operator'' has the meaning given the term in section 3 
        of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796).
            (3) Interconnection customer.--The term ``interconnection 
        customer'' means an individual or entity that has submitted to 
        the owner or operator of a transmission facility or 
        transmission system a request to interconnect a generation 
        project or energy storage project that is subject to the 
        jurisdiction of the Commission.
            (4) Interregional transmission planning process.--The term 
        ``interregional transmission planning process'' means a joint 
        process by transmission providers in 2 or more adjacent 
        transmission planning regions to evaluate electric energy 
        transmission needs.
            (5) Load-serving entity.--The term ``load-serving entity'' 
        has the meaning given the term in section 217(a) of the Federal 
        Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824q(a)).
            (6) Pricing node.--The term ``pricing node'' means a 
        specific electrical bus location on the grid where an injection 
        or withdrawal of power is modeled.
            (7) Regional transmission organization.--The term 
        ``Regional Transmission Organization'' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796).
            (8) Transmission facility.--The term ``transmission 
        facility'' means a facility that is used for the transmission 
        of electric energy in interstate commerce.
            (9) Transmission planning region.--The term ``transmission 
        planning region'' means a region for which electric energy 
        transmission planning is appropriate, as determined by the 
        Commission, such as a region established pursuant to the 
        guidance in the final rule of the Commission entitled 
        ``Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation by Transmission 
        Owning and Operating Public Utilities'' (76 Fed. Reg. 49842 
        (August 11, 2011)).
            (10) Transmission provider.--The term ``transmission 
        provider'' means a public utility (as defined in section 201(e) 
        of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824(e))) that owns, 
        operates, or controls 1 or more transmission facilities.

SEC. 4. TRANSMISSION PLANNING AND COST ALLOCATION.

