IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 8 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 7, 2015 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

AN ACT 

To modernize energy infrastructure, build a 21st century 

energy and manufacturing workforce, bolster America’s 

energy security and diplomacy, and promote energy efficiency and government accountability, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act 

4 of 2015’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—MODERNIZING AND PROTECTING INFRASTRUCTURE 

Subtitle A—Energy Delivery, Reliability, and Security 

Sec. 1101. FERC process coordination. 

Sec. 1102. Resolving environmental and grid reliability conflicts. 

Sec. 1103. Emergency preparedness for energy supply disruptions. 

Sec. 1104. Critical electric infrastructure security. 

Sec. 1105. Strategic Transformer Reserve. 

Sec. 1106. Cyber Sense. 

Sec. 1107. State coverage and consideration of PURPA standards for electric 

utilities. 

Sec. 1108. Reliability analysis for certain rules that affect electric generating 

facilities. 

Sec. 1109. Increased accountability with respect to carbon capture, utilization, 

and sequestration projects. 

Sec. 1110. Reliability and performance assurance in Regional Transmission Organizations. 

Sec. 1111. Ethane storage study. 

Sec. 1112. Statement of policy on grid modernization. 

Sec. 1113. Grid resilience report. 

Sec. 1114. GAO report on improving National Response Center. 

Sec. 1115. Designation of National Energy Security Corridors on Federal 

lands. 

Sec. 1116. Vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance on Federal lands containing electric transmission and 

distribution facilities. 

Subtitle B—Hydropower Regulatory Modernization 

Sec. 1201. Protection of private property rights in hydropower licensing. 

Sec. 1202. Extension of time for FERC project involving W. Kerr Scott Dam. 

Sec. 1203. Hydropower licensing and process improvements. 

Sec. 1204. Judicial review of delayed Federal authorizations. 

Sec. 1205. Licensing study improvements. 

Sec. 1206. Closed-loop pumped storage projects. 

Sec. 1207. License amendment improvements. 

Sec. 1208. Promoting hydropower development at existing nonpowered dams. 

TITLE II—ENERGY SECURITY AND DIPLOMACY 

Sec. 2001. Sense of Congress. 


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Sec. 2002. Energy security valuation. 

Sec. 2003. North American energy security plan. 

Sec. 2004. Collective energy security. 

Sec. 2005. Authorization to export natural gas. 

Sec. 2006. Environmental review for energy export facilities. 

Sec. 2007. Authorization of cross-border infrastructure projects. 

Sec. 2008. Report on smart meter security concerns. 

TITLE III—ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY 

Subtitle A—Energy Efficiency 

CHAPTER 1—FEDERAL AGENCY ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Sec. 3111. Energy-efficient and energy-saving information technologies. 

Sec. 3112. Energy efficient data centers. 

Sec. 3113. Report on energy and water savings potential from thermal insulation. 

Sec. 3114. Battery storage report. 

Sec. 3115. Federal purchase requirement. 

Sec. 3116. Energy performance requirement for Federal buildings. 

Sec. 3117. Federal building energy efficiency performance standards; certification system and level for Federal buildings. 

Sec. 3118. Operation of battery recharging stations in parking areas used by 

Federal employees. 

Sec. 3119. Report on Energy Savings and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction from Conversion of Captured Methane to Energy. 

CHAPTER 2—ENERGY EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGY AND MANUFACTURING

Sec. 3121. Inclusion of Smart Grid capability on Energy Guide labels. 

Sec. 3122. Voluntary verification programs for air conditioning, furnace, boiler, 

heat pump, and water heater products. 

Sec. 3123. Facilitating consensus furnace standards. 

Sec. 3124. No warranty for certain certified Energy Star products. 

Sec. 3125. Clarification to effective date for regional standards. 

Sec. 3126. Internet of Things report. 

Sec. 3127. Energy savings from lubricating oil. 

Sec. 3128. Definition of external power supply. 

Sec. 3129. Standards for power supply circuits connected to LEDS or OLEDS. 

CHAPTER 3—SCHOOL BUILDINGS

Sec. 3131. Coordination of energy retrofitting assistance for schools. 

CHAPTER 4—BUILDING ENERGY CODES

Sec. 3141. Greater energy efficiency in building codes. 

Sec. 3142. Voluntary nature of building asset rating program. 

CHAPTER 5—EPCA TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

Sec. 3151. Modifying product definitions. 

Sec. 3152. Clarifying rulemaking procedures. 

CHAPTER 6—ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY

Sec. 3161. Smart energy and water efficiency pilot program. 


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Sec. 3162. WaterSense. 

Subtitle B—Accountability 

CHAPTER 1—MARKET MANIPULATION, ENFORCEMENT, AND COMPLIANCE

Sec. 3211. FERC Office of Compliance Assistance and Public Participation. 

CHAPTER 2—MARKET REFORMS

Sec. 3221. GAO study on wholesale electricity markets. 

Sec. 3222. Clarification of facility merger authorization. 

CHAPTER 3—CODE MAINTENANCE

Sec. 3231. Repeal of off-highway motor vehicles study. 

Sec. 3232. Repeal of methanol study. 

Sec. 3233. Repeal of residential energy efficiency standards study. 

Sec. 3234. Repeal of weatherization study. 

Sec. 3235. Repeal of report to Congress. 

Sec. 3236. Repeal of report by General Services Administration. 

Sec. 3237. Repeal of intergovernmental energy management planning and coordination workshops. 

Sec. 3238. Repeal of Inspector General audit survey and President’s Council on 

Integrity and Efficiency report to Congress. 

Sec. 3239. Repeal of procurement and identification of energy efficient products program. 

Sec. 3240. Repeal of national action plan for demand response. 

Sec. 3241. Repeal of national coal policy study. 

Sec. 3242. Repeal of study on compliance problem of small electric utility systems. 

Sec. 3243. Repeal of study of socioeconomic impacts of increased coal production and other energy development. 

Sec. 3244. Repeal of study of the use of petroleum and natural gas in combustors. 

Sec. 3245. Repeal of submission of reports. 

Sec. 3246. Repeal of electric utility conservation plan. 

Sec. 3247. Technical amendment to Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 

1978. 

Sec. 3248. Emergency energy conservation repeals. 

Sec. 3249. Repeal of State utility regulatory assistance. 

Sec. 3250. Repeal of survey of energy saving potential. 

Sec. 3251. Repeal of photovoltaic energy program. 

Sec. 3252. Repeal of energy auditor training and certification. 

CHAPTER 4—AUTHORIZATION

Sec. 3261 Authorization. 

TITLE IV—CHANGING CRUDE OIL MARKET CONDITIONS 

Sec. 4001. Findings. 

Sec. 4002. Repeal. 

Sec. 4003. National policy on oil export restrictions. 

Sec. 4004. Studies. 

Sec. 4005. Savings clause. 

Sec. 4006. Partnerships with minority serving institutions. 

Sec. 4007. Report. 


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Sec. 4008. Report to Congress. 

Sec. 4009. Prohibition on exports of crude oil, refined petroleum products, and 

petrochemical products to the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

TITLE V—OTHER MATTERS 

Sec. 5001. Assessment of regulatory requirements. 

Sec. 5002. Definitions. 

Sec. 5003. Exclusive venue for certain civil actions relating to covered energy 

projects. 

Sec. 5004. Timely filing. 

Sec. 5005. Expedition in hearing and determining the action. 

Sec. 5006. Limitation on injunction and prospective relief. 

Sec. 5007. Legal standing. 

Sec. 5008. Study to identify legal and regulatory barriers that delay, prohibit, 

or impede the export of natural energy resources. 

Sec. 5009. Study of volatility of crude oil. 

Sec. 5010. Smart meter privacy rights. 

Sec. 5011. Youth energy enterprise competition. 

Sec. 5012. Modernization of terms relating to minorities. 

Sec. 5013. Voluntary vegetation management outside rights-of-way. 

Sec. 5014. Repeal of rule for new residential wood heaters. 

TITLE VI—PROMOTING RENEWABLE ENERGY WITH SHARED 

SOLAR 

Sec. 6001. Short title. 

Sec. 6002. Provision of interconnection service and net billing service for community solar facilities. 

TITLE VII—MARINE HYDROKINETIC 

Sec. 7001. Definition of marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy. 

Sec. 7002. Marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy research and development. 

Sec. 7003. National Marine Renewable Energy Research, Development, and 

Demonstration Centers. 

Sec. 7004. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 TITLE I—MODERNIZING AND 

2 PROTECTING INFRASTRUCTURE 

3 Subtitle A—Energy Delivery, 

4 Reliability, and Security 

5 SEC. 1101. FERC PROCESS COORDINATION. 

6 Section 15 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717n) 

7 is amended— 


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1 (1) by amending subsection (b)(2) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(2) OTHER AGENCIES.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal and 

5 State agency considering an aspect of an appli6 cation for Federal authorization shall cooperate 

7 with the Commission and comply with the dead8 lines established by the Commission. 

9 ‘‘(B) IDENTIFICATION.—The Commission 

10 shall identify, as early as practicable after it is 

11 notified by a prospective applicant of a potential 

12 project requiring Commission authorization, 

13 any Federal or State agency, local government, 

14 or Indian tribe that may consider an aspect of 

15 an application for that Federal authorization. 

16 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

18 shall notify any agency identified under 

19 subparagraph (B) of the opportunity to co20 operate or participate in the review proc21 ess. 

22 ‘‘(ii) DEADLINE.—A notification 

23 issued under clause (i) shall establish a 

24 deadline by which a response to the notifi25 cation shall be submitted, which may be 


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1 extended by the Commission for good 

2 cause.’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (c)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

6 subparagraph (A); 

7 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

8 (B) as subparagraph (C); and 

9 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

10 (A) the following new subparagraph: 

11 ‘‘(B) set deadlines for all such Federal au12 thorizations; and’’; 

13 (B) by striking paragraph (2); and 

14 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

15 paragraphs: 

16 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR FEDERAL AUTHORIZA17 TIONS.—A final decision on a Federal authorization 

18 is due no later than 90 days after the Commission 

19 issues its final environmental document, unless a 

20 schedule is otherwise established by Federal law. 

21 ‘‘(3) CONCURRENT REVIEWS.—Each Federal 

22 and State agency considering an aspect of an appli23 cation for a Federal authorization shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) carry out the obligations of that 

25 agency under applicable law concurrently, and 


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1 in conjunction, with the review required by the 

2 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

3 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), unless doing so would im4 pair the ability of the agency to conduct needed 

5 analysis or otherwise carry out those obliga6 tions; 

7 ‘‘(B) formulate and implement administra8 tive, policy, and procedural mechanisms to en9 able the agency to ensure completion of re10 quired Federal authorizations no later than 90 

11 days after the Commission issues its final envi12 ronmental document; and 

13 ‘‘(C) transmit to the Commission a state14 ment— 

15 ‘‘(i) acknowledging receipt of the 

16 schedule established under paragraph (1); 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) setting forth the plan formulated 

19 under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph. 

20 ‘‘(4) ISSUE IDENTIFICATION AND RESOLU21 TION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IDENTIFICATION.—Federal and State 

23 agencies that may consider an aspect of an ap24 plication for Federal authorization shall iden25 tify, as early as possible, any issues of concern 


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1 that may delay or prevent an agency from 

2 working with the Commission to resolve such 

3 issues and granting such authorization. 

4 ‘‘(B) ISSUE RESOLUTION.—The Commis5 sion may forward any issue of concern identi6 fied under subparagraph (A) to the heads of 

7 the relevant agencies (including, in the case of 

8 a failure by the State agency, the Federal agen9 cy overseeing the delegated authority) for reso10 lution. 

11 ‘‘(5) FAILURE TO MEET SCHEDULE.—If a Fed12 eral or State agency does not complete a proceeding 

13 for an approval that is required for a Federal au14 thorization in accordance with the schedule estab15 lished by the Commission under paragraph (1)— 

16 ‘‘(A) the applicant may pursue remedies 

17 under section 19(d); and 

18 ‘‘(B) the head of the relevant Federal 

19 agency (including, in the case of a failure by a 

20 State agency, the Federal agency overseeing the 

21 delegated authority) shall notify Congress and 

22 the Commission of such failure and set forth a 

23 recommended implementation plan to ensure 

24 completion of the proceeding for an approval.’’; 


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1 (3) by redesignating subsections (d) through (f) 

2 as subsections (g) through (i), respectively; and 

3 (4) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol4 lowing new subsections: 

5 ‘‘(d) REMOTE SURVEYS.—If a Federal or State agen6 cy considering an aspect of an application for Federal au7 thorization requires the applicant to submit environmental 

8 data, the agency shall consider any such data gathered 

9 by aerial or other remote means that the applicant sub10 mits. The agency may grant a conditional approval for 

11 Federal authorization, conditioned on the verification of 

12 such data by subsequent onsite inspection. 

13 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION PROCESSING.—The Commission, 

14 and Federal and State agencies, may allow an applicant 

15 seeking Federal authorization to fund a third-party con16 tractor to assist in reviewing the application. 

17 ‘‘(f) ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EFFI18 CIENCY.—For applications requiring multiple Federal au19 thorizations, the Commission, with input from any Federal 

20 or State agency considering an aspect of an application, 

21 shall track and make available to the public on the Com22 mission’s website information related to the actions re23 quired to complete permitting, reviews, and other actions 

24 required. Such information shall include the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The schedule established by the Commis2 sion under subsection (c)(1). 

3 ‘‘(2) A list of all the actions required by each 

4 applicable agency to complete permitting, reviews, 

5 and other actions necessary to obtain a final decision 

6 on the Federal authorization. 

7 ‘‘(3) The expected completion date for each 

8 such action. 

9 ‘‘(4) A point of contact at the agency account10 able for each such action. 

11 ‘‘(5) In the event that an action is still pending 

12 as of the expected date of completion, a brief expla13 nation of the reasons for the delay.’’. 

14 SEC. 1102. RESOLVING ENVIRONMENTAL AND GRID RELI15 ABILITY CONFLICTS. 

16 (a) COMPLIANCE WITH OR VIOLATION OF ENVIRON17 MENTAL LAWS WHILE UNDER EMERGENCY ORDER.— 

18 Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

19 824a(c)) is amended— 

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) With respect to an order issued under this sub23 section that may result in a conflict with a requirement 

24 of any Federal, State, or local environmental law or regu25 lation, the Commission shall ensure that such order reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 07, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8.RFS H8

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1 quires generation, delivery, interchange, or transmission 

2 of electric energy only during hours necessary to meet the 

3 emergency and serve the public interest, and, to the max4 imum extent practicable, is consistent with any applicable 

5 Federal, State, or local environmental law or regulation 

6 and minimizes any adverse environmental impacts. 

