H.R. 1047 — GRID Power Act

This section establishes the short title of the Act as the “Guaranteeing Reliability through the Interconnection of Dispatchable Power Act” or the “GRID Power Act.”

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including “bulk-power system,” “Commission” (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission), “dispatchable power,” “grid reliability,” “grid resilience,” “resource adequacy,” and “transmission provider,” and incorporates by reference the Federal Power Act definitions of “Independent System Operator” and “Regional Transmission Organization” under 16 U.S.C. § 796.

This section directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to initiate, within 90 days of enactment, a rulemaking to revise the pro forma Large Generator Interconnection Procedures and, as appropriate, the pro forma Large Generator Interconnection Agreement under 18 C.F.R. § 35.28(f) to address delays and inefficiencies in the interconnection queue for new dispatchable power projects. It authorizes transmission providers to submit proposals to reorder their interconnection queues so that qualifying projects that improve grid reliability and resource adequacy may receive higher queue positions, and it requires each proposal to include: (1) a demonstration of need for prioritization; (2) an explanation of how the prioritization will improve grid reliability or grid resilience; (3) a public comment and stakeholder engagement process before submission; and (4) regular reporting to FERC on grid reliability and grid resilience, including actions taken under this Act. FERC must approve or deny any submitted proposal within 60 days, must issue final regulations within 180 days of enactment, and must review the regulations at least once every 5 years and update them as necessary. (Thus, the section creates a faster process for certain dispatchable generation projects to move through the interconnection queue.)