I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2211 

To facilitate planning, construction, and operation of a secure national clean 

energy grid. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2009 

Mr. INSLEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To facilitate planning, construction, and operation of a secure 

national clean energy grid. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Clean Energy 

5 Superhighways Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 

8 (1) electricity produced from renewable re9 sources helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 

10 and limits emissions of other pollutants regulated 


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1 pursuant to the Clean Air Act, enhances national 

2 clean energy superhighway, and provides substantial 

3 economic benefits; 

4 (2) the lack of adequate electric transmission 

5 capacity is one of the primary obstacles to the devel6 opment of electric generation facilities fueled by re7 newable energy resources; 

8 (3) it is in the national interest for the Federal 

9 Government to implement policies that will enhance 

10 the amount of electric transmission capacity avail11 able to take full advantage of the Nation’s renewable 

12 energy resources to generate electricity; and 

13 (4) existing transmission planning processes are 

14 fragmented across many jurisdictions, which results 

15 in difficult coordination between jurisdictions, delays 

16 in implementation of plans, and complex negotia17 tions on sharing of costs. 

18 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

19 The purposes of this Act are the following: 

20 (1) In order to increase the production of elec21 tricity from renewable energy, to enhance the per22 formance and efficiency of the Nation’s electric 

23 power network, and to improve its security and reli24 ability, it is the purpose of this Act to facilitate the 

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1 sisting of long-distance, extra-high voltage trans2 mission lines constructed to cost effectively deliver 

3 remote clean energy generation resources to markets 

4 while improving system efficiency and reliability, and 

5 such additional transmission lines as are needed to 

6 connect renewable energy generators into this extra7 high voltage grid. 

8 (2) To facilitate the widespread deployment of 

9 modern grid technology as part of the national infra10 structure for electricity transmission, in order to 

11 support improved electricity grid operation and con12 trol, enhance grid reliability and integration of re13 newable generation resources, and support the de14 ployment of new technologies. 

15 TITLE I—SUSTAINABLE 

16 TRANSMISSION GRID 

17 SEC. 101. PLANNING, CONSTRUCTION, AND OPERATION OF 

18 SUSTAINABLE TRANSMISSION GRID. 

19 (a) AMENDMENT OF FEDERAL POWER ACT.—Part 

20 II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 et seq.) is 

21 amended by adding after section 216 the following new 

22 section: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 216A. SUSTAINABLE TRANSMISSION GRID. 

24 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) STG.—The term ‘STG’ means the sus2 tainable transmission grid. 

3 ‘‘(2) STG PROJECT.—The term ‘STG project’ 

4 means a project designated in an STG plan to con5 struct an STG transmission line on a new or exist6 ing right-of-way after the date of enactment of this 

7 section. 

8 ‘‘(3) STG PLAN.—The term ‘STG plan’ means 

9 a transmission plan accepted or prescribed by the 

10 Commission under subsection (b). 

11 ‘‘(4) STG TRANSMISSION LINE.—The term 

12 ‘STG transmission line’ means an overhead or un13 derground transmission facility included in an STG 

14 plan, consisting of conductors or cables, towers, 

15 manhole duct systems, phase-shifting transformers, 

16 reactors, capacitors, substations, inverters, switching 

17 units, and any related facilities and equipment nec18 essary for the proper operation of the transmission 

19 facility, that— 

20 ‘‘(A) operates at or above a voltage of 345 

21 kilovolts AC or DC; 

22 ‘‘(B) is a renewable feeder line; or 

23 ‘‘(C) is a necessary upgrade to an existing 

24 transmission facility. 

25 ‘‘(5) RENEWABLE FEEDER LINE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘renewable 

2 feeder line’ means a transmission line that— 

3 ‘‘(i) operates at a voltage of 100 kilo4 volts or greater, and 

5 ‘‘(ii) is identified in the applicable 

6 STG plan as a facility that connects 1 or 

7 more renewable energy generators directly 

8 or indirectly to transmission facilities de9 scribed in paragraph (4)(A). 

