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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8968 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8968
To amend the Federal Power Act to require annual reports on generation
and load capacity by Regional Transmission Organizations and
Independent System Operators, to establish reliability markets, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 9, 2024
Mrs. Lesko (for herself and Mr. Latta) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Power Act to require annual reports on generation
and load capacity by Regional Transmission Organizations and
Independent System Operators, to establish reliability markets, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Keeping the Lights On Act''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIABILITY MARKETS FOR THE BULK-POWER SYSTEM.
The Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.) is amended by
inserting after section 215A the following:
``SEC. 215B. RELIABILITY MARKETS.
``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to ensure the
reliability of the bulk-power system.
``(b) Reports on Generation and Load.--The Commission shall
require, by rule or order, each RTO and ISO to submit to the
Commission, not less frequently than once a year, a report that
identifies, with respect to the public utilities that are part of the
RTO or ISO--
``(1) the ten-year historical and ten-year projected gross
peak load and net peak load for every fifteen minutes of each
day of the year;
``(2) the impact of extreme weather on electric demand and
generation resource availability;
``(3) reserve margins of generation resource capacity based
on the generation resource types needed to meet demand for
every fifteen minutes of each day;
``(4) each generation resource (and the net capacity factor
of each generation resource), including each generation
resource that is a dispatchable on demand continuous resource,
a dispatchable on demand short-term resource, an intermittent
generation resource, or an inverter based generation resource;
``(5) the energy source, such as coal, nuclear, natural
gas, hydro, wind, or solar, of each generation resource
identified under paragraph (4);
``(6) whether a generation resource identified under
paragraph (4) relies on--
``(A) fuel deliveries, including the method by
which such fuel is delivered (such as pipeline, rail,
or barge); and
``(B) on-site fuel supplies (including how long the
generation resource can operate on such fuel supplies);
``(7) whether each generation resource identified under
paragraph (4) that is operated using natural gas is supplied by
firm transportation on natural gas pipelines;
``(8) whether the energy source of a generation resources
identified under paragraph (4) is dependant on the time of day
and weather;
``(9) projected shortfalls in generation needed to meet
system needs for every fifteen minutes of the day each year and
during extreme weather; and
``(10) other factors identified by the Commission as
important for the reliability of the bulk-power system.
``(c) Reliability Markets.--
``(1) New schedules.--Each RTO and ISO shall file under
section 205 a new schedule which shall ensure that dispatchable
on demand continuous resources are available when intermittent
generation resources are not available to meet net peak load
for every 15 minutes of each day of the year. A schedule filed
under section 205 pursuant to this paragraph that
differentiates between the operating characteristics of
generation resources for purposes of supporting the reliability
of the bulk-power system shall not be considered unjust,
unreasonable, or unduly preferential under section 205.
``(2) Establishment.--
``(A) In general.--In approving a schedule filed
pursuant to paragraph (1), the Commission shall
consider one of the following:
``(i) Establishing at least one reliability
market where only dispatchable on demand
continuous resources and dispatchable on demand
short-term resources may participate, which may
be established separately or combined for such
dispatchable on demand continuous resources and
dispatchable on demand short-term resources.
``(ii) Establishing a reliability market or
modifying existing capacity markets to require
intermittent resources to purchase electricity
generated by a dispatchable on demand
continuous resource when the intermittent
resource is not available to generate
electricity.
``(iii) Establishing another mechanism that
will support the availability of dispatchable
on demand continuous resources and dispatchable
on demand short-term resources to support the
reliability of the bulk-power systems at all
times through the year (measured every 15
minutes of each day).
``(B) Charge for delivery failure.--The Commission
shall establish penalties for each generation resource
that fails to generate electricity in accordance with
the requirements of a market or mechanism established
under subparagraph (A).
``(C) Forward procurement auction.--No public
utility may accept an offer at a forward procurement
auction for a price that is less than the marginal
costs to operate the public utility.
``(d) Commission Approval of Rates and Charges.--For the purposes
of cost allocation of transmission services (including costs associated
with interconnection, network upgrades, and the construction and
expansion of new transmission lines), no rate or charge shall be
considered just and reasonable under section 205--
``(1) if such rate or charge--
``(A) socializes costs of transmission service to
electric consuming customers who do not receive direct
and quantifiable all-in costs of delivered electric
service or to meet reliability standards from the
transmission service; or
``(B) allocates costs of transmission service to
the electric customers of one State for transmission
service that will primarily serve electric customers of
another State or region; and
``(2) direct benefits may include the energy and
transmission cost benefits (but must consider the cost of
generation, transmission reliability combined); direct benefits
shall not include environmental or health benefits; reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions; or environmental leakage between
States or regions; however the generating resource that causes
the need for transmission service may be permitted or required
to pay directly for the costs of transmission such service.
