S. 465 — GRID Power Act

This section defines nine terms for purposes of the Act: (1) "bulk-power system," incorporating the meaning given in section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act; (2) "Commission," meaning the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; (3) "dispatchable power," meaning an electric generation resource capable of providing known and forecastable supply to ensure grid reliability; (4) "grid reliability," meaning the electric grid's ability to deliver adequate, secure, and stable electricity while withstanding disturbances; (5) "grid resilience," meaning the electric grid's ability to adapt to changing conditions and recover rapidly from disturbances such as natural disasters or cyberattacks; (6) "Independent System Operator," incorporating the meaning given in section 3 of the Federal Power Act; (7) "Regional Transmission Organization," incorporating the meaning given in section 3 of the Federal Power Act; (8) "resource adequacy," meaning the electric system's ability to meet aggregate demand at all times, accounting for outages; and (9) "transmission provider," meaning certain public utilities, Independent System Operators, or Regional Transmission Organizations that own, operate, or control transmission facilities.

This section requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to initiate, not later than 90 days after enactment, a rulemaking to revise its pro forma Large Generator Interconnection Procedures (LGIP) and, as appropriate, Large Generator Interconnection Agreement (LGIA)—standardized processes that transmission providers use to evaluate and connect new generators to the grid—(1) to address inefficiencies in processing interconnection requests and ensure new dispatchable power projects (i.e., controllable generation such as natural gas or battery storage) that improve grid reliability and resource adequacy can interconnect quickly, cost-effectively, and reliably; and (2) to authorize transmission providers to propose queue adjustments prioritizing such projects higher, subject to demonstrations of need, descriptions of reliability benefits, prior public comment and stakeholder processes, and regular reporting to FERC on grid reliability and resilience. FERC must approve or deny such proposals within 60 days, issue a final rule within 180 days of enactment, and review and update the regulations at least every five years.