10 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘renewable 

11 feeder line’ includes an upgrade to an existing 

12 transmission line necessary for interconnection 

13 to a new transmission line described in sub14 paragraph (A). 

15 ‘‘(6) STG COSTS.—The term ‘STG costs’ 

16 means capital and operating costs incurred by any 

17 entity for planning, development, and operation of a 

18 project certificated under subsection (d). 

19 ‘‘(7) LOAD-SERVING ENTITY.—The term ‘load20 serving entity’ means a person or Federal, State, or 

21 local instrumentality (including an entity described 

22 in section 201(f)) that delivers electric energy to 

23 end-use customers. 

24 ‘‘(8) MULTISTATE TRANSMISSION AUTHOR25 ITY.—The terms ‘Multistate Transmission AuthorVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:58 May 03, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2211.IH H2211

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1 ity’ and ‘MTA’ mean a multistate transmission plan2 ning organization established pursuant to subsection 

3 (b). 

4 ‘‘(9) RENEWABLE ENERGY.—The term ‘renew5 able energy’ means electric energy generated from— 

6 ‘‘(A) solar energy, wind, landfill gas, re7 newable biogas, or geothermal energy; 

8 ‘‘(B) new hydroelectric generation capacity 

9 achieved from increased efficiency, or an addi10 tion of new capacity, at an existing nonhydro11 electric project if— 

12 ‘‘(i) the hydroelectric project installed 

13 on the nonhydroelectric dam— 

14 ‘‘(I) is licensed by the Commis15 sion; and 

16 ‘‘(II) meets all other applicable 

17 environmental, licensing, and regu18 latory requirements, including applica19 ble fish passage requirements; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the nonhydroelectric dam— 

21 ‘‘(I) was placed in service before 

22 the date of enactment of the National 

23 Clean Energy Superhighways Act of 

24 2009; 


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1 ‘‘(II) was operated for flood con2 trol, navigation, or water supply pur3 poses; and 

4 ‘‘(III) did not produce hydro5 electric power as of the date of enact6 ment of the National Clean Energy 

7 Superhighways Act of 2009; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) the hydroelectric project is oper9 ated so that the water surface elevation at 

10 any given location and time that would 

11 have occurred in the absence of the hydro12 electric project is maintained, subject to 

13 any license requirements imposed under 

14 applicable law that change the water sur15 face elevation for the purpose of improving 

16 the environmental quality of the affected 

17 waterway, as certified by the Commission; 

18 ‘‘(C) hydrokinetic energy, including— 

19 ‘‘(i) waves, tides, and currents in 

20 oceans, estuaries, and tidal areas; 

21 ‘‘(ii) free-flowing water in rivers, 

22 lakes, and streams; 

23 ‘‘(iii) free-flowing water in man-made 

24 channels, including projects that use non25 mechanical structures to accelerate the 


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1 flow of water for electric power production 

2 purposes; or 

3 ‘‘(iv) differentials in ocean tempera4 ture through ocean thermal energy conver5 sion; or 

6 ‘‘(D) electricity that is generated from the 

7 combustion of the biogenic portion of municipal 

8 solid waste materials from facilities that comply 

9 with the maximum pollutant emissions stand10 ards established by the Administrator of the 

11 Environmental Protection Agency. 

12 ‘‘(b) PLANNING BY MULTISTATE TRANSMISSION AU13 THORITIES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF MTAS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH.—The 

16 Congress hereby authorizes the States com17 prising the Eastern interconnection and the 

18 States comprising the Western interconnection 

19 to establish, in accordance with rules estab20 lished under subparagraph (B), one or more 

21 interconnection-wide multistate transmission 

22 planning authorities (‘MTAs’), within the East23 ern and Western interconnections, respectively. 

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1 ment of the States comprising the region con2 cerned. 