7 ‘‘(3) To the extent any omission or action taken by 

8 a party, that is necessary to comply with an order issued 

9 under this subsection, including any omission or action 

10 taken to voluntarily comply with such order, results in 

11 noncompliance with, or causes such party to not comply 

12 with, any Federal, State, or local environmental law or 

13 regulation, such omission or action shall not be considered 

14 a violation of such environmental law or regulation, or 

15 subject such party to any requirement, civil or criminal 

16 liability, or a citizen suit under such environmental law 

17 or regulation. 

18 ‘‘(4)(A) An order issued under this subsection that 

19 may result in a conflict with a requirement of any Federal, 

20 State, or local environmental law or regulation shall expire 

21 not later than 90 days after it is issued. The Commission 

22 may renew or reissue such order pursuant to paragraphs 

23 (1) and (2) for subsequent periods, not to exceed 90 days 

24 for each period, as the Commission determines necessary 

25 to meet the emergency and serve the public interest. 


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1 ‘‘(B) In renewing or reissuing an order under sub2 paragraph (A), the Commission shall consult with the pri3 mary Federal agency with expertise in the environmental 

4 interest protected by such law or regulation, and shall in5 clude in any such renewed or reissued order such condi6 tions as such Federal agency determines necessary to min7 imize any adverse environmental impacts to the extent 

8 practicable. The conditions, if any, submitted by such Fed9 eral agency shall be made available to the public. The 

10 Commission may exclude such a condition from the re11 newed or reissued order if it determines that such condi12 tion would prevent the order from adequately addressing 

13 the emergency necessitating such order and provides in 

14 the order, or otherwise makes publicly available, an expla15 nation of such determination. 

16 ‘‘(5) If an order issued under this subsection is subse17 quently stayed, modified, or set aside by a court pursuant 

18 to section 313 or any other provision of law, any omission 

19 or action previously taken by a party that was necessary 

20 to comply with the order while the order was in effect, 

21 including any omission or action taken to voluntarily com22 ply with the order, shall remain subject to paragraph 

23 (3).’’. 

24 (b) TEMPORARY CONNECTION OR CONSTRUCTION BY

25 MUNICIPALITIES.—Section 202(d) of the Federal Power 


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1 Act (16 U.S.C. 824a(d)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or mu2 nicipality’’ before ‘‘engaged in the transmission or sale of 

3 electric energy’’. 

4 SEC. 1103. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FOR ENERGY SUP5 PLY DISRUPTIONS. 

6 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that recent natural 

7 disasters have underscored the importance of having resil8 ient oil and natural gas infrastructure and energy storage 

9 and effective ways for industry and government to commu10 nicate to address energy supply disruptions. 

11 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE

12 EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FOR NATURAL DISAS13 TERS.—The Secretary of Energy shall develop and adopt 

14 procedures to— 

15 (1) improve communication and coordination 

16 between the Department of Energy’s energy re17 sponse team, Federal partners, and industry; 

18 (2) leverage the Energy Information Adminis19 tration’s subject matter expertise within the Depart20 ment’s energy response team to improve supply 

21 chain situation assessments; 

22 (3) establish company liaisons and direct com23 munication with the Department’s energy response 

24 team to improve situation assessments; 


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1 (4) streamline and enhance processes for ob2 taining temporary regulatory relief to speed up 

3 emergency response and recovery; 

4 (5) facilitate and increase engagement among 

5 States, the oil and natural gas industry, the energy 

6 storage industry, and the Department in developing 

7 State and local energy assurance plans; 

8 (6) establish routine education and training 

9 programs for key government emergency response 

10 positions with the Department and States; and 

11 (7) involve States, the energy storage industry, 

12 and the oil and natural gas industry in comprehen13 sive drill and exercise programs. 

14 (c) COOPERATION.—The activities carried out under 

15 subsection (b) shall include collaborative efforts with State 

16 and local government officials and the private sector. 

17 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall 

19 submit to Congress a report describing the effectiveness 

20 of the activities authorized under this section. 

21 SEC. 1104. CRITICAL ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE SECU22 RITY. 

23 (a) CRITICAL ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE SECU24 RITY.—Part II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 


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1 et seq.) is amended by adding after section 215 the fol2 lowing new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 215A. CRITICAL ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE SECU4 RITY. 

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

6 ‘‘(1) BULK-POWER SYSTEM; ELECTRIC RELI7 ABILITY ORGANIZATION; REGIONAL ENTITY.—The 

8 terms ‘bulk-power system’, ‘Electric Reliability Or9 ganization’, and ‘regional entity’ have the meanings 

10 given such terms in paragraphs (1), (2), and (7) of 

11 section 215(a), respectively. 

12 ‘‘(2) CRITICAL ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

13 The term ‘critical electric infrastructure’ means a 

14 system or asset of the bulk-power system, whether 

15 physical or virtual, the incapacity or destruction of 

16 which would negatively affect national security, eco17 nomic security, public health or safety, or any com18 bination of such matters. 

19 ‘‘(3) CRITICAL ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE IN20 FORMATION.—The term ‘critical electric infrastruc21 ture information’ means information related to crit22 ical electric infrastructure, or proposed critical elec23 trical infrastructure, generated by or provided to the 

24 Commission or other Federal agency, other than 

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1 ignated as critical electric infrastructure information 

2 by the Commission under subsection (d)(2). Such 

3 term includes information that qualifies as critical 

4 energy infrastructure information under the Com5 mission’s regulations. 

6 ‘‘(4) DEFENSE CRITICAL ELECTRIC INFRA7 STRUCTURE.—The term ‘defense critical electric in8 frastructure’ means any electric infrastructure lo9 cated in the United States (including the territories) 

10 that serves a facility designated by the Secretary 

11 pursuant to subsection (c), but is not owned or oper12 ated by the owner or operator of such facility. 

13 ‘‘(5) ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE.—The term 

14 ‘electromagnetic pulse’ means 1 or more pulses of 

15 electromagnetic energy emitted by a device capable 

16 of disabling or disrupting operation of, or destroy17 ing, electronic devices or communications networks, 

18 including hardware, software, and data, by means of 

19 such a pulse. 

20 ‘‘(6) GEOMAGNETIC STORM.—The term ‘geo21 magnetic storm’ means a temporary disturbance of 

22 the Earth’s magnetic field resulting from solar activ23 ity. 


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1 ‘‘(7) GRID SECURITY EMERGENCY.—The term 

2 ‘grid security emergency’ means the occurrence or 

3 imminent danger of— 

4 ‘‘(A)(i) a malicious act using electronic 

5 communication or an electromagnetic pulse, or 

6 a geomagnetic storm event, that could disrupt 

7 the operation of those electronic devices or com8 munications networks, including hardware, soft9 ware, and data, that are essential to the reli10 ability of critical electric infrastructure or of de11 fense critical electric infrastructure; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) disruption of the operation of such 

13 devices or networks, with significant adverse ef14 fects on the reliability of critical electric infra15 structure or of defense critical electric infra16 structure, as a result of such act or event; or 

17 ‘‘(B)(i) a direct physical attack on critical 

18 electric infrastructure or on defense critical 

19 electric infrastructure; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) significant adverse effects on the reli21 ability of critical electric infrastructure or of de22 fense critical electric infrastructure as a result 

23 of such physical attack. 

24 ‘‘(8) GRID SECURITY VULNERABILITY.—The 

25 term ‘grid security vulnerability’ means a weakness 


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1 that, in the event of a malicious act using an electro2 magnetic pulse, would pose a substantial risk of dis3 ruption to the operation of those electrical or elec4 tronic devices or communications networks, includ5 ing hardware, software, and data, that are essential 

6 to the reliability of the bulk-power system. 

7 ‘‘(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

8 the Secretary of Energy. 

9 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO ADDRESS GRID SECURITY

10 EMERGENCY.— 

11 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—Whenever the President 

12 issues and provides to the Secretary a written direc13 tive or determination identifying a grid security 

14 emergency, the Secretary may, with or without no15 tice, hearing, or report, issue such orders for emer16 gency measures as are necessary in the judgment of 

17 the Secretary to protect or restore the reliability of 

18 critical electric infrastructure or of defense critical 

19 electric infrastructure during such emergency. As 

20 soon as practicable but not later than 180 days after 

21 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

22 shall, after notice and opportunity for comment, es23 tablish rules of procedure that ensure that such au24 thority can be exercised expeditiously. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF CONGRESS.—Whenever 

2 the President issues and provides to the Secretary a 

3 written directive or determination under paragraph 

4 (1), the President shall promptly notify congres5 sional committees of relevant jurisdiction, including 

6 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

7 House of Representatives and the Committee on En8 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate, of the 

9 contents of, and justification for, such directive or 

10 determination. 

11 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION.—Before issuing an order 

12 for emergency measures under paragraph (1), the 

13 Secretary shall, to the extent practicable in light of 

14 the nature of the grid security emergency and the 

15 urgency of the need for action, consult with appro16 priate governmental authorities in Canada and Mex17 ico, entities described in paragraph (4), the Elec18 tricity Sub-sector Coordinating Council, the Commis19 sion, and other appropriate Federal agencies regard20 ing implementation of such emergency measures. 

21 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.—An order for emergency 

22 measures under this subsection may apply to— 

23 ‘‘(A) the Electric Reliability Organization; 

24 ‘‘(B) a regional entity; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) any owner, user, or operator of crit2 ical electric infrastructure or of defense critical 

3 electric infrastructure within the United States. 

4 ‘‘(5) EXPIRATION AND REISSUANCE.— 

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

6 subparagraph (B), an order for emergency 

7 measures issued under paragraph (1) shall ex8 pire no later than 15 days after its issuance. 

9 ‘‘(B) EXTENSIONS.—The Secretary may 

10 reissue an order for emergency measures issued 

11 under paragraph (1) for subsequent periods, 

12 not to exceed 15 days for each such period, pro13 vided that the President, for each such period, 

14 issues and provides to the Secretary a written 

15 directive or determination that the grid security 

16 emergency identified under paragraph (1) con17 tinues to exist or that the emergency measure 

18 continues to be required. 

19 ‘‘(6) COST RECOVERY.— 

20 ‘‘(A) CRITICAL ELECTRIC INFRASTRUC21 TURE.—If the Commission determines that 

22 owners, operators, or users of critical electric 

23 infrastructure have incurred substantial costs to 

24 comply with an order for emergency measures 

25 issued under this subsection and that such costs 


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1 were prudently incurred and cannot reasonably 

2 be recovered through regulated rates or market 

3 prices for the electric energy or services sold by 

4 such owners, operators, or users, the Commis5 sion shall, consistent with the requirements of 

6 section 205, after notice and an opportunity for 

7 comment, establish a mechanism that permits 

8 such owners, operators, or users to recover such 

9 costs. 

10 ‘‘(B) DEFENSE CRITICAL ELECTRIC INFRA11 STRUCTURE.—To the extent the owner or oper12 ator of defense critical electric infrastructure is 

13 required to take emergency measures pursuant 

14 to an order issued under this subsection, the 

15 owners or operators of a critical defense facility 

16 or facilities designated by the Secretary pursu17 ant to subsection (c) that rely upon such infra18 structure shall bear the full incremental costs of 

19 the measures. 

20 ‘‘(7) TEMPORARY ACCESS TO CLASSIFIED IN21 FORMATION.—The Secretary, and other appropriate 

22 Federal agencies, shall, to the extent practicable and 

23 consistent with their obligations to protect classified 

24 information, provide temporary access to classified 

25 information related to a grid security emergency for 


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1 which emergency measures are issued under para2 graph (1) to key personnel of any entity subject to 

3 such emergency measures to enable optimum com4 munication between the entity and the Secretary and 

5 other appropriate Federal agencies regarding the 

6 grid security emergency. 

7 ‘‘(c) DESIGNATION OF CRITICAL DEFENSE FACILI8 TIES.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact9 ment of this section, the Secretary, in consultation with 

10 other appropriate Federal agencies and appropriate own11 ers, users, or operators of infrastructure that may be de12 fense critical electric infrastructure, shall identify and des13 ignate facilities located in the United States (including the 

14 territories) that are— 

15 ‘‘(1) critical to the defense of the United States; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(2) vulnerable to a disruption of the supply of 

18 electric energy provided to such facility by an exter19 nal provider. 

20 The Secretary may, in consultation with appropriate Fed21 eral agencies and appropriate owners, users, or operators 

22 of defense critical electric infrastructure, periodically re23 vise the list of designated facilities as necessary. 

24 ‘‘(d) PROTECTION AND SHARING OF CRITICAL ELEC25 TRIC INFRASTRUCTURE INFORMATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) PROTECTION OF CRITICAL ELECTRIC IN2 FRASTRUCTURE INFORMATION.—Critical electric in3 frastructure information— 

4 ‘‘(A) shall be exempt from disclosure under 

5 section 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) shall not be made available by any 

8 Federal, State, political subdivision or tribal au9 thority pursuant to any Federal, State, political 

10 subdivision or tribal law requiring public disclo11 sure of information or records. 

12 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION AND SHARING OF CRITICAL

13 ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE INFORMATION.—Not 

14 later than one year after the date of enactment of 

15 this section, the Commission, in consultation with 

16 the Secretary of Energy, shall promulgate such reg17 ulations and issue such orders as necessary to— 

18 ‘‘(A) designate information as critical elec19 tric infrastructure information; 

20 ‘‘(B) prohibit the unauthorized disclosure 

21 of critical electric infrastructure information; 

22 ‘‘(C) ensure there are appropriate sanc23 tions in place for Commissioners, officers, em24 ployees, or agents of the Commission who 

25 knowingly and willfully disclose critical electric 


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1 infrastructure information in a manner that is 

2 not authorized under this section; and 

3 ‘‘(D) taking into account standards of the 

4 Electric Reliability Organization, facilitate vol5 untary sharing of critical electric infrastructure 

6 information with, between, and by— 

7 ‘‘(i) Federal, State, political subdivi8 sion, and tribal authorities; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the Electric Reliability Organiza10 tion; 

11 ‘‘(iii) regional entities; 

12 ‘‘(iv) information sharing and analysis 

13 centers established pursuant to Presi14 dential Decision Directive 63; 

15 ‘‘(v) owners, operators, and users of 

16 critical electric infrastructure in the United 

17 States; and 

18 ‘‘(vi) other entities determined appro19 priate by the Commission. 

