Grid Connection and Congestion Management Act

This Act may be cited as the “Grid Connection and Congestion Management Act”.

Part II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“224. Basic access service for energy-only delivery.—

(a) Definitions.— In this section:

(1) Basic access service for energy-only delivery.— The term basic access service for energy-only delivery means interconnection service that permits a generating facility to interconnect and inject at the point of interconnection up to the level approved through an evaluation described in subsection (d)(1), subject to that evaluation and the conditions described in subsection (f).

(2) Commission.— The term Commission means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

(3) Deliverability.— The term deliverability means the ability of a generating facility to deliver electric energy to load, market, or transmission service points without congestion-related curtailment.

(4) Generating facility.— The term generating facility means a device of an interconnection customer for the production or storage of electricity, as identified in an interconnection request submitted under a Commission-jurisdictional tariff.

(5) Interconnection customer.— The term interconnection customer means any person that proposes to interconnect a generating facility with the transmission system of a Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator.

(6) Open access transmission tariff.— The term open access transmission tariff means a tariff providing for transmission service that complies with the provisions of section 35.28 of title 18, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation).

(7) Reliability standard.— The term reliability standard has the meaning given the term in section 215(a).

(8) Transmission system.— The term transmission system means the facilities of a Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator that are used to provide wholesale transmission services.

(b) Unjust and unreasonable practices.—

(1) In general.— Subject to paragraph (2), beginning 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, it shall be unjust and unreasonable within the meaning of sections 205 and 206 for any Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator to maintain rates, terms, or conditions of service that do not provide for basic access service for energy-only delivery.

(2) Effect of timely tariff filing.— If a Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator submits a tariff filing by the applicable deadline under subsection (c), including any extended deadline under paragraph (3) of that subsection, paragraph (1) shall apply to that Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator beginning on the later of—

(A) the date described in paragraph (1); and

(B) the date on which the Commission accepts the filing or fixes rates, terms, and conditions of service under subsection (j).

(c) Tariff filings.—

(1) In general.— Subject to paragraph (3), not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, each Regional Transmission Organization and Independent System Operator shall submit to the Commission pursuant to section 205 conforming revisions to the open access transmission tariff of the Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator to offer basic access service for energy-only delivery.

(2) Requirements.— Revisions to an open access transmission tariff under paragraph (1) shall—

(A) establish a study process, including proposed timelines under subsection (i), for evaluating requests for basic access service for energy-only delivery meeting the requirements of subsections (d) and (h);

(B) grant interconnection rights in accordance with subsection (e);

(C) condition service only to the extent permitted under subsection (f); and

(D) provide a pathway to transition from basic access service for energy-only delivery to other types of interconnection service offered by the Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator, in accordance with subsection (g).

(3) Extension.— On a showing of good cause, the Commission may extend by not more than 180 days the deadline for submission of revisions under paragraph (1) by 1 or more Regional Transmission Organizations or Independent System Operators.

(d) Evaluation of request.—

(1) In general.— The evaluation of a request for basic access service for energy-only delivery shall—

(A) consist of only the set of steady-state (thermal and voltage), short-circuit, stability analysis, and facilities studies, as provided for under section 35.28 of title 18, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation) (and the corresponding generator interconnection procedures), that are necessary to determine whether additional transmission facilities or upgrades to existing transmission facilities are needed to reliably interconnect a new or modified generating facility to the transmission system of the applicable Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator in compliance with applicable reliability standards; and

(B) reflect the expected operating characteristics of the generating facility, including any operating limits, curtailment provisions, or modifications to the generating facility proposed or agreed to by the interconnection customer.

(2) Findings.—

(A) In general.— An evaluation under paragraph (1) shall identify—

(i) the maximum level of injection at the point of interconnection that can be accommodated without additional transmission facilities or upgrades to existing transmission facilities;

(ii) any additional transmission facilities or upgrades to existing transmission facilities necessary to accommodate injection above the level identified under clause (i), up to the level requested by the interconnection customer; and

(iii) each constraint assumed under paragraph (4) to be managed through operational measures.

(B) Election.— An interconnection customer may elect to receive basic access service for energy-only delivery—

(i) at the level identified under subparagraph (A)(i) without additional transmission facilities or upgrades; or

(ii) at a higher approved level, subject to subsection (f)(2).

(3) Deliverability limitation.—

(A) In general.— The evaluation described in paragraph (1) shall not be used to identify facilities or upgrades, or require the construction of facilities, for the purpose of—

(i) enabling the deliverability of electric energy from the generating facility to load, market, or transmission service points; or

(ii) ensuring that the generating facility will not experience congestion-related curtailment.

(B) Incidental effects on deliverability or congestion-related curtailment.— Nothing in subparagraph (A) prohibits the identification of facilities or upgrades that—

(i) are necessary to reliably interconnect a generating facility in compliance with applicable reliability standards; and

(ii) may have incidental effects on deliverability or congestion-related curtailment.

(4) Operationally manageable constraints.— An evaluation under paragraph (1)—

(A) shall assume that a constraint identified in the evaluation will be managed through operational measures, including redispatch, curtailment, operating limits, and remedial action schemes; and

(B) may identify facilities or upgrades for a constraint only to the extent that operational measures cannot maintain compliance with applicable reliability standards.