3 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION

4 OF MTA.—The Commission shall, by rule pro5 mulgated within 180 days after the date of en6 actment of this section, specify appropriate or7 ganizational and procedural requirements for 

8 the MTAs established under this section, in9 cluding each of the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) A governance structure that en11 sures that each State in the interconnec12 tion will be represented on the MTA. 

13 ‘‘(ii) An open, transparent, and 

14 participatory STG planning process, in15 cluding public hearings, that furthers the 

16 purposes of this section and solicits input 

17 from load-serving entities, Federal trans18 mitting utilities, transmission owners, re19 gional transmission organizations, inde20 pendent system operators, State energy, 

21 environment, natural resources, and land 

22 management agencies and commissions, 

23 Indian tribes, electricity generators, pro24 spective developers of new transmission 


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1 and generation resources, regional reli2 ability organizations, and the public. 

3 ‘‘(iii) A requirement that the MTA 

4 will have the capability of exercising STG 

5 planning functions for the entire inter6 connection, including identifying acceptable 

7 corridors for planned transmission projects 

8 based on the planning process described in 

9 paragraph (3). 

10 ‘‘(iv) A mechanism that assures that 

11 the MTA will have adequate resources 

12 available to undertake its planning activi13 ties (taking into account amounts made 

14 available pursuant to paragraph (8), which 

15 may include imposition of a reasonable 

16 charge on load-serving entities in the inter17 connection. 

18 ‘‘(v) Such other requirements as it de19 termines necessary to assure that each 

20 MTA is capable of undertaking the plan21 ning described in paragraphs (3) and (4) 

22 for the region concerned. 

23 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION OF MTA.—The Commis24 sion shall, by rule, establish procedures governing 

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1 tification of an MTA within a region. The final rule 

2 establishing such procedures shall be issued within 

3 180 days of the date of enactment of this section. 

4 The Commission shall certify an MTA upon applica5 tion if it finds that the application satisfies such 

6 procedures and the requirements established pursu7 ant to paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(3) MTA PLANNING FUNCTIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) DEVELOPMENT OF BIENNIAL STG

10 PLAN.—Each MTA shall exercise STG trans11 mission planning functions for its respective re12 gion and produce a biennial STG transmission 

13 plan. The STG plan shall identify needed STG 

14 projects. In assessing need for STG projects, 

15 the MTA shall take into consideration— 

16 ‘‘(i) transmission infrastructure re17 quired for efficient and reliable delivery of 

18 the output of new renewable generation re19 sources needed to satisfy State and Fed20 eral renewable energy policies and targets; 

21 ‘‘(ii) changes in generation patterns 

22 expected to result from greenhouse gas 

23 emission policy; 

24 ‘‘(iii) changes in demand expected to 

25 result from energy efficiency, distributed 


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1 generation, energy storage, and demand2 side management programs; 

3 ‘‘(iv) opportunities for grid upgrades 

4 to enhance grid reliability, security, and ef5 ficiency on the existing transmission sys6 tem; 

7 ‘‘(v) areas listed under paragraph (C); 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(vi) other relevant factors. 

10 In developing the STG plan for an interconnec11 tion, the MTA shall build on planning under12 taken by the Commission, regions, States, Fed13 eral transmitting utilities, regional transmission 

14 organizations, load-serving entities, independent 

15 system operators, utilities, regional reliability 

16 entities, and other parties in the interconnec17 tion; and cooperate and coordinate across re18 gions to harmonize regional electric grid plan19 ning with planning in adjacent or overlapping 

20 jurisdictions, to the maximum extent feasible. 

21 ‘‘(B) INTERIM PLANNING DECISIONS.—The 

22 MTA shall maintain a process for expeditiously 

23 evaluating whether new renewable feeder lines 

24 proposed between the 2-year planning cycles 

25 should be added to the approved STG plan. 