20 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In promulgating regu21 lations and issuing orders under paragraph (2), the 

22 Commission shall take into consideration the role of 

23 State commissions in reviewing the prudence and 

24 cost of investments, determining the rates and terms 

25 of conditions for electric services, and ensuring the 


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1 safety and reliability of the bulk-power system and 

2 distribution facilities within their respective jurisdic3 tions. 

4 ‘‘(4) PROTOCOLS.—The Commission shall, in 

5 consultation with Canadian and Mexican authorities, 

6 develop protocols for the voluntary sharing of critical 

7 electric infrastructure information with Canadian 

8 and Mexican authorities and owners, operators, and 

9 users of the bulk-power system outside the United 

10 States. 

11 ‘‘(5) NO REQUIRED SHARING OF INFORMA12 TION.—Nothing in this section shall require a person 

13 or entity in possession of critical electric infrastruc14 ture information to share such information with 

15 Federal, State, political subdivision, or tribal au16 thorities, or any other person or entity. 

17 ‘‘(6) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION TO CON18 GRESS.—Nothing in this section shall permit or au19 thorize the withholding of information from Con20 gress, any committee or subcommittee thereof, or 

21 the Comptroller General. 

22 ‘‘(7) DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED INFORMA23 TION.—In implementing this section, the Commis24 sion shall segregate critical electric infrastructure in25 formation or information that reasonably could be 


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1 expected to lead to the disclosure of the critical elec2 tric infrastructure information within documents and 

3 electronic communications, wherever feasible, to fa4 cilitate disclosure of information that is not des5 ignated as critical electric infrastructure informa6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(8) DURATION OF DESIGNATION.—Informa8 tion may not be designated as critical electric infra9 structure information for longer than 5 years, unless 

10 specifically re-designated by the Commission. 

11 ‘‘(9) REMOVAL OF DESIGNATION.—The Com12 mission shall remove the designation of critical elec13 tric infrastructure information, in whole or in part, 

14 from a document or electronic communication if the 

15 Commission determines that the unauthorized disclo16 sure of such information could no longer be used to 

17 impair the security or reliability of the bulk-power 

18 system or distribution facilities. 

19 ‘‘(10) JUDICIAL REVIEW OF DESIGNATIONS.— 

20 Notwithstanding section 313(b), any determination 

21 by the Commission concerning the designation of 

22 critical electric infrastructure information under this 

23 subsection shall be subject to review under chapter 

24 7 of title 5, United States Code, except that such re25 view shall be brought in the district court of the 


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1 United States in the district in which the complain2 ant resides, or has his principal place of business, or 

3 in the District of Columbia. In such a case the court 

4 shall examine in camera the contents of documents 

5 or electronic communications that are the subject of 

6 the determination under review to determine wheth7 er such documents or any part thereof were improp8 erly designated or not designated as critical electric 

9 infrastructure information. 

10 ‘‘(e) MEASURES TO ADDRESS GRID SECURITY

11 VULNERABILITIES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION AUTHORITY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) RELIABILITY STANDARDS.—If the 

14 Commission, in consultation with appropriate 

15 Federal agencies, identifies a grid security vul16 nerability that the Commission determines has 

17 not adequately been addressed through a reli18 ability standard developed and approved under 

19 section 215, the Commission shall, after notice 

20 and opportunity for comment and after con21 sultation with the Secretary, other appropriate 

22 Federal agencies, and appropriate governmental 

23 authorities in Canada and Mexico, issue an 

24 order directing the Electric Reliability Organi25 zation to submit to the Commission for apVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 07, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8.RFS H8

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1 proval under section 215, not later than 30 

2 days after the issuance of such order, a reli3 ability standard requiring implementation, by 

4 any owner, operator, or user of the bulk-power 

5 system in the United States, of measures to 

6 protect the bulk-power system against such vul7 nerability. Any such standard shall include a 

8 protection plan, including automated hardware9 based solutions. The Commission shall approve 

10 a reliability standard submitted pursuant to 

11 this subparagraph, unless the Commission de12 termines that such reliability standard does not 

13 adequately protect against such vulnerability or 

14 otherwise does not satisfy the requirements of 

15 section 215. 

16 ‘‘(B) MEASURES TO ADDRESS GRID SECU17 RITY VULNERABILITIES.—If the Commission, 

18 after notice and opportunity for comment and 

19 after consultation with the Secretary, other ap20 propriate Federal agencies, and appropriate 

21 governmental authorities in Canada and Mex22 ico, determines that the reliability standard 

23 submitted by the Electric Reliability Organiza24 tion to address a grid security vulnerability 

25 identified under subparagraph (A) does not 


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1 adequately protect the bulk-power system 

2 against such vulnerability, the Commission shall 

3 promulgate a rule or issue an order requiring 

4 implementation, by any owner, operator, or user 

5 of the bulk-power system in the United States, 

6 of measures to protect the bulk-power system 

7 against such vulnerability. Any such rule or 

8 order shall include a protection plan, including 

9 automated hardware-based solutions. Before 

10 promulgating a rule or issuing an order under 

11 this subparagraph, the Commission shall, to the 

12 extent practicable in light of the urgency of the 

13 need for action to address the grid security vul14 nerability, request and consider recommenda15 tions from the Electric Reliability Organization 

16 regarding such rule or order. The Commission 

17 may establish an appropriate deadline for the 

18 submission of such recommendations. 

19 ‘‘(2) RESCISSION.—The Commission shall ap20 prove a reliability standard developed under section 

21 215 that addresses a grid security vulnerability that 

22 is the subject of a rule or order under paragraph 

23 (1)(B), unless the Commission determines that such 

24 reliability standard does not adequately protect 

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1 isfy the requirements of section 215. Upon such ap2 proval, the Commission shall rescind the rule pro3 mulgated or order issued under paragraph (1)(B) 

4 addressing such vulnerability, effective upon the ef5 fective date of the newly approved reliability stand6 ard. 

7 ‘‘(3) GEOMAGNETIC STORMS AND ELECTRO8 MAGNETIC PULSE.—Not later than 6 months after 

9 the date of enactment of this section, the Commis10 sion shall, after notice and an opportunity for com11 ment and after consultation with the Secretary and 

12 other appropriate Federal agencies, issue an order 

13 directing the Electric Reliability Organization to 

14 submit to the Commission for approval under section 

15 215, not later than 6 months after the issuance of 

16 such order, reliability standards adequate to protect 

17 the bulk-power system from any reasonably foresee18 able geomagnetic storm or electromagnetic pulse 

19 event. The Commission’s order shall specify the na20 ture and magnitude of the reasonably foreseeable 

21 events against which such standards must protect. 

22 Such standards shall appropriately balance the risks 

23 to the bulk-power system associated with such 

24 events, including any regional variation in such 

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1 orities and timing associated with implementation. If 

2 the Commission determines that the reliability 

3 standards submitted by the Electric Reliability Or4 ganization pursuant to this paragraph are inad5 equate, the Commission shall promulgate a rule or 

6 issue an order adequate to protect the bulk-power 

7 system from geomagnetic storms or electromagnetic 

8 pulse as required under paragraph (1)(B). 

9 ‘‘(4) LARGE TRANSFORMER AVAILABILITY.— 

10 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

11 of this section, the Commission shall, after notice 

12 and an opportunity for comment and after consulta13 tion with the Secretary and other appropriate Fed14 eral agencies, issue an order directing the Electric 

15 Reliability Organization to submit to the Commis16 sion for approval under section 215, not later than 

17 1 year after the issuance of such order, reliability 

18 standards addressing availability of large trans19 formers. Such standards shall require entities that 

20 own or operate large transformers to ensure, individ21 ually or jointly, adequate availability of large trans22 formers to promptly restore the reliable operation of 

23 the bulk-power system in the event that any such 

24 transformer is destroyed or disabled as a result of 

25 a geomagnetic storm event or electromagnetic pulse 


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1 event. The Commission’s order shall specify the na2 ture and magnitude of the reasonably foreseeable 

3 events that shall provide the basis for such stand4 ards. Such standards shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) provide entities subject to the stand6 ards with the option of meeting such standards 

7 individually or jointly; and 

8 ‘‘(B) appropriately balance the risks asso9 ciated with a reasonably foreseeable event, in10 cluding any regional variation in such risks, and 

11 the costs of ensuring adequate availability of 

12 spare transformers. 

13 ‘‘(5) CERTAIN FEDERAL ENTITIES.—For the 

14 11-year period commencing on the date of enact15 ment of this section, the Tennessee Valley Authority 

16 and the Bonneville Power Administration shall be 

17 exempt from any requirement under this subsection. 

18 ‘‘(f) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—The Secretary shall 

19 facilitate and, to the extent practicable, expedite the acqui20 sition of adequate security clearances by key personnel of 

21 any entity subject to the requirements of this section, to 

22 enable optimum communication with Federal agencies re23 garding threats to the security of the critical electric infra24 structure. The Secretary, the Commission, and other ap25 propriate Federal agencies shall, to the extent practicable 


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1 and consistent with their obligations to protect classified 

2 and critical electric infrastructure information, share time3 ly actionable information regarding grid security with ap4 propriate key personnel of owners, operators, and users 

5 of the critical electric infrastructure. 

6 ‘‘(g) CLARIFICATIONS OF LIABILITY.— 

7 ‘‘(1) COMPLIANCE WITH OR VIOLATION OF THIS

8 ACT.—Except as provided in paragraph (4), to the 

9 extent any action or omission taken by an entity 

10 that is necessary to comply with an order for emer11 gency measures issued under subsection (b)(1), in12 cluding any action or omission taken to voluntarily 

13 comply with such order, results in noncompliance 

14 with, or causes such entity not to comply with any 

15 rule, order, regulation, or provision of this Act, in16 cluding any reliability standard approved by the 

17 Commission pursuant to section 215, such action or 

18 omission shall not be considered a violation of such 

19 rule, order, regulation, or provision. 

20 ‘‘(2) RELATION TO SECTION 202(c).—Except as 

21 provided in paragraph (4), an action or omission 

22 taken by an owner, operator, or user of critical elec23 tric infrastructure or of defense critical electric in24 frastructure to comply with an order for emergency 

25 measures issued under subsection (b)(1) shall be 


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1 treated as an action or omission taken to comply 

2 with an order issued under section 202(c) for pur3 poses of such section. 

4 ‘‘(3) SHARING OR RECEIPT OF INFORMATION.— 

5 No cause of action shall lie or be maintained in any 

6 Federal or State court for the sharing or receipt of 

7 information under, and that is conducted in accord8 ance with, subsection (d). 

9 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

10 this subsection shall be construed to require dis11 missal of a cause of action against an entity that, 

12 in the course of complying with an order for emer13 gency measures issued under subsection (b)(1) by 

14 taking an action or omission for which they would 

15 be liable but for paragraph (1) or (2), takes such ac16 tion or omission in a grossly negligent manner.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

18 (1) JURISDICTION.—Section 201(b)(2) of the 

19 Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824(b)(2)) is amend20 ed by inserting ‘‘215A,’’ after ‘‘215,’’ each place it 

21 appears. 

22 (2) PUBLIC UTILITY.—Section 201(e) of the 

23 Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824(e)) is amended 

24 by inserting ‘‘215A,’’ after ‘‘215,’’. 


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1 SEC. 1105. STRATEGIC TRANSFORMER RESERVE. 

2 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that the storage of 

3 strategically located spare large power transformers and 

4 emergency mobile substations will reduce the vulnerability 

5 of the United States to multiple risks facing electric grid 

6 reliability, including physical attack, cyber attack, electro7 magnetic pulse, geomagnetic disturbances, severe weather, 

8 and seismic events. 

9 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) BULK-POWER SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘bulk11 power system’’ has the meaning given such term in 

12 section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

13 824o(a)). 

14 (2) CRITICALLY DAMAGED LARGE POWER

15 TRANSFORMER.—The term ‘‘critically damaged large 

16 power transformer’’ means a large power trans17 former that— 

18 (A) has sustained extensive damage such 

19 that— 

20 (i) repair or refurbishment is not eco21 nomically viable; or 

22 (ii) the extensive time to repair or re23 furbish the large power transformer would 

24 create an extended period of instability in 

25 the bulk-power system; and 


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1 (B) prior to sustaining such damage, was 

2 part of the bulk-power system. 

3 (3) CRITICAL ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

4 The term ‘‘critical electric infrastructure’’ has the 

5 meaning given that term in section 215A of the Fed6 eral Power Act. 

7 (4) ELECTRIC RELIABILITY ORGANIZATION.— 

8 The term ‘‘Electric Reliability Organization’’ has the 

9 meaning given such term in section 215(a) of the 

10 Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)). 

11 (5) EMERGENCY MOBILE SUBSTATION.—The 

12 term ‘‘emergency mobile substation’’ means a mobile 

13 substation or mobile transformer that is— 

14 (A) assembled and permanently mounted 

15 on a trailer that is capable of highway travel 

16 and meets relevant Department of Transpor17 tation regulations; and 

18 (B) intended for express deployment and 

19 capable of being rapidly placed into service. 

20 (6) LARGE POWER TRANSFORMER.—The term 

21 ‘‘large power transformer’’ means a power trans22 former with a maximum nameplate rating of 100 

23 megavolt-amperes or higher, including related crit24 ical equipment, that is, or is intended to be, a part 

25 of the bulk-power system. 


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1 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Energy. 

3 (8) SPARE LARGE POWER TRANSFORMER.—The 

4 term ‘‘spare large power transformer’’ means a large 

5 power transformer that is stored within the Stra6 tegic Transformer Reserve to be available to tempo7 rarily replace a critically damaged large power trans8 former. 

9 (c) STRATEGIC TRANSFORMER RESERVE PLAN.— 

10 (1) PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting 

12 through the Office of Electricity Delivery and En13 ergy Reliability, shall, in consultation with the Fed14 eral Energy Regulatory Commission, the Electricity 

15 Sub-sector Coordinating Council, the Electric Reli16 ability Organization, and owners and operators of 

17 critical electric infrastructure and defense and mili18 tary installations, prepare and submit to Congress a 

19 plan to establish a Strategic Transformer Reserve 

20 for the storage, in strategically located facilities, of 

21 spare large power transformers and emergency mo22 bile substations in sufficient numbers to temporarily 

23 replace critically damaged large power transformers 

24 and substations that are critical electric infrastruc25 ture or serve defense and military installations. 


