Energy Storage Promotion and Deployment Act of 2015

Summary: Energy Storage Promotion and Deployment Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish national energy storage standards for certain electric power suppliers (utilities) that sell at least 500,000 megawatt hours of electric energy annually. Each supplier must have energy storage devices that have the capacity to provide at least 1% of its annual average peak power demand by 2021 and 2% by 2025. Suppliers must also meet a secondary standard. Energy storage devices include those used to store energy using pumped hydropower, compressed air, batteries or other electrochemical forms, thermal forms, flywheels, capacitors, and superconducting magnets.  The standards do not apply to rural electric cooperatives or government-owned suppliers. An energy storage device placed in operation before January 1, 2009, may not be used to achieve compliance with the standards. The Department of Energy may provide one-year waivers from the deadlines if achieving the standard by the deadline would present undue hardship to the supplier or its ratepayers. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Energy Storage Promotion and 
Deployment Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. ENERGY STORAGE PORTFOLIO STANDARD.

    (a) In General.--Title VI of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies 
Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:

``SEC. 610. ENERGY STORAGE PORTFOLIO STANDARD.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Energy storage device.--The term `energy storage 
        device' includes a device used to store energy using pumped 
        hydropower, compressed air, batteries or other electrochemical 
        forms (including hydrogen for fuel cells), thermal forms 
        (including hot water and ice), flywheels, capacitors, 
        superconducting magnets, and other energy storage devices, to 
        be available for use when the energy is needed.
            ``(2) Retail electric supplier.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `retail electric 
                supplier' means a person that--
                            ``(i) sells electric energy to electric 
                        consumers; and
                            ``(ii) sold not less than 500,000 megawatt 
                        hours of electric energy to electric consumers 
                        for purposes other than resale during the 
                        preceding calendar year.
                    ``(B) Inclusion.--The term `retail electric 
                supplier' includes a person that sells electric energy 
                to electric consumers that, in combination with the 
                sales of any affiliate organized after the date of 
                enactment of this section, sells not less than 500,000 
                megawatt hours of electric energy to consumers for 
                purposes other than resale.
                    ``(C) Exclusions.--The term `retail electric 
                supplier' does not include--
                            ``(i) the United States, a State, any 
                        political subdivision of a State, or any 
                        agency, authority, or instrumentality of the 
                        United States, a State, an Indian tribe, or a 
                        political subdivision; or
                            ``(ii) a rural electric cooperative.
                    ``(D) Sales to parent companies or affiliates.--For 
                purposes of this paragraph, sales by any person to a 
                parent company or to other affiliates of the person 
                shall not be treated as sales to electric consumers.
    ``(b) Requirements.--
            ``(1) Primary standards.--Subject to paragraph (2) and 
        except as provided in subsection (e)(2), each retail electric 
        supplier shall achieve compliance with the following energy 
        storage portfolio standards by the following dates:
                    ``(A) January 1, 2021.--Not later than January 1, 
                2021, each retail electric supplier shall have 
                available on the system of the retail electric supplier 
                energy storage devices with a power capacity rating 
                equal to not less than 1 percent of the annual average 
                peak power demand of the system, as--
                            ``(i) measured over a 1-hour period; and
                            ``(ii) averaged over the period of calendar 
                        years 2017 through 2019.
                    ``(B) January 1, 2025.--Not later than January 1, 
                2025, each retail electric supplier shall have 
                available on the system of the retail electric supplier 
                energy storage devices with a power capacity rating 
                equal to not less than 2 percent of the annual average 
                peak power demand of the system, as--
                            ``(i) measured over a 1-hour period; and
                            ``(ii) averaged over the period of calendar 
                        years 2021 through 2023.
            ``(2) Secondary standard.--Of each applicable storage 
        capacity required under paragraph (1), at least 50 percent 
        shall be sufficient to provide electricity at the rated 
        capacity for a duration of not less than 1 hour.
    ``(c) Inclusions.--The following may be used to comply with the 
energy storage portfolio standards established by subsection (b):
            ``(1) Energy storage devices associated with a retail 
        customer of the retail electric supplier.
            ``(2) Energy storage owned or operated by the retail 
        electric supplier.
            ``(3) Energy storage devices that are electrically 
        connected to the retail electric supplier and available to 
        provide power, including storage owned by--
                    ``(A) a third party;
                    ``(B) a regional transmission entity; or
                    ``(C) a transmission or generation entity.
    ``(d) Exclusion.--An energy storage device placed in operation 
before January 1, 2009, may not be used to achieve compliance with the 
energy storage portfolio standards established by subsection (b).
    ``(e) Deadline for Compliance.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the chief 
        executive officer of each retail electric supplier shall 
        certify to the Secretary compliance with the energy storage 
        portfolio standards established by subsection (b) by the 
        applicable dates specified in that subsection.
            ``(2) Waivers.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other 
                provision of this section, the Secretary may provide to 
                a retail electric supplier a waiver of an applicable 
                deadline under subsection (b) for a period of 1 
                calendar year, if the Secretary determines that 
                achieving compliance by the applicable deadline would 
                present undue hardship to--
                            ``(i) the retail electric supplier; or
                            ``(ii) ratepayers of the retail electric 
                        supplier.
                    ``(B) Additional waivers.--The Secretary may 
                provide to a retail electric supplier such additional 
                1-year waivers under subparagraph (A) as the Secretary 
                determines to be appropriate on making a subsequent 
                determination under that subparagraph.''.
    (b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents of the 
Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. prec. 2601) 
is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to title VI the 
following:

``Sec. 609. Rural and remote communities electrification grants.
``Sec. 610. Energy storage portfolio standard.''.