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1 ‘‘(C) AREAS TO AVOID.—MTA planning 

2 shall identify (in consultation with Federal and 

3 State land agencies, environmental groups, and 

4 Indian tribes) appropriate areas to be avoided 

5 in siting of STG projects, to the maximum ex6 tent practicable, including— 

7 ‘‘(i) national parks, national marine 

8 sanctuaries, reserves, recreation areas, and 

9 other similar units of the National Park 

10 System; 

11 ‘‘(ii) designated wilderness, designated 

12 wilderness study areas, and other areas 

13 managed for wilderness characteristics; 

14 ‘‘(iii) national historic sites and his15 toric parks; 

16 ‘‘(iv) inventoried roadless areas and 

17 significant noninventoried roadless areas 

18 within the National Forest System; 

19 ‘‘(v) national monuments; 

20 ‘‘(vi) national conservation areas; 

21 ‘‘(vii) national wildlife refuges and 

22 areas of critical environmental concern; 

23 ‘‘(viii) national historic and national 

24 scenic trails; 


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1 ‘‘(ix) areas designated as critical habi2 tat; 

3 ‘‘(x) national wild, scenic, and rec4 reational rivers; 

5 ‘‘(xi) any area in which Federal law 

6 prohibits energy development; and 

7 ‘‘(xii) any area in which applicable 

8 State law or Indian tribal code enacted 

9 prior to the date of enactment of this Act 

10 prohibits transmission development. 

11 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION.—Each MTA shall, in the 

12 development of its STG plan, coordinate as appro13 priate with planning authorities and other interested 

14 parties in Canada, Mexico, ERCOT, and the other 

15 interconnection. 

16 ‘‘(5) SUBMISSION AND REVIEW OF PLANS.—(A) 

17 Each MTA shall submit to the Commission an initial 

18 STG plan within 1 year of the certification of the 

19 MTA. Each MTA shall submit an update to its STG 

20 plan not later than 2 years after submission of the 

21 initial plan and every 2 years thereafter. 

22 ‘‘(B)(i) The Commission shall provide an oppor23 tunity for public comment on each plan submitted by 

24 an MTA. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The Commission may modify or reject a 

2 plan as necessary to achieve the purposes of this sec3 tion. If the Commission modifies or rejects a plan, 

4 not later than 90 days after the date the plan is 

5 submitted by the MTA, the Commission shall pro6 vide a written opinion to the MTA that contains the 

7 facts and reasons supporting the action of the Com8 mission. 

9 ‘‘(iii) If the Commission rejects a plan, the 

10 MTA may submit a revised plan within 90 days of 

11 the Commission’s rejection. 

12 ‘‘(iv) If the Commission determines that a plan 

13 meets the purposes of this section, the Commission 

14 shall be treated as accepted. 

15 ‘‘(6) BACKUP COMMISSION PLANNING AUTHOR16 ITY.—In the event that no MTA for the Eastern or 

17 Western Interconnection is certified by the Commis18 sion within 1 year of the date of enactment of this 

19 section, or in the event that a certified MTA does 

20 not timely submit an initial plan or updated plan as 

21 required under paragraph (5), the Commission shall 

22 immediately undertake the planning activities de23 scribed in paragraphs (3) and (4) and develop a plan 

24 for such interconnection within 1 year of initiating 


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1 such planning activities, in consultation with all af2 fected States within the region, as appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(7) MULTIPLE MTAS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para5 graph (6), if more than 1 MTA is certified in 

6 an Interconnection, the MTA shall ensure that 

7 the submitted plan integrates with the other 

8 plans in the Interconnection. 

9 ‘‘(B) MODIFICATION.—The Commission 

10 shall modify the plans submitted under para11 graph (5), as necessary, to ensure that plans 

12 established under this section are integrated. 

13 ‘‘(C) BACKUP PLANNING FOR MULTIPLE

14 MTAS.—In the event that any State or group of 

15 States does not participate in a certified MTA 

16 process, the Commission shall assume planning 

17 responsibilities on behalf of such State or group 

18 of States, consistent with the authorities under 

19 paragraph (6). 