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1 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The Strategic Transformer 

2 Reserve plan shall include a description of— 

3 (A) the appropriate number and type of 

4 spare large power transformers necessary to 

5 provide or restore sufficient resiliency to the 

6 bulk-power system, critical electric infrastruc7 ture, and defense and military installations to 

8 mitigate significant impacts to the electric grid 

9 resulting from— 

10 (i) physical attack; 

11 (ii) cyber attack; 

12 (iii) electromagnetic pulse attack; 

13 (iv) geomagnetic disturbances; 

14 (v) severe weather; or 

15 (vi) seismic events; 

16 (B) other critical electric grid equipment 

17 for which an inventory of spare equipment, in18 cluding emergency mobile substations, is nec19 essary to provide or restore sufficient resiliency 

20 to the bulk-power system, critical electric infra21 structure, and defense and military installa22 tions; 

23 (C) the degree to which utility sector ac24 tions or initiatives, including individual utility 

25 ownership of spare equipment, joint ownership 


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1 of spare equipment inventory, sharing agree2 ments, or other spare equipment reserves or ar3 rangements, satisfy the needs identified under 

4 subparagraphs (A) and (B); 

5 (D) the potential locations for, and feasi6 bility and appropriate number of, strategic stor7 age locations for reserve equipment, including 

8 consideration of— 

9 (i) the physical security of such loca10 tions; 

11 (ii) the protection of the confiden12 tiality of such locations; and 

13 (iii) the proximity of such locations to 

14 sites of potentially critically damaged large 

15 power transformers and substations that 

16 are critical electric infrastructure or serve 

17 defense and military installations, so as to 

18 enable efficient delivery of equipment to 

19 such sites; 

20 (E) the necessary degree of flexibility of 

21 spare large power transformers to be included 

22 in the Strategic Transformer Reserve to con23 form to different substation configurations, in24 cluding consideration of transformer— 


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1 (i) power and voltage rating for each 

2 winding; 

3 (ii) overload requirements; 

4 (iii) impedance between windings; 

5 (iv) configuration of windings; and 

6 (v) tap requirements; 

7 (F) an estimate of the direct cost of the 

8 Strategic Transformer Reserve, as proposed, in9 cluding— 

10 (i) the cost of storage facilities; 

11 (ii) the cost of the equipment; and 

12 (iii) management, maintenance, and 

13 operation costs; 

14 (G) the funding options available to estab15 lish, stock, manage, and maintain the Strategic 

16 Transformer Reserve, including consideration of 

17 fees on owners and operators of bulk-power sys18 tem facilities, critical electric infrastructure, 

19 and defense and military installations relying on 

20 the Strategic Transformer Reserve, use of Fed21 eral appropriations, and public-private cost22 sharing options; 

23 (H) the ease and speed of transportation, 

24 installation, and energization of spare large 

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1 tegic Transformer Reserve, including consider2 ation of factors such as— 

3 (i) transformer transportation weight; 

4 (ii) transformer size; 

5 (iii) topology of critical substations; 

6 (iv) availability of appropriate trans7 former mounting pads; 

8 (v) flexibility of the spare large power 

9 transformers as described in subparagraph 

10 (E); and 

11 (vi) ability to rapidly transition a 

12 spare large power transformer from stor13 age to energization; 

14 (I) eligibility criteria for withdrawal of 

15 equipment from the Strategic Transformer Re16 serve; 

17 (J) the process by which owners or opera18 tors of critically damaged large power trans19 formers or substations that are critical electric 

20 infrastructure or serve defense and military in21 stallations may apply for a withdrawal from the 

22 Strategic Transformer Reserve; 

23 (K) the process by which equipment with24 drawn from the Strategic Transformer Reserve 


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1 is returned to the Strategic Transformer Re2 serve or is replaced; 

3 (L) possible fees to be paid by users of 

4 equipment withdrawn from the Strategic Trans5 former Reserve; 

6 (M) possible fees to be paid by owners and 

7 operators of large power transformers and sub8 stations that are critical electric infrastructure 

9 or serve defense and military installations to 

10 cover operating costs of the Strategic Trans11 former Reserve; 

12 (N) the domestic and international large 

13 power transformer supply chain; 

14 (O) the potential reliability, cost, and oper15 ational benefits of including emergency mobile 

16 substations in any Strategic Transformer Re17 serve established under this section; and 

18 (P) other considerations for designing, con19 structing, stocking, funding, and managing the 

20 Strategic Transformer Reserve. 

21 (d) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary may establish 

22 a Strategic Transformer Reserve in accordance with the 

23 plan prepared pursuant to subsection (c) after the date 

24 that is 6 months after the date on which such plan is sub25 mitted to Congress. 


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1 (e) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—Any informa2 tion included in the Strategic Transformer Reserve plan, 

3 or shared in the preparation and development of such 

4 plan, the disclosure of which the agency reasonably fore5 sees would cause harm to critical electric infrastructure, 

6 shall be deemed to be critical electric infrastructure infor7 mation for purposes of section 215A(d) of the Federal 

8 Power Act. 

9 SEC. 1106. CYBER SENSE. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy shall es11 tablish a voluntary Cyber Sense program to identify and 

12 promote cyber-secure products intended for use in the 

13 bulk-power system, as defined in section 215(a) of the 

14 Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)). 

15 (b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out sub16 section (a), the Secretary of Energy shall— 

17 (1) establish a Cyber Sense testing process to 

18 identify products and technologies intended for use 

19 in the bulk-power system, including products relat20 ing to industrial control systems, such as supervisory 

21 control and data acquisition systems; 

22 (2) for products tested and identified under the 

23 Cyber Sense program, establish and maintain cyber24 security vulnerability reporting processes and a re25 lated database; 


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1 (3) promulgate regulations regarding vulner2 ability reporting processes for products tested and 

3 identified under the Cyber Sense program; 

4 (4) provide technical assistance to utilities, 

5 product manufacturers, and other electric sector 

6 stakeholders to develop solutions to mitigate identi7 fied vulnerabilities in products tested and identified 

8 under the Cyber Sense program; 

9 (5) biennially review products tested and identi10 fied under the Cyber Sense program for 

11 vulnerabilities and provide analysis with respect to 

12 how such products respond to and mitigate cyber 

13 threats; 

14 (6) develop procurement guidance for utilities 

15 for products tested and identified under the Cyber 

16 Sense program; 

17 (7) provide reasonable notice to the public, and 

18 solicit comments from the public, prior to estab19 lishing or revising the Cyber Sense testing process; 

20 (8) oversee Cyber Sense testing carried out by 

21 third parties; and 

22 (9) consider incentives to encourage the use in 

23 the bulk-power system of products tested and identi24 fied under the Cyber Sense program. 


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1 (c) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—Any vulner2 ability reported pursuant to regulations promulgated 

3 under subsection (b)(3), the disclosure of which the agency 

4 reasonably foresees would cause harm to critical electric 

5 infrastructure (as defined in section 215A of the Federal 

6 Power Act), shall be deemed to be critical electric infra7 structure information for purposes of section 215A(d) of 

8 the Federal Power Act. 

9 (d) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LIABILITY.—Consistent 

10 with other voluntary Federal Government certification 

11 programs, nothing in this section shall be construed to au12 thorize the commencement of an action against the United 

13 States Government with respect to the testing and identi14 fication of a product under the Cyber Sense program. 

15 SEC. 1107. STATE COVERAGE AND CONSIDERATION OF 

16 PURPA STANDARDS FOR ELECTRIC UTILI17 TIES. 

18 (a) STATE CONSIDERATION OF RESILIENCY AND AD19 VANCED ENERGY ANALYTICS TECHNOLOGIES AND RELI20 ABLE GENERATION.— 

21 (1) CONSIDERATION.—Section 111(d) of the 

22 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 

23 U.S.C. 2621(d)) is amended by adding the following 

24 at the end: 


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1 ‘‘(20) IMPROVING THE RESILIENCE OF ELEC2 TRIC INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each electric utility 

4 shall develop a plan to use resiliency-related 

5 technologies, upgrades, measures, and other ap6 proaches designed to improve the resilience of 

7 electric infrastructure, mitigate power outages, 

8 continue delivery of vital services, and maintain 

9 the flow of power to facilities critical to public 

10 health, safety, and welfare, to the extent prac11 ticable using the most current data, metrics, 

12 and frameworks related to current and future 

13 threats, including physical and cyber attacks, 

14 electromagnetic pulse attacks, geomagnetic dis15 turbances, seismic events, and severe weather 

16 and other environmental stressors. 

17 ‘‘(B) RESILIENCY-RELATED TECH18 NOLOGIES.—For purposes of this paragraph, 

19 examples of resiliency-related technologies, up20 grades, measures, and other approaches in21 clude— 

22 ‘‘(i) hardening, or other enhanced pro23 tection, of utility poles, wiring, cabling, 

24 and other distribution components, facili25 ties, or structures; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) advanced grid technologies capa2 ble of isolating or repairing problems re3 motely, such as advanced metering infra4 structure, high-tech sensors, grid moni5 toring and control systems, and remote re6 configuration and redundancy systems; 

7 ‘‘(iii) cybersecurity products and com8 ponents; 

9 ‘‘(iv) distributed generation, including 

10 back-up generation to power critical facili11 ties and essential services, and related inte12 gration components, such as advanced in13 verter technology; 

14 ‘‘(v) microgrid systems, including hy15 brid microgrid systems for isolated commu16 nities; 

17 ‘‘(vi) combined heat and power; 

18 ‘‘(vii) waste heat resources; 

19 ‘‘(viii) non-grid-scale energy storage 

20 technologies; 

21 ‘‘(ix) wiring, cabling, and other dis22 tribution components, including submers23 ible distribution components, and enclo24 sures; 


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1 ‘‘(x) electronically controlled reclosers 

2 and similar technologies for power restora3 tion, including emergency mobile sub4 stations, as defined in section 1105 of the 

5 North American Energy Security and In6 frastructure Act of 2015; 

7 ‘‘(xi) advanced energy analytics tech8 nology, such as Internet-based and cloud9 based computing solutions and subscription 

10 licensing models; 

11 ‘‘(xii) measures that enhance resil12 ience through planning, preparation, re13 sponse, and recovery activities; 

14 ‘‘(xiii) operational capabilities to en15 hance resilience through rapid response re16 covery; and 

17 ‘‘(xiv) measures to ensure availability 

18 of key critical components through con19 tracts, cooperative agreements, stockpiling 

20 and prepositioning, or other measures. 

21 ‘‘(C) RATE RECOVERY.—Each State regu22 latory authority (with respect to each electric 

23 utility for which it has ratemaking authority) 

24 shall consider authorizing each such electric 

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1 ture, or other costs of the electric utility related 

2 to the procurement, deployment, or use of resil3 iency-related technologies, including a reason4 able rate of return on the capital expenditures 

5 of the electric utility for the procurement, de6 ployment, or use of resiliency-related tech7 nologies. 

8 ‘‘(21) PROMOTING INVESTMENTS IN ADVANCED

9 ENERGY ANALYTICS TECHNOLOGY.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each electric utility 

11 shall develop and implement a plan for deploy12 ing advanced energy analytics technology. 

13 ‘‘(B) RATE RECOVERY.—Each State regu14 latory authority (with respect to each electric 

15 utility for which it has ratemaking authority) 

16 shall consider confirming and clarifying, if nec17 essary, that each such electric utility is author18 ized to recover the costs of the electric utility 

19 relating to the procurement, deployment, or use 

20 of advanced energy analytics technology, includ21 ing a reasonable rate of return on all such costs 

22 incurred by the electric utility for the procure23 ment, deployment, or use of advanced energy 

24 analytics technology, provided such technology 

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1 alizing operational efficiencies, cost savings, en2 hanced energy management and customer en3 gagement, improvements in system reliability, 

4 safety, and cybersecurity, or other benefits to 

5 ratepayers. 

6 ‘‘(C) ADVANCED ENERGY ANALYTICS

7 TECHNOLOGY.—For purposes of this para8 graph, examples of advanced energy analytics 

9 technology include Internet-based and cloud10 based computing solutions and subscription li11 censing models, including software as a service 

12 that uses cyber-physical systems to allow the 

13 correlation of data aggregated from appropriate 

14 data sources and smart grid sensor networks, 

15 employs analytics and machine learning, or em16 ploys other advanced computing solutions and 

17 models. 

18 ‘‘(22) ASSURING ELECTRIC RELIABILITY WITH

19 RELIABLE GENERATION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) ASSURANCE OF ELECTRIC RELI21 ABILITY.—Each electric utility shall adopt or 

22 modify policies to ensure that such electric util23 ity incorporates reliable generation into its inte24 grated resource plan to assure the availability 


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1 of electric energy over a 10-year planning pe2 riod. 

3 ‘‘(B) RELIABLE GENERATION.—For pur4 poses of this paragraph, ‘reliable generation’ 

5 means electric generation facilities with reli6 ability attributes that include— 

7 ‘‘(i)(I) possession of adequate fuel on8 site to enable operation for an extended pe9 riod of time; 

10 ‘‘(II) the operational ability to gen11 erate electric energy from more than one 

12 source; or 

13 ‘‘(III) fuel certainty, through firm 

14 contractual obligations (which may not be 

15 required to be for a period longer than one 

16 year), that ensures adequate fuel supply to 

17 enable operation, for an extended period of 

18 time, for the duration of an emergency or 

19 severe weather conditions; 

20 ‘‘(ii) operational characteristics that 

21 enable the generation of electric energy for 

22 the duration of an emergency or severe 

23 weather conditions; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) unless procured through other 

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1 ability services, including frequency sup2 port and regulation services. 