``(e) Expansion to Other States.--The Commission may not require
any public utility or generation resource within a State or region to
join an RTO or ISO unless the applicable State or State regulatory
authority agrees to join the RTO or ISO.
``(f) No Environmental Requirements.--The Commission and each RTO
and ISO may not impose environmental requirements, adjust rates to
account for State environmental policies (including environmental
leakage adjustments), or mandate environmental performance standards of
any kind.
``(g) Prohibition on Confiscating Energy.--
``(1) Requirement.--Each RTO and ISO shall honor its
contractual commitments to wheel power outside its service area
and may not divert such power deliveries to serve its own load.
``(2) Penalties; damages.--If an RTO or ISO diverts power
from a utility to serve its own load, the RTO or ISO--
``(A) shall be subject to penalties determined by
the Commission; and
``(B) may be liable for damages pursuant to a
proceeding brought in a Federal district court.
``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Bulk-power system; reliability standard.--The terms
`bulk-power system' and `reliability standard' have the
meanings given such terms in section 215(a).
``(2) Dispatchable on demand continuous resource.--The term
`dispatchable on demand continuous resource' means an
electricity generating resource--
``(A) that can generate electricity as needed as
directed by the operator and not be dependent on the
time of day or the weather;
``(B) that can maintain the requested generation
capacity for a minimum of 72 hours continuously; and
``(C) the power output of which can be adjusted
according to the needs of the power grid.
``(3) Dispatchable on demand short-term resource.--The term
`dispatchable on demand short-term resource' means an
electricity generating resource--
``(A) that can generate electricity as needed as
directed by the operator and not be dependent on the
time of day or the weather;
``(B) that can be operational within three hours or
less of being called on to generate electricity;
``(C) that has the capability to continually
operate for a minimum of 72 hours; and
``(D) the power output of which can be adjusted
according to the needs of the power grid.
``(4) Environmental leakage.--The term `environmental
leakage' means where one State or region imposes certain
environmental limits or goals on electric generation and
another State or region does not and such differences allow a
generating resource without such environmental restrictions or
goals to generate and sell power cheaper than a generation
resource from another State or region.
``(5) Extreme weather.--The term `extreme weather'--
``(A) means a weather event that is at the extremes
of the historical distribution; and
``(B) includes unexpected, unusual, severe, or
unseasonal weather.
``(6) Firm.--The term `firm' means the electric generator
has priority transportation rights to a fuel supply. Storage
batteries that have three days of continuous discharge may be
considered firm.
``(7) Gross peak load.--The term `gross peak load' means
the total energy required to serve demand at its highest level
for each 15 minutes of every day of the year.
``(8) Intermittent resource.--The term `intermittent
resource' means an electric generation resource that depends on
the weather or time of day for its fuel source, such as wind or
solar.
``(9) Net capacity factor.--The net capacity factor of an
electric generator is the ratio of its actual output over two
consecutive calendar years, to its potential output if it were
possible for it to operate at full nameplate capacity during
the same two consecutive calendar years. To calculate the
capacity factor, take the total amount of energy the plant
produced during a period of time and divide by the amount of
energy the plant would have produced at full capacity.
``(10) Net peak load.--The term `net peak load' means the
difference of--
``(A) gross peak load, minus
``(B) intermittent generation resources used to
serve load for each 15 minutes of each day of the
year.''.
SEC. 3. COGENERATION AND SMALL, POWER PRODUCTION UNDER THE PUBLIC
UTILITY REGULATORY POLICIES ACT OF 1978.
(a) Repeal.--Section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies
Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 824a-3) is repealed.
(b) Existing Contracts.--The repeal of section 210 by subsection
(a) shall not affect any contract or obligation in effect before the
date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION FOR CERTAIN CERTIFICATES ISSUED UNDER
THE NATURAL GAS ACT.
Section 7(e) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717f(e)) is amended
by inserting the following at the end: ``When considering an
application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity under
this subsection for a facility that will serve in whole or in part an
electric generation facility, it shall be a rebuttable presumption that
the certificate is in the public interest and is or will be required by
the present or future public convenience and necessity.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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