20 ‘‘(8) RECOVERY OF COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH

21 INTERCONNECTION-WIDE STG PLANNING.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An MTA and a par23 ticipating State shall be permitted to recover 

24 prudently incurred costs to carry out the plan25 ning activities required under this subsection 


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1 pursuant to a Federal transmission surcharge 

2 that shall be established by the Commission in 

3 accordance with this paragraph for the pur4 poses of carrying out this section. 

5 ‘‘(B) SURCHARGE PROPOSALS.—An MTA 

6 shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) propose a Federal transmission 

8 surcharge based on a formula rate that is 

9 submitted to the Commission for approval; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) adjust the formula and surcharge 

12 on an annual basis. 

13 ‘‘(C) COST RESPONSIBILITY.—Cost respon14 sibility under each surcharge shall be assigned 

15 based on energy usage to all load-serving enti16 ties covered by the MTA. 

17 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION.—The total amount of 

18 surcharges that may be imposed or collected na19 tionally under this paragraph shall not exceed 

20 $80,000,000 for any calendar year. 

21 ‘‘(c) COST ALLOCATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this sub23 section are— 

24 ‘‘(A) to ensure that the costs of STG 

25 projects are borne widely by all beneficiaries of 


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1 new transmission and are not borne dispropor2 tionately by ratepayers or generators in specific 

3 areas; and 

4 ‘‘(B) to promote the national interest in an 

5 STG project in accordance with the purposes of 

6 this section. 

7 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION.—In conjunction with the 

8 submission of a transmission plan under subsection 

9 (b)(5), all MTAs within an Interconnection may sub10 mit jointly a single integrated Interconnection-wide 

11 cost allocation methodology to the Commission for 

12 allocating the STG costs under this section. 

13 ‘‘(3) ACTION BY COMMISSION.—Not later than 

14 120 days after the date of receipt of a proposed cost 

15 allocation methodology submitted under paragraph 

16 (2), the Commission shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) provide notice and an opportunity for 

18 a hearing; 

19 ‘‘(B) evaluate the proposal; and 

20 ‘‘(C)(i) approve the proposal if the Com21 mission finds that the proposed cost allocation 

22 would result in just and reasonable rates that 

23 promote the purposes of this section (including 

24 this subsection); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) reject or modify the proposed cost al2 location if the Commission finds that the pro3 posed cost allocation does not result in just and 

4 reasonable rates that promote the purposes of 

5 this section (including this subsection). 

6 ‘‘(4) RESUBMISSION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission re8 jects the proposed cost allocation plan under 

9 paragraph (3)(C)(ii), the Commission shall 

10 specify the basis for its findings that the pro11 posed methodology would not result in just and 

12 reasonable rates that promote the purposes of 

13 this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(B) RESUBMISSION.—Not later than 90 

15 days after the date of the rejection, the MTAs 

16 may submit to the Commission a revised cost 

17 allocation methodology for the interconnection 

18 under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(C) MODIFICATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 

21 days after the date of resubmission of a 

22 proposed cost allocation methodology the 

23 Commission shall approve, modify, or re24 ject the resubmitted proposal as necessary 

25 to achieve the purposes of this section. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) OPINION.—If the Commission 

2 modifies or rejects a resubmitted proposal, 

3 the Commission shall specify the basis for 

4 its findings that the proposed methodology 

5 would not result in just and reasonable 

6 rates that promote the purposes of this 

7 section. 

8 ‘‘(5) COMMISSION ALLOCATION OF COSTS.—If 

9 the MTAs do not submit an Interconnection-wide 

10 cost allocation plan within the time periods specified 

11 in paragraphs (2) and (4) or if the Commission does 

12 not approve a cost allocation methodology submitted 

13 by the MTA for an Interconnection, the Commission 

14 shall allocate the STG costs to all of the load-serving 

15 entities in the Interconnection on a load-ratio share 

16 basis. 