3 ‘‘(23) SUBSIDIZATION OF CUSTOMER-SIDE

4 TECHNOLOGY.— 

5 ‘‘(A) CONSIDERATION.—To the extent that 

6 a State regulatory authority may require or 

7 allow rates charged by any electric utility for 

8 which it has ratemaking authority to electric 

9 consumers that do not use a customer-side 

10 technology to include any cost, fee, or charge 

11 that directly or indirectly cross-subsidizes the 

12 deployment, construction, maintenance, or oper13 ation of that customer-side technology, such au14 thority shall evaluate whether subsidizing the 

15 deployment, construction, maintenance, or oper16 ation of a customer-side technology would— 

17 ‘‘(i) result in benefits predominately 

18 enjoyed by only the users of that customer19 side technology; 

20 ‘‘(ii) shift costs of a customer-side 

21 technology to electricity consumers that do 

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1 tricity consumers cross-subsidizing the cos2 tumer-side technology; 

3 ‘‘(iii) negatively affect resource utiliza4 tion, fuel diversity, or grid security; 

5 ‘‘(iv) provide any unfair competitive 

6 advantage to market the customer-side 

7 technology; and 

8 ‘‘(v) be necessary to fulfill an obliga9 tion to serve electric consumers. 

10 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC NOTICE.—Each State regu11 latory authority shall make available to the pub12 lic the evaluation completed under subpara13 graph (A) at least 90 days prior to any pro14 ceedings in which such authority considers the 

15 cross-subsidization of a customer-side tech16 nology. 

17 ‘‘(C) CUSTOMER-SIDE TECHNOLOGY.—For 

18 purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘customer19 side technology’ means a device connected to 

20 the electricity distribution system— 

21 ‘‘(i) at, or on the customer side of, the 

22 meter; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) that, if owned or operated by or 

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1 wise be at, or on the customer side of, the 

2 meter.’’. 

3 (2) COMPLIANCE.— 

4 (A) TIME LIMITATIONS.—Section 112(b) 

5 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 

6 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2622(b)) is amended by add7 ing at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(7)(A) Not later than 1 year after the date of 

9 enactment of this paragraph, each State regulatory 

10 authority (with respect to each electric utility for 

11 which it has ratemaking authority) and each non12 regulated electric utility, as applicable, shall com13 mence the consideration referred to in section 111, 

14 or set a hearing date for consideration, with respect 

15 to the standards established by paragraphs (20), 

16 (22), and (23) of section 111(d). 

17 ‘‘(B) Not later than 2 years after the date of 

18 the enactment of this paragraph, each State regu19 latory authority (with respect to each electric utility 

20 for which it has ratemaking authority) and each 

21 nonregulated electric utility, as applicable, shall com22 plete the consideration, and shall make the deter23 mination, referred to in section 111 with respect to 

24 each standard established by paragraphs (20), (22), 

25 and (23) of section 111(d). 


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1 ‘‘(8)(A) Not later than 6 months after the date 

2 of enactment of this paragraph, each State regu3 latory authority (with respect to each electric utility 

4 for which it has ratemaking authority) and each 

5 nonregulated electric utility shall commence the con6 sideration referred to in section 111, or set a hear7 ing date for consideration, with respect to the stand8 ard established by paragraph (21) of section 111(d). 

9 ‘‘(B) Not later than 1 year after the date of en10 actment of this paragraph, each State regulatory au11 thority (with respect to each electric utility for which 

12 it has ratemaking authority) and each nonregulated 

13 electric utility shall complete the consideration, and 

14 shall make the determination, referred to in section 

15 111 with respect to the standard established by 

16 paragraph (21) of section 111(d).’’. 

17 (B) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—Section 112(c) 

18 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 

19 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2622(c)) is amended by add20 ing the following at the end: ‘‘In the case of the 

21 standards established by paragraphs (20) 

22 through (23) of section 111(d), the reference 

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1 erence to the date of enactment of such para2 graphs.’’. 

3 (C) PRIOR STATE ACTIONS.—Section 112 

4 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 

5 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2622) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(g) PRIOR STATE ACTIONS.—Subsections (b) and 

8 (c) of this section shall not apply to a standard established 

9 by paragraph (20), (21), (22), or (23) of section 111(d) 

10 in the case of any electric utility in a State if— 

11 ‘‘(1) before the date of enactment of this sub12 section, the State has implemented for such utility 

13 the standard concerned (or a comparable standard); 

14 ‘‘(2) the State regulatory authority for such 

15 State or relevant nonregulated electric utility has 

16 conducted a proceeding to consider implementation 

17 of the standard concerned (or a comparable stand18 ard) for such utility during the 3-year period ending 

19 on the date of enactment of this subsection; or 

20 ‘‘(3) the State legislature has voted on the im21 plementation of the standard concerned (or a com22 parable standard) for such utility during the 3-year 

23 period ending on the date of enactment of this sub24 section.’’. 


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1 (b) COVERAGE FOR COMPETITIVE MARKETS.—Sec2 tion 102 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 

3 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2612) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(d) COVERAGE FOR COMPETITIVE MARKETS.—The 

6 requirements of this title do not apply to the operations 

7 of an electric utility, or to proceedings respecting such op8 erations, to the extent that such operations or proceedings, 

9 or any portion thereof, relate to the competitive sale of 

10 retail electric energy that is unbundled or separated from 

11 the regulated provision or sale of distribution service.’’. 

12 SEC. 1108. RELIABILITY ANALYSIS FOR CERTAIN RULES 

13 THAT AFFECT ELECTRIC GENERATING FA14 CILITIES. 

15 (a) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply with 

16 respect to any proposed or final covered rule issued by 

17 a Federal agency for which compliance with the rule may 

18 impact an electric utility generating unit or units, includ19 ing by resulting in closure or interruption to operations 

20 of such a unit or units. 

21 (b) RELIABILITY ANALYSIS.— 

22 (1) ANALYSIS OF RULES.—The Federal Energy 

23 Regulatory Commission, in consultation with the 

24 Electric Reliability Organization, shall conduct an 

25 independent reliability analysis of a proposed or final 


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1 covered rule under this section to evaluate the antici2 pated effects of implementation and enforcement of 

3 the rule on— 

4 (A) electric reliability and resource ade5 quacy; 

6 (B) the electricity generation portfolio of 

7 the United States; 

8 (C) the operation of wholesale electricity 

9 markets; and 

10 (D) energy delivery and infrastructure, in11 cluding electric transmission facilities and nat12 ural gas pipelines. 

13 (2) RELEVANT INFORMATION.— 

14 (A) MATERIALS FROM FEDERAL AGEN15 CIES.—A Federal agency shall provide to the 

16 Commission materials and information relevant 

17 to the analysis required under paragraph (1) 

18 for a rule, including relevant data, modeling, 

19 and resource adequacy and reliability assess20 ments, prepared or relied upon by such agency 

21 in developing the rule. 

22 (B) ANALYSES FROM OTHER ENTITIES.— 

23 The Electric Reliability Organization, regional 

24 entities, regional transmission organizations, 

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1 ability coordinators and planning authorities 

2 shall timely conduct analyses and provide such 

3 information as may be reasonably requested by 

4 the Commission. 

5 (3) NOTICE.—A Federal agency shall provide to 

6 the Commission notice of the issuance of any pro7 posed or final covered rule not later than 15 days 

8 after the date of such issuance. 

9 (c) PROPOSED RULES.—Not later than 150 days 

10 after the date of publication in the Federal Register of 

11 a proposed rule described in subsection (a), the Federal 

12 Energy Regulatory Commission shall make available to 

13 the public an analysis of the proposed rule conducted in 

14 accordance with subsection (b), and any relevant special 

15 assessment or seasonal or long-term reliability assessment 

16 completed by the Electric Reliability Organization. 

17 (d) FINAL RULES.— 

18 (1) INCLUSION.—A final rule described in sub19 section (a) shall include, if available at the time of 

20 issuance, a copy of the analysis conducted pursuant 

21 to subsection (c) of the rule as proposed. 

22 (2) ANALYSIS.—Not later than 120 days after 

23 the date of publication in the Federal Register of a 

24 final rule described in subsection (a), the Federal 

25 Energy Regulatory Commission shall make available 


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1 to the public an analysis of the final rule conducted 

2 in accordance with subsection (b), and any relevant 

3 special assessment or seasonal or long-term reli4 ability assessment completed by the Electric Reli5 ability Organization. 

6 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) ELECTRIC RELIABILITY ORGANIZATION.— 

8 The term ‘‘Electric Reliability Organization’’ has the 

9 meaning given to such term in section 215(a) of the 

10 Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)). 

11 (2) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

12 agency’’ means an agency, as that term is defined 

13 in section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 

14 (3) COVERED RULE.—The term ‘‘covered rule’’ 

15 means a proposed or final rule that is estimated by 

16 the Federal agency issuing the rule, or the Director 

17 of the Office of Management and Budget, to result 

18 in an annual effect on the economy of 

19 $1,000,000,000 or more. 

20 SEC. 1109. INCREASED ACCOUNTABILITY WITH RESPECT 

21 TO CARBON CAPTURE, UTILIZATION, AND SE22 QUESTRATION PROJECTS. 

23 (a) DOE EVALUATION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy (in 

25 this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall, in 


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1 accordance with this section, annually conduct an 

2 evaluation, and make recommendations, with respect 

3 to each project conducted by the Secretary for re4 search, development, demonstration, or deployment 

5 of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration 

6 technologies (also known as carbon capture and stor7 age and utilization technologies). 

8 (2) SCOPE.—For purposes of this section, a 

9 project includes any contract, lease, cooperative 

10 agreement, or other similar transaction with a public 

11 agency or private organization or person, entered 

12 into or performed, or any payment made, by the 

13 Secretary for research, development, demonstration, 

14 or deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and se15 questration technologies. 

16 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR EVALUATION.—In con17 ducting an evaluation of a project under this section, the 

18 Secretary shall— 

19 (1) examine if the project has made advance20 ments toward achieving any specific goal of the 

21 project with respect to a carbon capture, utilization, 

22 and sequestration technology; and 

23 (2) evaluate and determine if the project has 

24 made significant progress in advancing a carbon 

25 capture, utilization, and sequestration technology. 


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1 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—For each evaluation of a 

2 project conducted under this section, if the Secretary de3 termines that— 

4 (1) significant progress in advancing a carbon 

5 capture, utilization, and sequestration technology 

6 has been made, the Secretary shall assess the fund7 ing of the project and make a recommendation as to 

8 whether increased funding is necessary to advance 

9 the project; or 

10 (2) significant progress in advancing a carbon 

11 capture, utilization, and sequestration technology 

12 has not been made, the Secretary shall— 

13 (A) assess the funding of the project and 

14 make a recommendation as to whether in15 creased funding is necessary to advance the 

16 project; 

17 (B) assess and determine if the project has 

18 reached its full potential; and 

19 (C) make a recommendation as to whether 

20 the project should continue. 

21 (d) REPORTS.— 

22 (1) REPORT ON EVALUATIONS AND REC23 OMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 2 years after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years 

25 thereafter, the Secretary shall— 


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1 (A) issue a report on the evaluations con2 ducted and recommendations made during the 

3 previous year pursuant to this section; and 

4 (B) make each such report available on the 

5 Internet website of the Department of Energy. 

6 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, and every 3 years 

8 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Sub9 committee on Energy and Power of the Committee 

10 on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on 

11 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

12 Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

13 Natural Resources and the Committee on Com14 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

15 report on— 

16 (A) the evaluations conducted and rec17 ommendations made during the previous 3 

18 years pursuant to this section; and 

19 (B) the progress of the Department of En20 ergy in advancing carbon capture, utilization, 

21 and sequestration technologies, including 

22 progress in achieving the Department of Ener23 gy’s goal of having an array of advanced carbon 

24 capture and sequestration technologies ready by 

25 2020 for large-scale demonstration. 


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1 SEC. 1110. RELIABILITY AND PERFORMANCE ASSURANCE 

2 IN REGIONAL TRANSMISSION ORGANIZA3 TIONS. 

4 Part II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 et 

5 seq.), as amended by section 1104, is further amended by 

6 adding after section 215A the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 215B. RELIABILITY AND PERFORMANCE ASSURANCE 

8 IN REGIONAL TRANSMISSION ORGANIZA9 TIONS. 

10 ‘‘(a) EXISTING CAPACITY MARKETS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ANALYSIS CONCERNING CAPACITY MARKET

12 DESIGN.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 

13 enactment of this section, each Regional Trans14 mission Organization, and each Independent System 

15 Operator, that operates a capacity market, or a com16 parable market intended to ensure the procurement 

17 and availability of sufficient future electric energy 

18 resources, that is subject to the jurisdiction of the 

19 Commission, shall provide to the Commission an 

20 analysis of how the structure of such market meets 

21 the following criteria: 

22 ‘‘(A) The structure of such market utilizes 

23 competitive market forces to the extent prac24 ticable in procuring capacity resources. 

25 ‘‘(B) Consistent with subparagraph (A), 

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1 neutral performance criteria that ensure the 

2 procurement of sufficient capacity from physical 

3 generation facilities that have reliability at4 tributes that include— 

5 ‘‘(i)(I) possession of adequate fuel on6 site to enable operation for an extended pe7 riod of time; 

8 ‘‘(II) the operational ability to gen9 erate electric energy from more than one 

10 fuel source; or 

11 ‘‘(III) fuel certainty, through firm 

12 contractual obligations, that ensures ade13 quate fuel supply to enable operation, for 

14 an extended period of time, for the dura15 tion of an emergency or severe weather 

16 conditions; 

17 ‘‘(ii) operational characteristics that 

18 enable the generation of electric energy for 

19 the duration of an emergency or severe 

20 weather conditions; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) unless procured through other 

22 markets or procurement mechanisms, es23 sential reliability services, including fre24 quency support and regulation services. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COMMISSION EVALUATION AND REPORT.— 

2 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

3 of this section, the Commission shall make publicly 

4 available, and submit to the Committee on Energy 

5 and Commerce in the House of Representatives and 

6 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in 

7 the Senate, a report containing— 

8 ‘‘(A) evaluation of whether the structure of 

9 each market addressed in an analysis submitted 

10 pursuant to paragraph (1) meets the criteria 

11 under such paragraph, based on the analysis; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) to the extent a market so addressed 

14 does not meet such criteria, any recommenda15 tions with respect to the procurement of suffi16 cient capacity, as described in paragraph 

17 (1)(B). 