    (a) Rulemaking.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate a final rule 
that establishes transmission planning processes and cost-allocation 
processes that--
            (1) ensure that transmission providers--
                    (A) engage in formalized interregional transmission 
                planning processes and interconnection-wide 
                transmission planning processes, in conjunction with 
                transmission planning processes within transmission 
                planning regions;
                    (B) harmonize interregional transmission planning 
                processes and interconnection-wide transmission 
                planning processes with other transmission planning 
                regions, such as by using a joint model on a consistent 
                timeline with a unified set of minimum requirements 
                regarding needs, input assumptions, and benefit 
                metrics;
                    (C) include as part of planning and cost-allocation 
                processes the use of grid-enhancing transmission 
                technologies and nontransmission alternatives that 
                increase delivery of power over transmission networks, 
                including, at a minimum--
                            (i) dynamic line ratings;
                            (ii) topology optimization;
                            (iii) power flow control;
                            (iv) advanced conductors; and
                            (v) storage-as-transmission;
                    (D) conduct interregional and interconnection-wide 
                planning regularly and not less frequently than once 
                every 3 years;
                    (E) conduct system-wide planning based on a range 
                of possible future load and generation scenarios; and
                    (F) are required to incorporate in a transmission 
                planning process the full scope of benefits of 
                transmission investment, including, at a minimum--
                            (i) reduced costs of electric energy to 
                        customers, including reduced costs associated 
                        with lower quantities of necessary capacity, 
                        ancillary services, and reserve margins;
                            (ii) access to resources in neighboring 
                        transmission planning regions;
                            (iii) the transmission of renewable energy 
                        or the ability of renewable energy to connect 
                        to the grid;
                            (iv) improvements in reliability, 
                        resilience, and flexibility of the grid, 
                        including, at a minimum--
                                    (I) reduced loss of load 
                                probability;
                                    (II) increased resource diversity;
                                    (III) increased climate hardening; 
                                and
                                    (IV) increased ability to maintain 
                                functionality during regionally 
                                appropriate weather conditions and 
                                severe weather scenarios;
                            (v) leveraging resources across 
                        climatological patterns or time zones to 
                        account for resource availability and weather 
                        patterns;
                            (vi) avoidance, to the maximum extent 
                        practicable, of sensitive environmental areas 
                        and cultural heritage sites;
                            (vii) reasonable and economical use of 
                        existing rights-of-way;
                            (viii) market facilitation benefits, 
                        including, at a minimum, increased 
                        competitiveness, liquidity, and integrity of 
                        broader geographic markets;
                            (ix) avoided costs and deferred cost 
                        savings, including reduced generation costs and 
                        reduced future transmission investment costs;
                            (x) the integration of grid-enhancing 
                        technologies;
                            (xi) meeting local, State, and Federal 
                        policy goals, including goals established in 
                        decarbonization, climate, and clean energy laws 
                        (including regulations);
                            (xii) protections to maintain just and 
                        reasonable rates for customers; and
                            (xiii) any other production costs savings 
                        or other economic benefits from proposed 
                        transmission projects;
            (2) require that regional and interregional cost-allocation 
        methodologies allocate costs on the basis of the multiple 
        benefits described in clauses (i) through (xiii) of paragraph 
        (1)(F);
            (3) incorporate a 10- to 20-year future resource mix for 
        each load-serving entity and State, which may require a load-
        serving entity to make publicly available the resource plans of 
        the load-serving entity if, in the determination of the 
        Commission, those plans are not adequately described in 
        publicly stated plans in Securities and Exchange Commission 
        filings, State agency filings, and power purchase contracts;
            (4) prioritize interregional cost-benefit considerations 
        over regional cost-benefit considerations;
            (5) require transmission providers to maximize the use of 
        portfolio-based cost allocations;
            (6) in cases in which costs and benefits are difficult to 
        quantify, may allocate transmission investment costs among 
        transmission system customers in proportion to--
                    (A) in the case of regional projects, the share of 
                electricity of each customer in the region; or
                    (B) in the case of interregional projects, the 
                share of electricity of each customer in each 
                applicable region; and
            (7) to the extent practicable, prevent transmission 
        providers from using cost-allocation methodologies that--
                    (A) discourage distributed generation, energy 
                efficiency, demand response, or storage if more 
                economic than transmission;
                    (B) are constrained by consideration only of 
                benefits that are easy to allocate; or
                    (C) undermine previous cost-allocation agreements 
                for projects already in operation.
    (b) Technical Conference.--
            (1) In general.--As part of the rulemaking process under 
        subsection (a), the Commission may convene a technical 
        conference to consider implementation details, as the 
        Commission determines to be appropriate.
            (2) Participation.--
                    (A) Leadership.--A technical conference convened 
                under paragraph (1) may be led by the members of the 
                Commission.
                    (B) Participation.--The Commission may invite to 
                participate in a technical conference convened under 
                paragraph (1) representatives of residential 
                ratepayers, transmission providers, environmental 
                justice and equity groups, Tribal communities, 
                Independent System Operators, Regional Transmission 
                Organizations, consumer protection groups, renewable 
                energy advocates, State utility commission and energy 
                offices, and such other entities as the Commission 
                determines appropriate.
                    (C) Timeline.--The Commission may establish and 
                enforce a timeline for a technical conference convened 
                under paragraph (1) that discourages actions by 
                participants that may unnecessarily delay the 
                conference.
            (3) Public comment.--The Commission may provide an 
        opportunity for public comment on the topics considered by a 
        technical conference convened under paragraph (1).
    (c) Office of Public Participation.--The Commission shall consult 
the Office of Public Participation during the rulemaking process under 
subsection (a), including with respect to--
            (1) guidance on public participation requirements;
            (2) communications with the public concerning transmission 
        planning that may impact local communities and land owners, 
        including Tribal, indigenous, and environmental justice 
        communities; and
            (3) minimum data transparency and access requirements.
    (d) Joint Federal-State Task Force on Electric Transmission.--The 
Commission may consult the Joint Federal-State Task Force on Electric 
Transmission in any actions that--
            (1) involve shared Federal and State regulatory authority 
        and processes; or
            (2) would benefit from a combined Federal and State 
        perspective.

SEC. 5. INTERREGIONAL MINIMUM TRANSFER REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Electric Reliability.--Section 215(i)(2) of the Federal Power 
Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(i)(2)) is amended by striking ``or transmission''.
    (b) Rulemaking.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate a final rule 
that establishes a minimum transfer capability that--
            (1) shall govern minimum transfer requirements between 
        transmission planning regions;
            (2) achieves reliability and resilience standards during 
        plausible extreme weather scenarios;
            (3) optimizes efficiency of delivering renewable energy to 
        demand centers; and
            (4) incorporates the best available science relating to 
        energy transmission, climatological patterns, climate change 
        causes and impacts, grid reliability, and grid resiliency, 
        including study results from the Department of Energy or 
        National Laboratories (as defined in section 2 of the Energy 
        Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801)).