17 ‘‘(6) COST ALLOCATION RATE FILINGS.—If a 

18 cost allocation methodology is approved by the Com19 mission in accordance with this subsection— 

20 ‘‘(A) any public utility that has rates that 

21 are affected by the approved cost allocation 

22 methodology shall file the allocation method23 ology with the Commission pursuant to section 

24 205; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the cost allocation methodology shall 

2 be presumed lawful under section 205 on filing, 

3 without notice or further opportunity for com4 ment or hearing. 

5 ‘‘(7) APPLICABILITY.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (C), the authority of the Commis8 sion under subsections (b) and (c) to approve 

9 transmission plans and to allocate costs in10 curred pursuant to the plans applies to all 

11 transmission providers, generators, and users, 

12 owners, and operators of the power system 

13 within the Eastern and Western Interconnec14 tions of the United States, including entities de15 scribed in section 201(f). 

16 ‘‘(B) REGIONAL PLANNING ENTITIES.— 

17 The Commission shall have authority over re18 gional planning entities to the extent necessary 

19 to carry out subsections (b) and (c). 

20 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSIONS.—(i) This subsection 

21 does not apply in the State of Alaska or Hawaii 

22 or to the ERCOT, unless the State or ERCOT 

23 voluntarily elects to participate in a cost alloca24 tion methodology under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) A project for which a cost allocation 

2 or cost recovery agreement was accepted by the 

3 Commission before the date of enactment of 

4 this part shall not be included in cost allocation 

5 under this section. 

6 ‘‘(D) CREDIT FOR REVENUES.—Trans7 mission revenues shall be applied as a credit to 

8 the initial allocation of STG costs. 

9 ‘‘(d) CERTIFICATION AND SITING OF STG 

10 PROJECTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE

12 AND NECESSITY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT OF CERTIFICATE.— 

14 No public utility, or person which will be a pub15 lic utility upon completion of any proposed ac16 tion, shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) construct any STG project, or 

18 ‘‘(ii) modify an STG project pre19 viously certificated under this subsection, 

20 unless there is in force with respect to such 

21 public utility a certificate of public convenience 

22 and necessity issued by the Commission author23 izing such acts or operation. 

24 ‘‘(B) ELECTIVE COVERAGE.—If any entity 

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1 struct an STG project, such entity may elect, in 

2 such manner as the Commission may prescribe 

3 by rule, to have this subsection apply to such 

4 project. 

5 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATE.—(A) Any 

6 person seeking to construct an STG project identi7 fied by an MTA may apply to the Commission for 

8 a certificate of public convenience and necessity for 

9 that project. 

10 ‘‘(B) Application for a certificate under this 

11 subsection shall be made in writing to the Commis12 sion, and shall be in such form, contain such infor13 mation, and notice thereof shall be served upon such 

14 interested parties (including State Commissions), in 

15 such manner as the Commission shall, by rule, re16 quire. The Commission shall set the matter for hear17 ing and shall give notice of the hearing to interested 

18 persons. The Commission shall approve or deny the 

19 application in accordance with the procedure pro20 vided in paragraph (3). 

21 ‘‘(3) GRANT OF CERTIFICATE.—The Commis22 sion may approve or deny a certificate under this 

23 subsection for construction of an STG project. A 

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1 tion, acquisition, or modification covered by the ap2 plication. The Commission shall issue the certificate 

3 if the Commission finds that the applicant is able 

4 and willing properly to do the acts and to perform 

5 the service proposed and to conform to the provi6 sions of this Act and rules of the Commission here7 under, and that the proposed operation, construc8 tion, acquisition, or modification, to the extent au9 thorized by the certificate, is or will be required by 

10 the present or future public convenience and neces11 sity. In evaluating certificate applications that fea12 ture joint ownership projects by multiple load-serv13 ing or wholesale entities, the Commission shall con14 sider benefits from the greater diversification of fi15 nancial risk inherent in the applications. The Com16 mission shall have the power to attach to the 

17 issuance of the certificate, and to the exercise of the 

18 rights granted thereunder, such reasonable terms 

19 and conditions as the public convenience and neces20 sity may require. Designation of an STG project in 

21 the STG plan shall constitute sufficient evidence 

22 that a public need exists for the project. 