18 ‘‘(b) COMMISSION EVALUATION AND REPORT FOR

19 NEW SCHEDULES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) INCLUSION OF ANALYSIS IN FILING.—Ex21 cept as provided in subsection (a)(2), whenever a 

22 Regional Transmission Organization or Independent 

23 System Operator files a new schedule under section 

24 205 to establish a market described in subsection 

25 (a)(1), or that substantially modifies the capacity 


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1 market design of a market described in subsection 

2 (a)(1), the Regional Transmission Organization or 

3 Independent System Operator shall include in any 

4 such filing the analysis required by subsection 

5 (a)(1). 

6 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later 

7 than 180 days of receiving an analysis under para8 graph (1), the Commission shall make publicly avail9 able, and submit to the Committee on Energy and 

10 Commerce in the House of Representatives and the 

11 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in the 

12 Senate, a report containing— 

13 ‘‘(A) an evaluation of whether the struc14 ture of the market addressed in the analysis 

15 meets the criteria under subsection (a)(1), 

16 based on the analysis; and 

17 ‘‘(B) to the extent the market does not 

18 meet such criteria, any recommendations with 

19 respect to the procurement of sufficient capac20 ity, as described in subsection (a)(1)(B). 

21 ‘‘(c) EFFECT ON EXISTING APPROVALS.—Nothing in 

22 this section shall be considered to— 

23 ‘‘(1) require a modification of the Commission’s 

24 approval of the capacity market design approved 


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1 pursuant to docket numbers ER15–623–000, EL15– 

2 29–000, EL14–52–000, and ER14–2419–000; or 

3 ‘‘(2) provide grounds for the Commission to 

4 grant rehearing or otherwise modify orders issued in 

5 those dockets.’’. 

6 SEC. 1111. ETHANE STORAGE STUDY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy and the 

8 Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with other rel9 evant agencies and stakeholders, shall conduct a study on 

10 the feasibility of establishing an ethane storage and dis11 tribution hub in the United States. 

12 (b) CONTENTS.—The study conducted under sub13 section (a) shall include— 

14 (1) an examination of— 

15 (A) potential locations; 

16 (B) economic feasibility; 

17 (C) economic benefits; 

18 (D) geological storage capacity capabilities; 

19 (E) above ground storage capabilities; 

20 (F) infrastructure needs; and 

21 (G) other markets and trading hubs, par22 ticularly related to ethane; and 

23 (2) identification of potential additional benefits 

24 to energy security. 


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1 (c) PUBLICATION OF RESULTS.—Not later than 2 

2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secre3 taries of Energy and Commerce shall publish the results 

4 of the study conducted under subsection (a) on the 

5 websites of the Departments of Energy and Commerce, 

6 respectively, and shall submit such results to the Com7 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep8 resentatives and the Committees on Energy and Natural 

9 Resources and Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

10 the Senate. 

11 SEC. 1112. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON GRID MODERNIZA12 TION. 

13 It is the policy of the United States to promote and 

14 advance— 

15 (1) the modernization of the energy delivery in16 frastructure of the United States, and bolster the re17 liability, affordability, diversity, efficiency, security, 

18 and resiliency of domestic energy supplies, through 

19 advanced grid technologies; 

20 (2) the modernization of the electric grid to en21 able a robust multi-directional power flow that 

22 leverages centralized energy resources and distrib23 uted energy resources, enables robust retail trans24 actions, and facilitates the alignment of business and 


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1 regulatory models to achieve a grid that optimizes 

2 the entire electric delivery system; 

3 (3) relevant research and development in ad4 vanced grid technologies, including— 

5 (A) energy storage; 

6 (B) predictive tools and requisite real-time 

7 data to enable the dynamic optimization of grid 

8 operations; 

9 (C) power electronics, including smart in10 verters, that ease the challenge of intermittent 

11 renewable resources and distributed generation; 

12 (D) real-time data and situational aware13 ness tools and systems; and 

14 (E) tools to increase data security, physical 

15 security, and cybersecurity awareness and pro16 tection; 

17 (4) the leadership of the United States in basic 

18 and applied sciences to develop a systems approach 

19 to innovation and development of cyber-secure ad20 vanced grid technologies, architectures, and control 

21 paradigms capable of managing diverse supplies and 

22 loads; 

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1 hanced resilience of the infrastructure to all hazards, 

2 including— 

3 (A) severe weather events; 

4 (B) cyber and physical threats; and 

5 (C) other factors that affect energy deliv6 ery; 

7 (6) the coordination of goals, investments to op8 timize the grid, and other measures for energy effi9 ciency, advanced grid technologies, interoperability, 

10 and demand response-side management resources; 

11 (7) partnerships with States and the private 

12 sector— 

13 (A) to facilitate advanced grid capabilities 

14 and strategies; and 

15 (B) to provide technical assistance, tools, 

16 or other related information necessary to en17 hance grid integration, particularly in connec18 tion with the development at the State and local 

19 levels of strategic energy, energy surety and as20 surance, and emergency preparedness, response, 

21 and restoration planning; 

22 (8) the deployment of information and commu23 nications technologies at all levels of the electric sys24 tem; 


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1 (9) opportunities to provide consumers with 

2 timely information and advanced control options; 

3 (10) sophisticated or advanced control options 

4 to integrate distributed energy resources and associ5 ated ancillary services; 

6 (11) open-source communications, database ar7 chitectures, and common information model stand8 ards, guidelines, and protocols that enable interoper9 ability to maximize efficiency gains and associated 

10 benefits among— 

11 (A) the grid; 

12 (B) energy and building management sys13 tems; and 

14 (C) residential, commercial, and industrial 

15 equipment; 

16 (12) private sector investment in the energy de17 livery infrastructure of the United States through 

18 targeted demonstration and validation of advanced 

19 grid technologies; and 

20 (13) establishment of common valuation meth21 ods and tools for cost-benefit analysis of grid inte22 gration paradigms. 

23 SEC. 1113. GRID RESILIENCE REPORT. 

24 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to the 


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1 Congress a report on methods to increase electric grid re2 silience with respect to all threats, including cyber attacks, 

3 vandalism, terrorism, and severe weather. 

4 SEC. 1114. GAO REPORT ON IMPROVING NATIONAL RE5 SPONSE CENTER. 

6 The Comptroller General of the United States shall 

7 conduct a study of ways in which the capabilities of the 

8 National Response Center could be improved. 

9 SEC. 1115. DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL ENERGY SECURITY 

10 CORRIDORS ON FEDERAL LANDS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 28 of the Mineral Leasing 

12 Act (30 U.S.C. 185) is amended as follows: 

13 (1) In subsection (b)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘(b)(1) For the purposes of 

15 this section ‘Federal lands’ means’’ and insert16 ing the following: 

17 ‘‘(b)(1) For the purposes of this section ‘Federal 

18 lands’— 

19 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), 

20 means’’; 

21 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

22 paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘; and’’ and by 

23 adding at the end of paragraph (1) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(B) for purposes of granting an application for 

2 a natural gas pipeline right-of-way, means all lands 

3 owned by the United States except— 

4 ‘‘(i) such lands held in trust for an Indian 

5 or Indian tribe; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) lands on the Outer Continental 

7 Shelf.’’. 

8 (2) By redesignating subsection (b), as so 

9 amended, as subsection (z), and transferring such 

10 subsection to appear after subsection (y) of that sec11 tion. 

12 (3) By inserting after subsection (a) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL ENERGY SECURITY CORRIDORS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—In addition to other au16 thorities under this section, the Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) identify and designate suitable Fed18 eral lands as National Energy Security Cor19 ridors (in this subsection referred to as a ‘Cor20 ridor’), which shall be used for construction, op21 eration, and maintenance of natural gas trans22 mission facilities; and 

23 ‘‘(B) incorporate such Corridors upon des24 ignation into the relevant agency land use and 

25 resource management plans or equivalent plans. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In evaluating Federal 

2 lands for designation as a National Energy Security 

3 Corridor, the Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) employ the principle of multiple use 

5 to ensure route decisions balance national en6 ergy security needs with existing land use prin7 ciples; 

8 ‘‘(B) seek input from other Federal coun9 terparts, State, local, and tribal governments, 

10 and affected utility and pipeline industries to 

11 determine the best suitable, most cost-effective, 

12 and commercially viable acreage for natural gas 

13 transmission facilities; 

14 ‘‘(C) focus on transmission routes that im15 prove domestic energy security through increas16 ing reliability, relieving congestion, reducing 

17 natural gas prices, and meeting growing de18 mand for natural gas; and 

19 ‘‘(D) take into account technological inno20 vations that reduce the need for surface dis21 turbance. 

22 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall estab23 lish procedures to expedite and approve applications 

24 for rights-of-way for natural gas pipelines across 

25 National Energy Security Corridors, that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ensure a transparent process for re2 view of applications for rights-of-way on such 

3 corridors; 

4 ‘‘(B) require an approval time of not more 

5 than 1 year after the date of receipt of an ap6 plication for a right-of-way; and 

7 ‘‘(C) require, upon receipt of such an ap8 plication, notice to the applicant of a predict9 able timeline for consideration of the applica10 tion, that clearly delineates important mile11 stones in the process of such consideration. 

12 ‘‘(4) STATE INPUT.— 

13 ‘‘(A) REQUESTS AUTHORIZED.—The Gov14 ernor of a State may submit requests to the 

15 Secretary of the Interior to designate Corridors 

16 on Federal land in that State. 

17 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF REQUESTS.— 

18 After receiving such a request, the Secretary 

19 shall respond in writing, within 30 days— 

20 ‘‘(i) acknowledging receipt of the re21 quest; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) setting forth a timeline in which 

23 the Secretary shall grant, deny, or modify 

24 such request and state the reasons for 

25 doing so. 


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1 ‘‘(5) SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF CORRIDORS.— 

2 In implementing this subsection, the Secretary shall 

3 coordinate with other Federal Departments to— 

4 ‘‘(A) minimize the proliferation of duplica5 tive natural gas pipeline rights-of-way on Fed6 eral lands where feasible; 

7 ‘‘(B) ensure Corridors can connect effec8 tively across Federal lands; and 

9 ‘‘(C) utilize input from utility and pipeline 

10 industries submitting applications for rights-of11 way to site corridors in economically feasible 

12 areas that reduce impacts, to the extent prac13 ticable, on local communities. 

14 ‘‘(6) NOT A MAJOR FEDERAL ACTION.—Des15 ignation of a Corridor under this subsection, and in16 corporation of Corridors into agency plans under 

17 paragraph (1)(B), shall not be treated as a major 

18 Federal action for purpose of section 102 of the Na19 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

20 4332). 

21 ‘‘(7) NO LIMIT ON NUMBER OR LENGTH OF

22 CORRIDORS.—Nothing in this subsection limits the 

23 number or physical dimensions of Corridors that the 

24 Secretary may designate under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(8) OTHER AUTHORITY NOT AFFECTED.— 

2 Nothing in this subsection affects the authority of 

3 the Secretary to issue rights-of-way on Federal land 

4 that is not located in a Corridor designated under 

5 this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(9) NEPA CLARIFICATION.—All applications 

7 for rights-of-way for natural gas transmission facili8 ties across Corridors designated under this sub9 section shall be subject to the environmental protec10 tions outlined in subsection (h).’’. 

11 (b) APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BEFORE DESIGNATION

12 OF CORRIDORS.—Any application for a right-of-way under 

13 section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185) 

14 that is received by the Secretary of the Interior before des15 ignation of National Energy Security Corridors under the 

16 amendment made by subsection (a) of this section shall 

17 be reviewed and acted upon independently by the Sec18 retary without regard to the process for such designation. 

19 (c) DEADLINE.—Within 2 years after the date of the 

20 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall 

21 designate at least 10 National Energy Security Corridors 

22 under the amendment made by subsection (a) in States 

23 referred to in section 368(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 

24 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15926(b)). 


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1 SEC. 1116. VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY INSPEC2 TION, AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE 

3 ON FEDERAL LANDS CONTAINING ELECTRIC 

4 TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION FACILI5 TIES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Federal Land Pol7 icy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761 et seq.) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 512. VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY INSPEC10 TION, AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE 

11 RELATING TO ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION AND 

12 DISTRIBUTION FACILITY RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 

13 ‘‘(a) GENERAL DIRECTION.—In order to enhance the 

14 reliability of the electric grid and reduce the threat of 

15 wildfires to and from electric transmission and distribu16 tion rights-of-way and related facilities and adjacent prop17 erty, the Secretary, with respect to public lands and other 

18 lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, and the Sec19 retary of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest Sys20 tem lands, shall provide direction to ensure that all exist21 ing and future rights-of-way, however established (includ22 ing by grant, special use authorization, and easement), for 

23 electric transmission and distribution facilities on such 

24 lands include provisions for utility vegetation manage25 ment, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance 

26 activities that, while consistent with applicable law— 


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1 ‘‘(1) are developed in consultation with the 

2 holder of the right-of-way; 

3 ‘‘(2) enable the owner or operator of an electric 

4 transmission and distribution facility to operate and 

5 maintain the facility in good working order and to 

6 comply with Federal, State, and local electric system 

7 reliability and fire safety requirements, including re8 liability standards established by the North Amer9 ican Electric Reliability Corporation and plans to 

10 meet such reliability standards; 

11 ‘‘(3) minimize the need for case-by-case or an12 nual approvals for— 

13 ‘‘(A) routine vegetation management, facil14 ity inspection, and operation and maintenance 

15 activities within existing electric transmission 

16 and distribution rights-of-way; and 

17 ‘‘(B) utility vegetation management activi18 ties that are necessary to control hazard trees 

19 within or adjacent to electric transmission and 

20 distribution rights-of-way; and 

21 ‘‘(4) when review is required, provide for expe22 dited review and approval of utility vegetation man23 agement, facility inspection, and operation and 

24 maintenance activities, especially activities requiring 


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1 prompt action to avoid an adverse impact on human 

2 safety or electric reliability to avoid fire hazards. 

3 ‘‘(b) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY INSPEC4 TION, AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE PLANS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT AND SUBMISSION.—Con6 sistent with subsection (a), the Secretary and the 

7 Secretary of Agriculture shall provide owners and 

8 operators of electric transmission and distribution 

9 facilities located on lands described in such sub10 section with the option to develop and submit a 

11 vegetation management, facility inspection, and op12 eration and maintenance plan, that at each owner or 

13 operator’s discretion may cover some or all of the 

14 owner or operator’s electric transmission and dis15 tribution rights-of-way on Federal lands, for ap16 proval to the Secretary with jurisdiction over the 

17 lands. A plan under this paragraph shall enable the 

18 owner or operator of an electric transmission and 

19 distribution facility, at a minimum, to comply with 

20 applicable Federal, State, and local electric system 

21 reliability and fire safety requirements, as provided 

22 in subsection (a)(2). The Secretaries shall not have 

23 the authority to modify those requirements. 