SEC. 6. DATA TRANSPARENCY.

    Part II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 224. DATA TRANSPARENCY.

    ``(a) In General.--The Commission shall require all public 
utilities and other entities subject to the jurisdiction of the 
Commission to make hourly operating data transparent and accessible to 
the public, including--
            ``(1) as original source data posted in a timely manner; 
        and
            ``(2) through coordination with an online database operated 
        by the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration.
    ``(b) Data.--Data made publicly available under subsection (a) 
shall--
            ``(1) be organized and easy to understand;
            ``(2) be centralized and provided in usable formats, 
        including an application programming interface;
            ``(3) be available free of charge or at-cost;
            ``(4) be published in a timely manner;
            ``(5) include generation by fuel type; and
            ``(6) include average and hourly, or more frequent if 
        technologically feasible, marginal greenhouse gas emissions per 
        megawatt hour of electricity generated within the metered 
        boundaries of each entity and for each pricing node.
    ``(c) Commercial Products.--The Commission may identify and reduce 
regulatory barriers to the development of commercial products that use 
the data made publicly available under subsection (a) in order to 
provide verifiable emissions reductions, including short- and long-term 
nodal congestion products.
    ``(d) Appropriation.--In addition to amounts otherwise made 
available to the Administrator of the Energy Information 
Administration, there is appropriated to the Administrator of the 
Energy Information Administration for fiscal year 2023, out of any 
funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $10,000,000 to 
develop and operate the database described in subsection (a)(2), to 
remain available until expended.''.

SEC. 7. PROMOTING COMPETITION FOR GENERATION.

    Part II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 et seq.) (as 
amended by section 6) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 225. DUE REGARD FOR FAIR COMPETITION.

    ``(a) In General.--In order to effectively protect against the 
exercise of market power through affiliate abuse, the Commission shall 
require that any new generation described in subsection (b) is procured 
through a competitive process and without any right of first refusal 
for an incumbent utility, subject to subsection (c).
    ``(b) New Generation Described.--The new generation referred to in 
subsection (a) is new generation that is--
            ``(1) above a Commission-determined size threshold;
            ``(2) above a Commission-determined cost materiality 
        threshold; and
            ``(3) ultimately used to sell power in interstate commerce.
    ``(c) Exemption.--New generation that is procured through a process 
administered by a Regional Transmission Organization or an Independent 
System Operator is exempted from the requirements of subsection (a).''.

SEC. 8. STATE SUBSIDIES.

    Part II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 et seq.) (as 
amended by section 7) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 226. STATE SUBSIDIES.

    ``In order to promote competition in wholesale markets, 
reliability, and affordability, the Commission shall not use price 
mitigation methods to counteract the effects of State subsidies for 
renewable energy resources.''.

SEC. 9. OFFICE OF TRANSMISSION.

    Part III of the Federal Power Act is amended by inserting after 
section 317 (16 U.S.C. 825p) the following:

``SEC. 318. OFFICE OF TRANSMISSION.

    ``(a) Establishment.--There shall be established in the Commission 
an office, to be known as the `Office of Transmission' (referred to in 
this section as the `Office').
    ``(b) Director.--The Office shall be administered by a Director, 
who shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Commission.
    ``(c) Duties.--The Director of the Office shall--
            ``(1) review transmission plans submitted by public 
        utilities in accordance with the regional and interregional 
        transmission planning processes, including the processes 
        established pursuant to section 206;
            ``(2) coordinate transmission-related matters of the 
        Commission, as the Commission determines appropriate;
            ``(3) carry out the responsibilities of the Commission 
        under section 216, in coordination with the Office of Energy 
        Projects of the Commission;
            ``(4) review opportunities for innovation in transmission 
        planning and operation, including deployment of grid-enhancing 
        technologies, advanced conductors, and other approaches; and
            ``(5) provide oversight of interregional transmission 
        planning activities.''.

