[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 515 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 515

To require the Secretary of Energy to conduct a study to determine the 
  feasibility and effectiveness of establishing a national strategic 
                            propane reserve.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 16, 2023

Ms. Stabenow (for herself and Mr. Thune) introduced the following bill; 
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Energy to conduct a study to determine the 
  feasibility and effectiveness of establishing a national strategic 
                            propane reserve.

    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 ``Securing Our Propane Supply Act''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY STUDY ON ESTABLISHING NATIONAL STRATEGIC 
              PROPANE RESERVE.

    (a) Study.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation 
        with the Administrator of the Energy Information 
        Administration, shall complete a study to determine the 
        feasibility and effectiveness of establishing a national 
        strategic propane reserve, separate from the Strategic 
        Petroleum Reserve established under part B of title I of the 
        Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6231 et seq.).
            (2) Elements.--The study under paragraph (1) shall 
        include--
                    (A) an assessment of the current state of the 
                propane supply chain in the United States to meet 
                current and forecasted consumer demands;
                    (B) an assessment of the risks of regional propane 
                supply disruptions, including--
                            (i) past causes of disruptions;
                            (ii) possible causes of disruptions in the 
                        future; and
                            (iii) whether disruptions justify the 
                        establishment of a national strategic propane 
                        reserve;
                    (C) an evaluation of--
                            (i) appropriate and most suitable locations 
                        for a strategic propane reserve;
                            (ii) the quantity of propane storage that 
                        would be appropriate at each such location; and
                            (iii) the suitability of existing 
                        infrastructure to facilitate transportation and 
                        delivery of propane from a strategic propane 
                        reserve during a drawdown;
                    (D) an evaluation of the additional infrastructure 
                needed for a strategic propane reserve to function 
                properly;
                    (E) consideration of the means by which a strategic 
                propane reserve would prevent and manage degradation of 
                the propane in storage;
                    (F) an evaluation of appropriate triggers 
                (including price and supply) for making available 
                propane from a strategic reserve;
                    (G) an evaluation of the appropriate manner of 
                acquiring propane and propane storage for a strategic 
                reserve, while minimizing market implications, 
                including an assessment of--
                            (i) unutilized and under-utilized storage; 
                        and
                            (ii) new storage opportunities;
                    (H) an evaluation of the appropriate transactions 
                (including direct sales, exchanges, or other options) 
                for delivering propane in a strategic reserve to the 
                market when a release is triggered;
                    (I) an evaluation of likely consumers (including 
                individuals, agricultural producers, and the Armed 
                Forces) of propane from a strategic reserve, 
                including--
                            (i) identification and categorization of 
                        those consumers;
                            (ii) a State-by-State breakdown of propane 
                        usage by those consumers; and
                            (iii) an evaluation of the expected impacts 
                        of a strategic propane reserve on those 
                        categories of consumers and States;
                    (J) an evaluation of the market implications of 
                establishing and administering a strategic propane 
                reserve, including an assessment of potential price and 
                supply effects; and
                    (K) identification, preliminary assessment, and 
                evaluation of alternatives to a strategic propane 
                reserve that could provide supply and price relief 
                during regional propane supply disruptions.
            (3) Recommendations.--In conducting the study under this 
        subsection, the Secretary of Energy shall develop 
        recommendations with respect to each element of the study 
        described in paragraph (2) regarding--
                    (A) whether a national strategic propane reserve 
                should be established; and
                    (B) if such a reserve should be established, the 
                most practicable method of establishment.
    (b) Plan.--Not later than 180 days after the date of completion of 
the study under subsection (a), the Secretary of Energy shall develop a 
plan for implementing the recommendations developed under paragraph (3) 
of that subsection.
    (c) Industry Coordination.--In conducting the study under 
subsection (a) and developing the plan under subsection (b), the 
Secretary of Energy is encouraged to coordinate with entities in the 
propane industry, including representatives from the entire propane 
supply chain.
    (d) Submission to Congress.--The Secretary of Energy shall submit 
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a 
report describing--
            (1) the study completed under subsection (a); and
            (2) the plan developed under subsection (b).
    (e) Protection of National Security Information.--Before submitting 
the report under subsection (d), or otherwise publishing the study 
completed under subsection (a) or the plan developed under subsection 
(b), the Secretary of Energy shall adopt such procedures with respect 
to confidentiality (including procedures for redaction of information) 
as the Secretary determines to be necessary to ensure the protection of 
classified information relating to specific vulnerabilities to United 
States energy security or reliability.
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