24 ‘‘(2) REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS.—The 

25 Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall 


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1 jointly develop a consolidated and coordinated proc2 ess for review and approval of— 

3 ‘‘(A) vegetation management, facility in4 spection, and operation and maintenance plans 

5 submitted under paragraph (1) that— 

6 ‘‘(i) assures prompt review and ap7 proval not to exceed 90 days; 

8 ‘‘(ii) includes timelines and bench9 marks for agency comments on submitted 

10 plans and final approval of such plans; 

11 ‘‘(iii) is consistent with applicable law; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(iv) minimizes the costs of the proc14 ess to the reviewing agency and the entity 

15 submitting the plans; and 

16 ‘‘(B) amendments to the plans in a prompt 

17 manner if changed conditions necessitate a 

18 modification to a plan. 

19 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION.—The review and approval 

20 process under paragraph (2) shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) include notification by the agency of 

22 any changed conditions that warrant a modi23 fication to a plan; 

24 ‘‘(B) provide an opportunity for the owner 

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1 ment to address directly the changed condition; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(C) allow the owner or operator to con4 tinue to implement those elements of the ap5 proved plan that do not directly and adversely 

6 affect the condition precipitating the need for 

7 modification. 

8 ‘‘(4) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION PROCESS.—The 

9 Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

10 apply his or her categorical exclusion process under 

11 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

12 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to plans developed under this 

13 subsection on existing electric transmission and dis14 tribution rights-of-way under this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION.—A plan approved 

16 under this subsection shall become part of the au17 thorization governing the covered right-of-way and 

18 hazard trees adjacent to the right-of-way. If a vege19 tation management plan is proposed for an existing 

20 electric transmission and distribution facility concur21 rent with the siting of a new electric transmission or 

22 distribution facility, necessary reviews shall be com23 pleted as part of the siting process or sooner. Once 

24 the plan is approved, the owner or operator shall 

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1 ties anticipated to be undertaken in the coming year, 

2 a description of those activities, and certification 

3 that the activities are in accordance with the plan. 

4 ‘‘(c) RESPONSE TO EMERGENCY CONDITIONS.—If 

5 vegetation on Federal lands within, or hazard trees on 

6 Federal lands adjacent to, an electric transmission or dis7 tribution right-of-way granted by the Secretary or the Sec8 retary of Agriculture has contacted or is in imminent dan9 ger of contacting one or more electric transmission or dis10 tribution lines, the owner or operator of the electric trans11 mission or distribution lines— 

12 ‘‘(1) may prune or remove the vegetation to 

13 avoid the disruption of electric service and risk of 

14 fire; and 

15 ‘‘(2) shall notify the appropriate local agent of 

16 the relevant Secretary not later than 24 hours after 

17 such removal. 

18 ‘‘(d) COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE RELIABILITY

19 AND SAFETY STANDARDS.—If vegetation on Federal 

20 lands within or adjacent to an electric transmission or dis21 tribution right-of-way under the jurisdiction of each Sec22 retary does not meet clearance requirements under stand23 ards established by the North American Electric Reli24 ability Corporation, or by State and local authorities, and 

25 the Secretary having jurisdiction over the lands has failed 


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1 to act to allow an electric transmission or distribution fa2 cility owner or operator to conduct vegetation manage3 ment activities within 3 business days after receiving a 

4 request to allow such activities, the owner or operator 

5 may, after notifying the Secretary, conduct such vegeta6 tion management activities to meet those clearance re7 quirements. 

8 ‘‘(e) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary or 

9 Secretary of Agriculture shall report requests and actions 

10 made under subsections (c) and (d) annually on each Sec11 retary’s website. 

12 ‘‘(f) LIABILITY.—An owner or operator of an electric 

13 transmission or distribution facility shall not be held liable 

14 for wildfire damage, loss, or injury, including the cost of 

15 fire suppression, if— 

16 ‘‘(1) the Secretary or the Secretary of Agri17 culture fails to allow the owner or operator to oper18 ate consistently with an approved vegetation man19 agement, facility inspection, and operation and 

20 maintenance plan on Federal lands under the rel21 evant Secretary’s jurisdiction within or adjacent to 

22 a right-of-way to comply with Federal, State, or 

23 local electric system reliability and fire safety stand24 ards, including standards established by the North 

25 American Electric Reliability Corporation; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) the Secretary or the Secretary of Agri2 culture fails to allow the owner or operator of the 

3 electric transmission or distribution facility to per4 form appropriate vegetation management activities 

5 in response to an identified hazard tree, or a tree in 

6 imminent danger of contacting the owner’s or opera7 tor’s electric transmission or distribution facility. 

8 ‘‘(g) TRAINING AND GUIDANCE.—In consultation 

9 with the electric utility industry, the Secretary and the 

10 Secretary of Agriculture are encouraged to develop a pro11 gram to train personnel of the Department of the Interior 

12 and the Forest Service involved in vegetation management 

13 decisions relating to electric transmission and distribution 

14 facilities to ensure that such personnel— 

15 ‘‘(1) understand electric system reliability and 

16 fire safety requirements, including reliability stand17 ards established by the North American Electric Re18 liability Corporation; 

19 ‘‘(2) assist owners and operators of electric 

20 transmission and distribution facilities to comply 

21 with applicable electric reliability and fire safety re22 quirements; and 

23 ‘‘(3) encourage and assist willing owners and 

24 operators of electric transmission and distribution 

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1 tion management practices to enhance habitats and 

2 forage for pollinators and for other wildlife so long 

3 as the practices are compatible with the integrated 

4 vegetation management practices necessary for reli5 ability and safety. 

6 ‘‘(h) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary and the Sec7 retary of Agriculture shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) not later than one year after the date of 

9 the enactment of this section, propose regulations, or 

10 amended existing regulations, to implement this sec11 tion; and 

12 ‘‘(2) not later than two years after the date of 

13 the enactment of this section, finalize regulations, or 

14 amended existing regulations, to implement this sec15 tion. 

16 ‘‘(i) EXISTING VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACIL17 ITY INSPECTION, AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

18 PLANS.—Nothing in this section requires an owner or op19 erator to develop and submit a vegetation management, 

20 facility inspection, and operation and maintenance plan if 

21 one has already been approved by the Secretary or Sec22 retary of Agriculture before the date of the enactment of 

23 this section. 

24 ‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) HAZARD TREE.—The term ‘hazard tree’ 

2 means any tree inside the right-of-way or located 

3 outside the right-of-way that has been found by the 

4 either the owner or operator of an electric trans5 mission or distribution facility, or the Secretary or 

6 the Secretary of Agriculture, to be likely to fail and 

7 cause a high risk of injury, damage, or disruption 

8 within 10 feet of an electric power line or related 

9 structure if it fell. 

10 ‘‘(2) OWNER OR OPERATOR.—The terms 

11 ‘owner’ and ‘operator’ include contractors or other 

12 agents engaged by the owner or operator of an elec13 tric transmission and distribution facility. 

14 ‘‘(3) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY IN15 SPECTION, AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

16 PLAN.—The term ‘vegetation management, facility 

17 inspection, and operation and maintenance plan’ 

18 means a plan that— 

19 ‘‘(A) is prepared by the owner or operator 

20 of one or more electric transmission or distribu21 tion facilities to cover one or more electric 

22 transmission and distribution rights-of-way; and 

23 ‘‘(B) provides for the long-term, cost-effec24 tive, efficient, and timely management of facili25 ties and vegetation within the width of the 


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1 right-of-way and adjacent Federal lands to en2 hance electric reliability, promote public safety, 

3 and avoid fire hazards.’’. 

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

5 for the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

6 (43 U.S.C. 1761 et seq.), is amended by inserting after 

7 the item relating to section 511 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 512. Vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance relating to electric transmission and distribution facility rights-of-way.’’. 

8 Subtitle B—Hydropower 

9 Regulatory Modernization 

10 SEC. 1201. PROTECTION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS IN 

11 HYDROPOWER LICENSING. 

12 (a) LICENCES.—Section 4(e) of the Federal Power 

13 Act (16 U.S.C. 797(e)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘recreational oppor15 tunities,’’; and 

16 (2) by inserting ‘‘, and minimizing infringement 

17 on the useful exercise and enjoyment of property 

18 rights held by nonlicensees’’ after ‘‘aspects of envi19 ronmental quality’’. 

20 (b) PRIVATE LANDOWNERSHIP.—Section 10 of the 

21 Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 803) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘, includ23 ing minimizing infringement on the useful exercise 


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1 and enjoyment of property rights held by non2 licensees’’ after ‘‘section 4(e)’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(k) PRIVATE LANDOWNERSHIP.—In developing any 

5 recreational resource within the project boundary, the li6 censee shall consider private landownership as a means to 

7 encourage and facilitate— 

8 ‘‘(1) private investment; and 

9 ‘‘(2) increased tourism and recreational use.’’. 

10 SEC. 1202. EXTENSION OF TIME FOR FERC PROJECT IN11 VOLVING W. KERR SCOTT DAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the time period 

13 specified in section 13 of the Federal Power Act (16 

14 U.S.C. 806) that would otherwise apply to the Federal En15 ergy Regulatory Commission project numbered 12642, the 

16 Commission may, at the request of the licensee for the 

17 project, and after reasonable notice, in accordance with 

18 the good faith, due diligence, and public interest require19 ments of that section and the Commission’s procedures 

20 under that section, extend the time period during which 

21 the licensee is required to commence the construction of 

22 the project for up to 3 consecutive 2-year periods from 

23 the date of the expiration of the extension originally issued 

24 by the Commission. 


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1 (b) REINSTATEMENT OF EXPIRED LICENSE.—If the 

2 period required for commencement of construction of the 

3 project described in subsection (a) has expired prior to the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission may 

5 reinstate the license effective as of the date of its expira6 tion and the first extension authorized under subsection 

7 (a) shall take effect on the date of such expiration. 

8 SEC. 1203. HYDROPOWER LICENSING AND PROCESS IM9 PROVEMENTS. 

10 Part I of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et 

11 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 34. HYDROPOWER LICENSING AND PROCESS IM13 PROVEMENTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘Federal 

15 authorization’— 

16 ‘‘(1) means any authorization required under 

17 Federal law with respect to an application for a li18 cense, license amendment, or exemption under this 

19 part; and 

20 ‘‘(2) includes any permits, special use author21 izations, certifications, opinions, or other approvals 

22 as may be required under Federal law to approve or 

23 implement the license, license amendment, or exemp24 tion under this part. 

25 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION AS LEAD AGENCY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall act 

2 as the lead agency for the purposes of coordinating 

3 all applicable Federal authorizations and for the 

4 purposes of complying with the National Environ5 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

6 ‘‘(2) OTHER AGENCIES AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal, State, 

8 and local government agency and Indian tribe 

9 considering an aspect of an application for Fed10 eral authorization shall coordinate with the 

11 Commission and comply with the deadline es12 tablished in the schedule developed for the 

13 project in accordance with the rule issued by 

14 the Commission under subsection (c). 

15 ‘‘(B) IDENTIFICATION.—The Commission 

16 shall identify, as early as practicable after it is 

17 notified by the applicant of a project or facility 

18 requiring Commission action under this part, 

19 any Federal or State agency, local government, 

20 or Indian tribe that may consider an aspect of 

21 an application for a Federal authorization. 

22 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

24 shall notify any agency and Indian tribe 

25 identified under subparagraph (B) of the 


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1 opportunity to participate in the process of 

2 reviewing an aspect of an application for a 

3 Federal authorization. 

4 ‘‘(ii) DEADLINE.—Each agency and 

5 Indian tribe receiving a notice under clause 

6 (i) shall submit a response acknowledging 

7 receipt of the notice to the Commission 

8 within 30 days of receipt of such notice 

9 and request. 

10 ‘‘(D) ISSUE IDENTIFICATION AND RESOLU11 TION.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IDENTIFICATION OF ISSUES.— 

13 Federal, State, and local government agen14 cies and Indian tribes that may consider 

15 an aspect of an application for Federal au16 thorization shall identify, as early as pos17 sible, and share with the Commission and 

18 the applicant, any issues of concern identi19 fied during the pendency of the Commis20 sion’s action under this part relating to 

21 any Federal authorization that may delay 

22 or prevent the granting of such authoriza23 tion, including any issues that may prevent 

24 the agency or Indian tribe from meeting 

25 the schedule established for the project in 


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1 accordance with the rule issued by the 

2 Commission under subsection (c). 

3 ‘‘(ii) ISSUE RESOLUTION.—The Com4 mission may forward any issue of concern 

5 identified under clause (i) to the heads of 

6 the relevant State and Federal agencies 

7 (including, in the case of scheduling con8 cerns identified by a State or local govern9 ment agency or Indian tribe, the Federal 

10 agency overseeing the delegated authority, 

11 or the Secretary of the Interior with re12 gard to scheduling concerns identified by 

13 an Indian tribe) for resolution. The Com14 mission and any relevant agency shall 

15 enter into a memorandum of under16 standing to facilitate interagency coordina17 tion and resolution of such issues of con18 cern, as appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(c) SCHEDULE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION RULEMAKING TO ESTABLISH

21 PROCESS TO SET SCHEDULE.—Within 180 days of 

22 the date of enactment of this section the Commis23 sion shall, in consultation with the appropriate Fed24 eral agencies, issue a rule, after providing for notice 

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1 ting a schedule following the filing of an application 

2 under this part for the review and disposition of 

3 each Federal authorization. 

