“A bill to interconnect the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to its neighbors, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section defines 18 terms for purposes of the Act, including "abandoned mine land" (i.e., land contaminated or scarred by extraction, beneficiation, or processing of ores or minerals, which may include phosphate but does not include coal), "brownfield site," "environmental justice community," "grid-enhancing technology" (i.e., a solution that increases the transfer capability of high-voltage transmission facilities), "ERCOT," "MISO," "National Priorities List," "registered apprenticeship program," "SPP," "total transfer capability," "transmission facility," "Tribal and Indigenous community," and "Western Interconnection." Several terms (e.g., "Commission," "Electric Reliability Organization," "reliability standard," "transmission organization") have the meaning given in section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)).
This section repeals Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)-specific exemptions from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) jurisdiction in Federal Power Act (FPA) §§212(k), 216(k), 217(h), and 220(f), thereby subjecting ERCOT entities (i.e., utilities and other participants in Texas's largely intrastate electric grid) to FERC requirements on backup electricity supply, interconnections, electric energy reliability, and smart grid deployment. (As background, FPA §201(f) generally exempts ERCOT from FERC jurisdiction over transmission and wholesale sales.) It further amends FPA §201(b)(2) to update a cross-reference from "section 201(f)" to "subsection (f)," remove "§§210, 211, 211A, 212" from the list of provisions whose compliance does not expand FERC jurisdiction, and replace "an electric utility or other entity" with "any entity that is otherwise exempt under subsection (f)"; strikes "§§210, 211, 211A, 212" from FPA §201(e); and directs FERC to convene a technical conference within 180 days of enactment to assist affected entities with compliance.
This section revises the definition of "reliability standard" under Section 215 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o) to exclude only requirements to construct new generation capacity (previously also excluded enlarging facilities or constructing new transmission capacity); and strikes "or transmission" in subsection (i)(2). The section further directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), not later than 30 days after enactment, to order the Electric Reliability Organization to submit a proposed reliability standard—or modify an existing one—requiring minimum total transfer capability of (A) 4.3-12.6 gigawatts between ERCOT and SPP, (B) 2.5-16.2 gigawatts between ERCOT and MISO, and (C) 2.6-7.9 gigawatts between ERCOT and the Western Interconnection. FERC may approve the standard only if it mandates joint plans, due within one year of enactment from the relevant entities, to designate siting/construction entities and complete required transmission facility siting, construction, or modification by January 1, 2035, prioritizing (1) grid-enhancing technologies; (2) existing rights-of-way (e.g., highways, railroads); (3) degraded land (e.g., brownfields, landfills, abandoned mines); (4) access to renewables (e.g., wind, solar, geothermal); (5) community outreach to environmental justice, Tribal, and labor groups; and (6) registered apprenticeships and prevailing wages. Projects to comply with the standard remain subject to NEPA and the Endangered Species Act, with a savings clause preserving FERC's authority over other interregional transfers. Finally, this section directs the Secretary of Energy, in implementing FPA Section 216, to consider national interest electric transmission corridor designations for relevant areas.
This section directs the Secretary of Energy to conduct a study and submit a report to Congress, not later than one year after the date of enactment, on (1) the reliability, climate, and cost benefits of interconnecting U.S. covered facilities (i.e., facilities for the generation, transmission, or sale of electric energy) with covered facilities in Mexico; and (2) the siting, construction, or modification of covered facilities that would provide the most cumulative benefits.