SEC. 10. INTERCONNECTION.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Commission shall promulgate regulations, or revise existing 
regulations--
            (1) to prohibit a public utility from requiring an 
        interconnection customer to exclusively or disproportionately 
        fund, without reimbursement, the costs of any network upgrade 
        identified as necessary for the interconnect request of the 
        interconnection customer;
            (2) to encourage cost-sharing models that reflect the broad 
        set of benefits and beneficiaries for any network upgrades 
        identified as needed in an interconnection or affected system 
        study, subject to the requirement that the model adheres to any 
        requirements established under paragraph (1); and
            (3) to alleviate interconnection backlogs and reduce 
        informational and procedural barriers in interconnection, which 
        may include--
                    (A) the establishment of an interconnection 
                analysis center within the Office of Transmission 
                established under section 318 of the Federal Power Act; 
                and
                    (B) consultation with staff and the use of other 
                resources of the Department of Energy.

SEC. 11. INDEPENDENT TRANSMISSION MONITOR.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, for the purpose of monitoring the planning and operation 
of transmission facilities in transmission planning regions, the 
Commission shall--
            (1)(A) require each transmission planning region to 
        establish an independent entity to monitor the planning and 
        operation of transmission facilities in the transmission 
        planning region; and
            (B) establish a council, to be known as the ``Council of 
        Transmission Monitors''--
                    (i) to provide oversight of each independent entity 
                established pursuant to subparagraph (A); and
                    (ii) to ensure interregional collaboration and 
                consistency; or
            (2) establish an independent entity to monitor the planning 
        and operation of transmission facilities in all transmission 
        planning regions.
    (b) Role of Transmission Monitor.--An independent entity described 
in paragraph (1)(A) or (2) of subsection (a) shall, as applicable--
            (1) review the operation of applicable transmission 
        planning regions for inefficiency and practices that may lead 
        to unjust and unreasonable rates;
            (2) review transmission planning processes;
            (3) review costs of transmission facilities, including 
        identifying inefficiencies among local, regional, and 
        interregional planning;
            (4) provide examples and advice to transmission providers 
        on appropriate regional transmission operations, planning, and 
        cost-allocation processes; and
            (5) identify situations in which, with respect to a 
        transmission planning process--
                    (A) nonwire alternatives may be more cost-effective 
                than transmission;
                    (B) grid-enhancing technologies may be appropriate; 
                or
                    (C) high-capacity, interregional lines may be--
                            (i) more cost-effective; or
                            (ii) a more appropriate reliability and 
                        resilience alternative.

SEC. 12. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Commission shall establish an advisory committee 
(referred to in this section as the ``committee'') to make 
recommendations on--
            (1) oversight and governance of Independent System 
        Operators or Regional Transmission Organizations;
            (2) stakeholder participation best practices--
                    (A) that ensure transparency, accountability, 
                independence, oversight, and fair representation; and
                    (B) the purpose of which are to promote 
                competition, reliability, and affordability in all 
                transmission planning regions;
            (3) enhancing transparency and open decisionmaking in 
        regions not classified as Independent System Operators or 
        Regional Transmission Organizations; and
            (4) the requirements of governing boards within Independent 
        System Operators or Regional Transmission Organizations.
    (b) Representation.--The committee shall be composed of not more 
than 30 members, including--
            (1) at least 2 representatives of end-use customers;
            (2) at least 1 representative of transmission providers;
            (3) at least 2 representatives of environmental justice and 
        equity groups;
            (4) at least 1 representative of Tribal communities;
            (5) at least 1 representative of Independent System 
        Operators;
            (6) at least 1 representative of Regional Transmission 
        Organizations;
            (7) at least 1 representative of consumer protection 
        groups;
            (8) at least 2 representatives of renewable energy 
        advocates;
            (9) at least 1 representative of State commissions;
            (10) at least 1 representative of public power entities;
            (11) at least 1 representative of marketers; and
            (12) at least 1 representative of generators.
    (c) FACA Applicability.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the committee.

SEC. 13. APPROPRIATIONS.

    In addition to amounts otherwise available, there is appropriated 
to the Commission for fiscal year 2023, out of any funds in the 
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $200,000,000, to remain available 
until expended, to carry out--
            (1) sections 4, 5, and 10; and
            (2) the amendment made by section 9.
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