23 ‘‘(4) STATE RECOMMENDATIONS ON RESOURCE

24 PROTECTION AND ROUTING.—(A) In order to pro25 tect, and mitigate damages to, natural resources afVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:58 May 03, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2211.IH H2211

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1 fected by the development and operation of an STG 

2 project, each certificate issued under this subsection 

3 shall include conditions for such protection or miti4 gation, including recommendations related to project 

5 routing. Subject to subparagraph (B), such condi6 tions shall be based on recommendations received 

7 from State environment, land management, and nat8 ural resource agencies. 

9 ‘‘(B) Whenever the Commission believes that 

10 any recommendation referred to in subparagraph 

11 (A) may be inconsistent with the purposes and re12 quirements of this Act or other applicable law, the 

13 Commission and the agencies referred to in subpara14 graph (A) shall attempt to resolve any such incon15 sistency, giving due weight to the recommendations, 

16 expertise, and statutory responsibilities of such 

17 agencies. If, after such attempt, the Commission 

18 does not adopt in whole or in part a recommenda19 tion of any such agency, the Commission shall pub20 lish in the Federal Register each of the following 

21 findings (together with a statement of the basis for 

22 each of the findings): 

23 ‘‘(i) A finding that adoption of such rec24 ommendation is inconsistent with the purposes 


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1 and requirements of this Act or with other ap2 plicable provisions of law. 

3 ‘‘(ii) A finding that the conditions selected 

4 by the Commission comply with the require5 ments of the first sentence of subparagraph 

6 (A). 

7 ‘‘(5) EMISSIONS STANDARD FOR INTERCONNEC8 TION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) RULE.—Any certificate issued under 

10 paragraph (3) for construction of an STG 

11 transmission line described in subsection (a)(4) 

12 (A) or (B) shall incorporate a condition that 

13 prohibits the direct interconnection to the STG 

14 transmission line by any electricity generator 

15 that has a greenhouse gas emission rate (in 

16 tons of CO2 equivalent per megawatt-hour) 

17 greater than that of a single-cycle natural gas18 fired combustion turbine, as determined by rule 

19 by the Commission. 

20 ‘‘(B) SUNSET.—Any certificate conditions 

21 adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be22 come inapplicable upon the full implementation 

23 of a Federal greenhouse gas regulatory program 

24 applicable to the electricity sector. 


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1 ‘‘(6) RIGHT OF EMINENT DOMAIN.—When any 

2 holder of a certificate issued under paragraph (3) 

3 cannot acquire by contract, or is unable to agree 

4 with the owner of property on the compensation to 

5 be paid for, the necessary right-of-way to construct, 

6 operate, and maintain the project to which the cer7 tificate relates, and the necessary land or other 

8 property necessary to the proper operation of such 

9 project, it may acquire the same by the exercise of 

10 the right of eminent domain in the district court of 

11 the United States for the district in which such 

12 property may be located, or in the State courts. The 

13 practice and procedure in any action or proceeding 

14 for that purpose in the district court of the United 

15 States shall conform as nearly as may be with the 

16 practice and procedure in similar action or pro17 ceeding in the courts of the State where the property 

18 is situated. Nothing in this section shall be con19 strued to allow the holder of a certificate under 

20 paragraph (3), or any other person or entity, to ac21 quire by the exercise of eminent domain any prop22 erty that constitutes ‘Indian country’ under section 

23 1151 of title 18, United States Code, or that is oth24 erwise subject to a Federal restriction against alien25 ation, without the express written consent of the apVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:58 May 03, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2211.IH H2211

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1 plicable Indian tribe, tribal organization, and/or In2 dian landowner. 

