H.R. 6177 — Grid Research and Development Act

This section directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue a rule modernizing and standardizing information and data reported to FERC under the Federal Power Act by transmitting utilities (i.e., owners or operators of facilities for transmitting electric energy in interstate commerce) and Transmission Organizations (i.e., regional transmission organizations and independent system operators). (Thus, the rule aims to enhance transparency into transmission project lifecycles, costs, capital structures, and system performance to support ratepayer affordability and sector understanding.) The required report content covers (1) project lifecycle details (e.g., milestones, classification as new construction/upgrade/rebuild, development history, location, nameplate capacity/length/voltage, and originating planning process); (2) costs and economic justifications (e.g., projected/actual costs for projects/renewals/replacements/maintenance, cost allocation, cost-benefit analyses, competitive solicitation outcomes, and benefit classifications); (3) capital structure and rate of return (e.g., returns on equity/debt/preferred stock, capital structure percentages, weighted average return, incentive adders, and double-leveraging assessments); (4) congestion-related costs borne by ratepayers/power suppliers/distribution customers; (5) technical/non-technical losses; (6) disaggregated interconnection costs (e.g., study fees, reservation payments, attachment facilities, network upgrades, and system-wide estimates); (7) projected/actual system capacity, load, and energy delivered; (8) use of capital-efficient advanced technologies (e.g., hourly usage, locations, types); and (9) additional metrics determined necessary by FERC. Additionally, transmitting utilities and Transmission Organizations must submit no less than quarterly reports on interconnection queues and study models. Reports must use standardized, machine-readable formats via templates/tools as appropriate; contain no blank cells unless exempted; include defined projections with assumptions/methodologies; and be publicly accessible through a single user-friendly web interface supporting search, filter, and download functions. Transmitting utilities and Transmission Organizations may request exemptions from format requirements.

This section directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in collaboration with the Energy Information Administration (EIA), to develop and maintain a searchable, publicly accessible data repository containing information necessary to carry out the Federal Power Act and this Act, including data reported by transmitting utilities and Transmission Organizations (i.e., regional transmission organizations and independent system operators) in FERC Form Nos. 1 (annual financial reports), 1-F, 3-Q (quarterly financial reports), 714 (transmission system data), 715 (transmission planning data), and 730 (interconnection queues), as well as data reported pursuant to this Act. EIA must develop schemas and metadata for Form No. 1 data; provide user-friendly tools to explore, download, and analyze such data (e.g., filtering by utility, year, region, or category); and ensure public access in bulk and disaggregated forms with APIs and visualization tools where feasible. (Thus, the repository standardizes and centralizes utility transmission data to enhance public transparency on trends in transmission buildout, interconnection timelines, and ratepayer costs.) The repository must (1) use fully searchable, machine-readable formats with high-quality schemas and metadata; (2) ensure consistent data identification and standardized formats across all filers; (3) enable report filing and uploading under the Federal Power Act and this Act with minimized administrative burden; (4) include interactive tools, APIs, and bulk downloads for third-party analysis; and (5) align public data with Critical Energy/Electric Infrastructure Information security guidelines, including anonymization and cybersecurity protections.

This section directs the Secretary of Energy, in collaboration with FERC and using standardized methodologies and anonymized queue data collected under this Act, to conduct research and publish periodic reports on (1) primary drivers of increased ratepayer costs from transmission and interconnection, including transmission capital expenditures, interconnection upgrade costs, study delays, regional cost allocation variations, and utility cost recovery practices; (2) ratepayer value from such investments, including reliability improvements, emissions reductions, and resilience enhancements; (3) mechanisms to improve affordability, including performance-based regulation, alternative interconnection solutions (e.g., grid-enhancing technologies), and demand-side interventions; (4) comparative scenario modeling of energy futures to identify lowest-cost grid expansion pathways and trade-offs; (5) systemic cost impacts from interconnection inefficiencies such as study delays and queue withdrawals; and (6) opportunities to increase efficiency via advanced technologies (e.g., dynamic line ratings) and operational practices to unlock latent capacity. This section further directs the Secretary, through one or more National Laboratories, to develop, maintain, and improve a public Interconnection Data Dashboard providing real-time and historical insights into interconnection processes across transmission regions. The Dashboard must incorporate data from this Act, FERC Form No. 1 filings, and other sources; display anonymized queue metrics (e.g., application volumes, study durations, upgrade costs, project statuses); enable filtering and visualizations by region, project type, and other factors; support data exports; and include annual reports on queue efficiency, delays, ratepayer impacts, and improvement recommendations, with protections for Critical Electric Infrastructure Information (CEII).

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including (1) Administrator as the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy; (2) Commission as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; (3) FERC Form No. 1 as the Annual Report for Major Electric Utilities, Licensees, and Others prescribed under 18 C.F.R. §141.1 (as in effect on the date of enactment); (4) metadata as defined in 44 U.S.C. §3502; (5) project as transmission infrastructure projects planned, proposed, or undertaken by a transmitting utility (i.e., through regional or local transmission planning, interconnection studies, reliability-driven upgrades, or other Commission-determined pathways); (6) Secretary as the Secretary of Energy; and (7) transmitting utility and Transmission Organization as defined in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796).