[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9362 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9362

     To direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to improve 
   interregional electricity transfer capability between immediately 
    adjacent transmission planning regions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 16, 2024

  Mr. Casten introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to improve 
   interregional electricity transfer capability between immediately 
    adjacent transmission planning regions, 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 ``Reinforcing the Grid Against Extreme 
Weather Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVING INTERREGIONAL ELECTRICITY TRANSFER CAPABILITY.

    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. IMPROVING INTERREGIONAL ELECTRICITY TRANSFER CAPABILITY.

    ``(a) Rulemaking.--Not later than 24 months after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Commission shall issue regulations to 
establish a process for--
            ``(1) calculating existing transfer capability between each 
        transmission planning region and its immediately adjacent 
        transmission planning region, such that--
                    ``(A) each transmission planning entity for a given 
                transmission planning region and the transmission 
                planning entities for any immediately adjacent 
                transmission planning region shall use the same method 
                to calculate the transfer capability between them; and
                    ``(B) each shared method of calculation shall 
                comply with requirements established by the Commission;
            ``(2) determining a minimum transfer capability between 
        each transmission planning region and its immediately adjacent 
        transmission planning region in order to--
                    ``(A) ensure that each transmission planning region 
                has sufficient electric transfer capability with 
                immediately adjacent transmission planning regions to 
                ensure reliability during impacts associated with 
                weather events, physical events, or cyberattacks to the 
                transmission planning region; and
                    ``(B) optimize achievement of the transmission 
                benefits;
            ``(3) identifying, selecting, and allocating costs for 
        individual interregional transmission projects needed to 
        achieve each minimum transfer capability identified pursuant to 
        paragraph (2); and
            ``(4) preventing the disclosure of information pertaining 
        to cyberattacks that may compromise the security of the 
        electricity system.
    ``(b) Filing a Plan.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
        enactment of this section, and at least every 5 years 
        thereafter, the transmission planning entities for each pair of 
        immediately adjacent transmission planning regions shall file 
        with the Commission, and receive approval for, a plan that, in 
        accordance with the regulations issued under subsection (a)--
                    ``(A) evaluates and selects interregional 
                transmission projects based on consideration of the 
                transmission benefits; and
                    ``(B) achieves minimum interregional transfer 
                capability.
            ``(2) Duty of commission.--The Commission shall approve or 
        deny a plan filed pursuant to paragraph (1) in consideration of 
        the factors described in subsection (a)(2).
    ``(c) Report.--Not later than 48 months after the date on which the 
regulations are issued pursuant to subsection (a), and annually 
thereafter, the Commission shall publish in the Federal Register a 
report on the results of implementing this section.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Greenhouse gas.--The term `greenhouse gas' includes 
        each of the following:
                    ``(A) Carbon dioxide.
                    ``(B) Methane.
                    ``(C) Nitrous oxide.
                    ``(D) Sulfur hexafluoride.
                    ``(E) Any hydrofluorocarbon.
                    ``(F) Any perfluorocarbon.
                    ``(G) Nitrogen trifluoride.
                    ``(H) Any fully fluorinated linear, branched, or 
                cyclic--
                            ``(i) alkane;
                            ``(ii) ether;
                            ``(iii) tertiary amine; or
                            ``(iv) amino ether.
                    ``(I) Any perfluoropolyether.
                    ``(J) Any hydrofluoropolyether.
                    ``(K) Any other fluorocarbon, except for a 
                fluorocarbon with a vapor pressure of less than 1 mm of 
                Hg absolute at 25 degrees Celsius.
            ``(2) Transmission benefit.--The term `transmission 
        benefit' means a broad range of economic, operational, safety, 
        security, resilience, public policy, environmental, and other 
        reasonably anticipated benefit of constructing, modifying, or 
        operating a transmission facility, including any benefit 
        realized when real-time energy prices and operational 
        conditions differ from those anticipated in the 48-hour ahead 
        or day-ahead time frame. Such benefits include--
                    ``(A) improved reliability;
                    ``(B) improved resilience;
                    ``(C) improved safety;
                    ``(D) reduced congestion;
                    ``(E) reduced power losses;
                    ``(F) greater carrying capacity;
                    ``(G) reduced operating reserve requirements;
                    ``(H) improved access to lower-cost electricity 
                generation;
                    ``(I) improved access to electricity generating 
                facilities with no direct emissions of greenhouse 
                gases;
                    ``(J) improved public health from the closure of 
                electricity generation facilities that emit harmful 
                pollution;
                    ``(K) increased competition and market liquidity in 
                electricity markets;
                    ``(L) improved energy resilience and reliability of 
                Department of Defense installations;
                    ``(M) optimizing use of existing transmission 
                assets, including any existing rights of way;
                    ``(N) other transmission costs avoided by the 
                proposed transmission solution; and
                    ``(O) other potential benefits of increasing the 
                interconnectedness of the electric grid.
            ``(3) Transmission planning entity.--The term `transmission 
        planning entity' means an entity responsible for planning for 
        the deployment of electric transmission for a given 
        transmission planning region.
            ``(4) Transmission planning region.--The term `transmission 
        planning region' means a geographic area that the Commission 
        finds sufficient to satisfy its requirements for the scope of 
        regional transmission planning, as established in or in 
        compliance with the following orders issued by the Commission:
                    ``(A) `Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation by 
                Transmission Owning and Operating Public Utilities' 
                published in the Federal Register on October 12, 2012 
                (77 Fed. Reg. 64890); and
                    ``(B) `Building for the Future Through Electric 
                Regional Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation' 
                published in the Federal Register on October 24, 2012 
                (77 Fed. Reg. 64890).''.
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