(5) Study timelines.— The applicable Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator shall establish procedures to complete the evaluation of a request for basic access service for energy-only delivery not later than 1 year after the date on which the request is submitted.

(e) Interconnection rights.— Basic access service for energy-only delivery shall be subject to operating limits, curtailment provisions, and the terms of the applicable interconnection agreement, so long as those limits, provisions, and terms are not unjust, unreasonable, or unduly discriminatory or preferential.

(f) Conditions of service.—

(1) Congestion-related curtailment.— Basic access service for energy-only delivery may be subject to congestion-related curtailment, including curtailment associated with constraints identified in the evaluation under subsection (d)(1).

(2) Upgrade identification and cost responsibility.— Construction and cost responsibility for basic access service for energy-only delivery shall be limited to facilities or upgrades identified as necessary through the evaluation under subsection (d)(1), unless such identification is based solely on the facility or upgrade—

(A) increasing deliverability;

(B) reducing congestion-related curtailment; or

(C) satisfying a deliverability, capacity deliverability, or congestion-impact screen not required for the evaluation under subsection (d)(1).

(g) Transition path.— An interconnection customer receiving basic access service for energy-only delivery may transition to any other interconnection service, including network resource interconnection service—

(1) under the process and terms provided to interconnection customers that are not receiving basic access service for energy-only delivery; and

(2) without forfeiting the right to continue operating under this section until the applicable generating facility begins receiving any other interconnection service.

(h) Independent study election.—

(1) In general.— An interconnection customer requesting basic access service for energy-only delivery may elect to have the evaluation described in subsection (d)(1) conducted independently of any grouped study process, such as a cluster study that evaluates many interconnection requests simultaneously.

(2) Limitation.— A Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator may not—

(A) condition the availability of basic access service for energy-only delivery on participation in a grouped study process described in paragraph (1);

(B) make the evaluation or provision of basic access service for energy-only delivery contingent on the completion of any grouped study process described in that paragraph, including any interconnection study process of the Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator used for other types of interconnection service; or

(C) delay the commencement or completion of an evaluation described in subsection (d)(1) pending the commencement or completion of any grouped study process described in paragraph (1).

(3) Permitted conditions.— In order to facilitate the evaluation and interconnection of interconnection customers requesting basic access service for energy-only delivery in a manner that does not slow the completion of any grouped study process described in paragraph (1), a Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator may condition the basic access service for energy-only delivery for that interconnection customer on—

(A) curtailment by the interconnection customer to mitigate system impacts revealed in the evaluation carried out pursuant to subsection (d)(1); or

(B) modifications to the generating facility proposed by the interconnection customer to be interconnected to the transmission system of the Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator to mitigate or avoid those impacts.

(i) Study timelines.— Each tariff filing under subsection (c) shall include—

(1) proposed timelines for completing the evaluation under subsection (d)(1); and

(2) supporting information that—

(A) demonstrates that those timelines are reasonable; and

(B) accounts for the scope of review needed to reliably interconnect a generating facility under that subsection.

(j) Commission action on tariff proposals.—

(1) In general.— Not later than 180 days after the filing of a tariff proposal under subsection (c), the Commission shall—

(A) accept the filing, if the Commission determines that the filing complies with this section and is otherwise just, reasonable, and not unduly discriminatory or preferential; or

(B) fix such rates, terms, and conditions of service as the Commission determines to be just, reasonable, not unduly discriminatory or preferential, and in compliance with this section.

(2) Timelines.— In carrying out paragraph (1), the Commission may accept, reject, or modify a proposed timeline in the tariff proposal.

(k) Commission establishment of pro forma tariff.—

(1) In general.— Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this section, the Commission shall revise the pro forma open access transmission tariff to integrate basic access service for energy-only delivery into that pro forma tariff in a manner that meets the requirements of this section.

(2) Variation.— The Commission may permit a Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator to seek variation from the pro forma tariff revised under paragraph (1) to the extent that the variations—

(A) are consistent with or superior to the pro forma tariff; and

(B) meet all requirements of this section.

(3) Effect of acceptance of tariff.— Acceptance by the Commission of a tariff proposal submitted under subsection (c) shall not, on its own, establish compliance with the requirements of the pro forma open access transmission tariff revised under paragraph (1).

(4) Commission authority.— In revising the pro forma open access transmission tariff under paragraph (1), the Commission may establish—

(A) benchmark timelines, timeline-review standards, and best practices for completing the evaluation under subsection (d)(1), including standards for modifying timelines established pursuant to this section;

(B) standards for transparency with respect to constraints identified under subsection (d), including the operational measures and operating limits applicable to basic access service for energy-only delivery; and

(C) any other process or policy that is at least as stringent as the requirements of this section.

(l) Complaints.—

(1) In general.— The Commission shall act on the merits of any complaint filed pursuant to section 206 alleging noncompliance with this section not later than 180 days after the date on which the complaint is filed.

(2) Consolidation.— To maximize administrative efficiency, the Commission may consolidate and act on related complaints with respect to a given Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator.

(m) Severability.— If any provision of this section, or the application of any provision of this section to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of this section, and the application of the provisions of this section to any other person or circumstance, shall not be affected.”.