“To interconnect the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to its neighbors, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section expands Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) jurisdiction over entities exempt under Federal Power Act (FPA) §201(f)—primarily utilities within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates Texas's intrastate electric grid—by (1) amending FPA §201(b)(2) to apply specified provisions only to such exempt entities (previously, electric utilities or other entities) and striking cross-references to §§210, 211, 211A, and 212; (2) striking those same cross-references from the FPA §201(e) public utility definition; (3) repealing ERCOT-specific exemptions in FPA §§212(k), 216(k), 217(h), and 220(f); and (4) directing FERC to convene a technical conference within six months of enactment to assist affected entities with compliance.
This section revises the definition of "reliability standard" under Section 215 of the Federal Power Act (FPA) to exclude from its scope only requirements to construct new generation capacity (from excluding requirements to enlarge facilities or construct new transmission capacity or generation capacity). (As background, FPA Section 215 requires the Electric Reliability Organization—currently the North American Electric Reliability Corporation—to develop mandatory reliability standards for the bulk-power system, subject to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval and enforcement.) The section further directs FERC, not later than 30 days after enactment, to order the Electric Reliability Organization to submit a proposed reliability standard requiring minimum total transfer capability of (1) 4.3-12.6 gigawatts between ERCOT (Texas Interconnection) and SPP (Southwest Power Pool); (2) 2.5-16.2 gigawatts between ERCOT and MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator); and (3) 2.6-7.9 gigawatts between ERCOT and the Western Interconnection. FERC may approve the standard only if it mandates joint plans—due not later than one year after enactment—from ERCOT and each relevant neighboring balancing authority to site, construct, or modify transmission facilities to achieve these minimums by January 1, 2037, prioritizing (1) grid-enhancing technologies; (2) existing rights-of-way (e.g., highways, railroads); (3) degraded lands (e.g., brownfields, landfills, abandoned mines); (4) access to renewables (e.g., wind, solar, geothermal); (5) community involvement (e.g., environmental justice, Tribal, labor outreach); and (6) registered apprenticeships and prevailing wages. (Thus, such projects remain subject to the National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act.) Finally, this section directs the Secretary of Energy, in implementing FPA Section 216, to consider national interest electric transmission corridor designations for areas where these transmission facilities will be sited, constructed, or modified.
This section directs the Secretary of Energy, not later than one year after enactment, to conduct a study and submit a report to Congress on the reliability, climate, and cost benefits of interconnecting U.S. facilities for the generation, transmission, and sale of electric energy with such facilities in Mexico, including the siting, construction, or modification of such facilities that would provide the most cumulative benefits.
This section defines 18 terms for purposes of the Act, including "abandoned mine land" (i.e., land affected by non-coal mineral extraction), "brownfield site," "environmental justice community," "grid-enhancing technology" (i.e., solutions increasing high-voltage transmission capability), "ERCOT," "MISO," "SPP," "total transfer capability," "transmission facility," "Tribal and Indigenous community," and "Tribal Government," with other terms (e.g., "Electric Reliability Organization," "reliability standard," "transmission organization") defined by cross-reference to section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)).