3 ‘‘(7) APPLICABILITY OF SECTION 216.—The 

4 provisions of section 216(h) and section 216(j) shall 

5 apply to each STG project for which a certificate is 

6 issued under this section in the same manner and to 

7 the same extent as those provisions apply to projects 

8 covered by section 216. Except for section 216(h) 

9 and section 216(j), section 216 shall not apply to 

10 any new STG project to which paragraph (1)(A) of 

11 this subsection applies, or to any project as to which 

12 an election has been made under paragraph (1)(B). 

13 ‘‘(8) FEDERAL AGENCY COORDINATION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) RIGHTS-OF-WAY ON FEDERAL

15 LANDS.—With respect to any STG project, the 

16 functions under section 216(h) of this Act of 

17 the Department of Energy and the Secretary of 

18 Energy shall be exercised by the Commission in 

19 coordination with the affected land management 

20 agency. 

21 ‘‘(B) NEPA REVIEW.—With respect to any 

22 STG project, the Commission shall be the lead 

23 Federal agency for purposes of Federal environ24 mental review and, in consultation with affected 

25 agencies, shall prepare a single environmental 


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1 review document that would be used as the 

2 basis for all decisions under Federal law related 

3 to the proposed project. 

4 ‘‘(e) LONG-TERM TRANSMISSION RIGHTS FOR RE5 NEWABLE ELECTRICITY GENERATORS.—(1) It is the pol6 icy of the United States that long-term transmission 

7 rights, of firmness and duration sufficient to support gen8 eration investment (including project financing for new 

9 generation projects), shall be made available on reasonable 

10 terms and at reasonable cost to entities seeking to con11 struct new generation facilities using renewable energy 

12 technologies. 

13 ‘‘(2) The Commission shall exercise its authority 

14 under this Act to prescribe such rules as it determines 

15 necessary or appropriate to implement the policy estab16 lished in paragraph (1) not later than 1 year after the 

17 date of enactment of this section, and may revise such 

18 rules from time to time. Such rules shall not interfere with 

19 existing long-term transmission rights of load-serving enti20 ties, or native load requirements established in section 

21 217. 

22 ‘‘(f) COORDINATED REGIONAL GRID OPERATIONS.— 

23 The Commission shall encourage methods and structures 

24 for grid operations to better accommodate renewable en25 ergy resources, including enhanced balancing arrangeVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:58 May 03, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2211.IH H2211

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1 ments among balancing areas, expedited scheduling and 

2 dispatch, and improved renewable energy output fore3 casting. 

4 ‘‘(g) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The Commission shall pe5 riodically evaluate whether STG projects identified in 

6 interconnection-wide STG plans are being timely con7 structed, and shall take such actions as are in its authority 

8 to address any identified obstacles to investment and con9 struction, and shall make any recommendations to Con10 gress on further action or authority needed to assure de11 velopment of planned STG facilities. 

12 ‘‘(h) GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE.—This section applies to 

13 the contiguous States and the District of Columbia, ex14 cluding the area referred to in section 212(k)(2)(A).’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 201(b) of 

16 the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824) is amended by 

17 inserting ‘‘216A’’ after ‘‘216’’ in each place it appears. 

18 SEC. 102. FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO 

19 MULTISTATE TRANSMISSION AUTHORITIES. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec21 retary of Energy, such sums as may be necessary to pro22 vide financial assistance for the establishment and oper23 ation of multistate transmission authorities under sections 

24 216A(c) of the Federal Power Act. 


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1 TITLE II—MISCELLANEOUS 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 201. TRANSMISSION GRID PERFORMANCE STAND4 ARDS. 

5 For purposes of evaluating whether smart grid tech6 nology requirements for monitoring and control of new 

7 transmission facilities, smart grid technology retrofit re8 quirements for monitoring and control of existing trans9 mission facilities, or transmission grid performance re10 quirements are in the public interest, the Secretary of En11 ergy, after consultation with the Federal Energy Regu12 latory Commission, shall conduct an analysis and make 

13 recommendations on appropriate metrics for transmission 

14 grid performance covering both new and existing trans15 mission grid facilities. This report shall be submitted to 

16 Congress within 1 year of the date of enactment of this 

17 Act. 

Æ 


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