4 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS OF SCHEDULING RULE.—In 

5 issuing a rule under this subsection, the Commission 

6 shall ensure that the schedule for each Federal au7 thorization— 

8 ‘‘(A) includes deadlines for actions by— 

9 ‘‘(i) any Federal or State agency, local 

10 government, or Indian tribe that may con11 sider an aspect of an application for the 

12 Federal authorization; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the applicant; 

14 ‘‘(iii) the Commission; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) other participants in a pro16 ceeding; 

17 ‘‘(B) is developed in consultation with the 

18 applicant and any agency and Indian tribe that 

19 submits a response under subsection 

20 (b)(2)(C)(ii); 

21 ‘‘(C) provides an opportunity for any Fed22 eral or State agency, local government, or In23 dian tribe that may consider an aspect of an 

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1 tion to identify and resolve issues of concern, as 

2 provided in subsection (b)(2)(D); 

3 ‘‘(D) complies with applicable schedules es4 tablished under Federal and State law; 

5 ‘‘(E) ensures expeditious completion of all 

6 proceedings required under Federal and State 

7 law, to the extent practicable; and 

8 ‘‘(F) facilitates completion of Federal and 

9 State agency studies, reviews, and any other 

10 procedures required prior to, or concurrent 

11 with, the preparation of the Commission’s envi12 ronmental document required under the Na13 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

14 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

15 ‘‘(d) TRANSMISSION OF FINAL SCHEDULE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each application for a 

17 license, license amendment, or exemption under this 

18 part, the Commission shall establish a schedule in 

19 accordance with the rule issued by the Commission 

20 under subsection (c). The Commission shall publicly 

21 notice and transmit the final schedule to the appli22 cant and each agency and Indian tribe identified 

23 under subsection (b)(2)(B). 

24 ‘‘(2) RESPONSE.—Each agency and Indian 

25 tribe receiving a schedule under this subsection shall 


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1 acknowledge receipt of such schedule in writing to 

2 the Commission within 30 days. 

3 ‘‘(e) ADHERENCE TO SCHEDULE.—All applicants, 

4 other licensing participants, and agencies and tribes con5 sidering an aspect of an application for a Federal author6 ization shall meet the deadlines set forth in the schedule 

7 established pursuant to subsection (d)(1). 

8 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION PROCESSING.—The Commission, 

9 Federal, State, and local government agencies, and Indian 

10 tribes may allow an applicant seeking a Federal authoriza11 tion to fund a third-party contractor selected by such 

12 agency or tribe to assist in reviewing the application. All 

13 costs of an agency or tribe incurred pursuant to direct 

14 funding by the applicant, including all costs associated 

15 with the third party contractor, shall not be considered 

16 costs of the United States for the administration of this 

17 part under section 10(e). 

18 ‘‘(g) COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION ON SCOPE OF

19 ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—For the purposes of coordi20 nating Federal authorizations for each project, the Com21 mission shall consult with and make a recommendation 

22 to agencies and Indian tribes receiving a schedule under 

23 subsection (d) on the scope of the environmental review 

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1 sideration and may give deference to the Commission’s 

2 recommendations, to the extent appropriate under Federal 

3 law. 

4 ‘‘(h) FAILURE TO MEET SCHEDULE.—A Federal, 

5 State, or local government agency or Indian tribe that an6 ticipates that it will be unable to complete its disposition 

7 of a Federal authorization by the deadline set forth in the 

8 schedule established under subsection (d)(1) may file for 

9 an extension as provided under section 313(b)(2). 

10 ‘‘(i) CONSOLIDATED RECORD.—The Commission 

11 shall, with the cooperation of Federal, State, and local 

12 government agencies and Indian tribes, maintain a com13 plete consolidated record of all decisions made or actions 

14 taken by the Commission or by a Federal administrative 

15 agency or officer (or State or local government agency or 

16 officer or Indian tribe acting under delegated Federal au17 thority) with respect to any Federal authorization. Such 

18 record shall constitute the record for judicial review under 

19 section 313(b).’’. 

20 SEC. 1204. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF DELAYED FEDERAL AU21 THORIZATIONS. 

22 Section 313(b) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

23 825l(b)) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘(b) Any party’’ and inserting 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any party’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(2) DELAY OF A FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION.— 

5 Any Federal, State, or local government agency or 

6 Indian tribe that will not complete its disposition of 

7 a Federal authorization by the deadline set forth in 

8 the schedule by the Commission under section 34 

9 may file for an extension in the United States court 

10 of appeals for any circuit wherein the project or pro11 posed project is located, or in the United States 

12 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Such 

13 petition shall be filed not later than 30 days prior 

14 to such deadline. The court shall only grant an ex15 tension if the agency or tribe demonstrates, based on 

16 the record maintained under section 34, that it oth17 erwise complied with the requirements of section 34 

18 and that complying with the schedule set by the 

19 Commission would have prevented the agency or 

20 tribe from complying with applicable Federal or 

21 State law. If the court grants the extension, the 

22 court shall set a reasonable schedule and deadline, 

23 not to exceed 90 days, for the agency to act on re24 mand. If the court denies the extension, or if an 

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1 vided in this subsection and does not complete its 

2 disposition of a Federal authorization by the applica3 ble deadline, the Commission and applicant may 

4 move forward with the proposed action.’’. 

5 SEC. 1205. LICENSING STUDY IMPROVEMENTS. 

6 Part I of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et 

7 seq.), as amended by section 1203, is further amended by 

8 adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 35. LICENSING STUDY IMPROVEMENTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To facilitate the timely and effi11 cient completion of the license proceedings under this part, 

12 the Commission shall, in consultation with applicable Fed13 eral and State agencies and interested members of the 

14 public— 

15 ‘‘(1) compile current and accepted best prac16 tices in performing studies required in such license 

17 proceedings, including methodologies and the design 

18 of studies to assess the full range of environmental 

19 impacts of a project that reflect the most recent 

20 peer-reviewed science; 

21 ‘‘(2) compile a comprehensive collection of stud22 ies and data accessible to the public that could be 

23 used to inform license proceedings under this part; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(3) encourage license applicants, agencies, and 

2 Indian tribes to develop and use, for the purpose of 

3 fostering timely and efficient consideration of license 

4 applications, a limited number of open-source meth5 odologies and tools applicable across a wide array of 

6 projects, including water balance models and 

7 streamflow analyses. 

8 ‘‘(b) USE OF STUDIES.—To the extent practicable, 

9 the Commission and other Federal, State, and local gov10 ernment agencies and Indian tribes considering an aspect 

11 of an application for Federal authorization shall use cur12 rent, accepted science toward studies and data in support 

13 of their actions. Any participant in a proceeding with re14 spect to a Federal authorization shall demonstrate a study 

15 requested by the party is not duplicative of current, exist16 ing studies that are applicable to the project. 

17 ‘‘(c) BASIN-WIDE OR REGIONAL REVIEW.—The 

18 Commission shall establish a program to develop com19 prehensive plans, at the request of project applicants, on 

20 a regional or basin-wide scale, in consultation with the ap21 plicants, appropriate Federal agencies, and affected 

22 States, local governments, and Indian tribes, in basins or 

23 regions with respect to which there are more than one 

24 project or application for a project. Upon such a request, 

25 the Commission, in consultation with the applicants, such 


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1 Federal agencies, and affected States, local governments, 

2 and Indian tribes, may conduct or commission regional or 

3 basin-wide environmental studies, with the participation of 

4 at least 2 applicants. Any study conducted under this sub5 section shall apply only to a project with respect to which 

6 the applicant participates.’’. 

7 SEC. 1206. CLOSED-LOOP PUMPED STORAGE PROJECTS. 

8 Part I of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et 

9 seq.), as amended by section 1205, is further amended by 

10 adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 36. CLOSED-LOOP PUMPED STORAGE PROJECTS. 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, a 

13 closed-loop pumped storage project is a project— 

14 ‘‘(1) in which the upper and lower reservoirs do 

15 not impound or directly withdraw water from navi16 gable waters; or 

17 ‘‘(2) that is not continuously connected to a 

18 naturally flowing water feature. 

19 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—As provided in this section, the 

20 Commission may issue and amend licenses and prelimi21 nary permits, as appropriate, for closed-loop pumped stor22 age projects. 

23 ‘‘(c) DAM SAFETY.—Before issuing any license for a 

24 closed-loop pumped storage project, the Commission shall 

25 assess the safety of existing dams and other structures 


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1 related to the project (including possible consequences as2 sociated with failure of such structures). 

3 ‘‘(d) LICENSE CONDITIONS.—With respect to a 

4 closed-loop pumped storage project, the authority of the 

5 Commission to impose conditions on a license under sec6 tions 4(e), 10(a), 10(g), and 10(j) shall not apply, and 

7 any condition included in or applicable to a closed-loop 

8 pumped storage project licensed under this section, includ9 ing any condition or other requirement of a Federal au10 thorization, shall be limited to those that are— 

11 ‘‘(1) necessary to protect public safety; or 

12 ‘‘(2) reasonable, economically feasible, and es13 sential to prevent loss of or damage to, or to miti14 gate adverse effects on, fish and wildlife resources 

15 directly caused by the construction and operation of 

16 the project, as compared to the environmental base17 line existing at the time the Commission completes 

18 its environmental review. 

19 ‘‘(e) TRANSFERS.—Notwithstanding section 5, and 

20 regardless of whether the holder of a preliminary permit 

21 for a closed-loop pumped storage project claimed munic22 ipal preference under section 7(a) when obtaining the per23 mit, the Commission may, to facilitate development of a 

24 closed-loop pumped storage project— 


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1 ‘‘(1) add entities as joint permittees following 

2 issuance of a preliminary permit; and 

3 ‘‘(2) transfer a license in part to one or more 

4 nonmunicipal entities as co-licensees with a munici5 pality.’’. 

6 SEC. 1207. LICENSE AMENDMENT IMPROVEMENTS. 

7 Part I of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et 

8 seq.), as amended by section 1206, is further amended by 

9 adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 37. LICENSE AMENDMENT IMPROVEMENTS. 

11 ‘‘(a) QUALIFYING PROJECT UPGRADES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As provided in this section, 

13 the Commission may approve an application for an 

14 amendment to a license issued under this part for a 

15 qualifying project upgrade. 

16 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—A licensee filing an appli17 cation for an amendment to a project license under 

18 this section shall include in such application infor19 mation sufficient to demonstrate that the proposed 

20 change to the project described in the application is 

21 a qualifying project upgrade. 

22 ‘‘(3) INITIAL DETERMINATION.—Not later than 

23 15 days after receipt of an application under para24 graph (2), the Commission shall make an initial de25 termination as to whether the proposed change to 


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1 the project described in the application for a license 

2 amendment is a qualifying project upgrade. The 

3 Commission shall publish its initial determination 

4 and issue notice of the application filed under para5 graph (2). Such notice shall solicit public comment 

6 on the initial determination within 45 days. 

7 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC COMMENT ON QUALIFYING CRI8 TERIA.—The Commission shall accept public com9 ment regarding whether a proposed license amend10 ment is for a qualifying project upgrade for a period 

11 of 45 days beginning on the date of publication of 

12 a public notice described in paragraph (3), and 

13 shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) if no entity contests whether the pro15 posed license amendment is for a qualifying 

16 project upgrade during such comment period, 

17 immediately publish a notice stating that the 

18 initial determination has not been contested; or 

19 ‘‘(B) if an entity contests whether the pro20 posed license amendment is for a qualifying 

21 project upgrade during the comment period, 

22 issue a written determination in accordance 

23 with paragraph (5). 

24 ‘‘(5) WRITTEN DETERMINATION.—If an entity 

25 contests whether the proposed license amendment is 


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1 for a qualifying project upgrade during the comment 

2 period under paragraph (4), the Commission shall, 

3 not later than 30 days after the date of publication 

4 of the public notice of the initial determination 

5 under paragraph (3), issue a written determination 

6 as to whether the proposed license amendment is for 

7 a qualifying project upgrade. 

8 ‘‘(6) PUBLIC COMMENT ON AMENDMENT APPLI9 CATION.—If no entity contests whether the proposed 

10 license amendment is for a qualifying project up11 grade during the comment period under paragraph 

12 (4) or the Commission issues a written determina13 tion under paragraph (5) that a proposed license 

14 amendment is a qualifying project upgrade, the 

15 Commission shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) during the 60-day period beginning 

17 on the date of publication of a notice under 

18 paragraph (4)(A) or the date on which the 

19 Commission issues the written determination 

20 under paragraph (5), as applicable, solicit com21 ments from each Federal, State, and local gov22 ernment agency and Indian tribe considering an 

23 aspect of an application for Federal authoriza24 tion (as defined in section 34) with respect to 

25 the proposed license amendment, as well as 


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1 other interested agencies, Indian tribes, and 

2 members of the public; and 

3 ‘‘(B) during the 90-day period beginning 

4 on the date of publication of a notice under 

5 paragraph (4)(A) or the date on which the 

6 Commission issues the written determination 

7 under paragraph (5), as applicable, consult 

8 with— 

9 ‘‘(i) appropriate Federal agencies and 

10 the State agency exercising administrative 

11 control over the fish and wildlife resources, 

12 and water quality and supply, of the State 

13 in which the qualifying project upgrade is 

14 located; 

15 ‘‘(ii) any Federal department super16 vising any public lands or reservations oc17 cupied by the qualifying project upgrade; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(iii) any Indian tribe affected by the 

20 qualifying project upgrade. 

21 ‘‘(7) FEDERAL AUTHORIZATIONS.—The sched22 ule established by the Commission under section 34 

23 for any project upgrade under this subsection shall 

24 require final disposition on all necessary Federal au25 thorizations (as defined in section 34), other than 


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1 final action by the Commission, by not later than 

2 120 days after the date on which the Commission 

3 issues a notice under paragraph (4)(A) or a written 

4 determination under paragraph (5), as applicable. 

5 ‘‘(8) COMMISSION ACTION.—Not later than 150 

6 days after the date on which the Commission issues 

7 a notice under paragraph (4)(A) or a written deter8 mination under paragraph (5), as applicable, the 

9 Commission shall take final action on the license 

10 amendment application. 

11 ‘‘(9) LICENSE AMENDMENT CONDITIONS.—Any 

12 condition included in or applicable to a license 

13 amendment approved under this subsection, includ14 ing any condition or other requirement of a Federal 

15 authorization, shall be limited to those that are— 

16 ‘‘(A) necessary to protect public safety; or 

17 ‘‘(B) reasonable, economically feasible, and 

18 essential to prevent loss of or damage to, or to 

19 mitigate adverse effects on, fish and wildlife re20 sources, water supply, and water quality that 

21 are directly caused by the construction and op22 eration of the qualifying project upgrade, as 

23 compared to the environmental baseline existing 

24 at the time the Commission approves the appli25 cation for the license amendment. 


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1 ‘‘(10) PROPOSED LICENSE AMENDMENTS THAT

2 ARE NOT QUALIFYING PROJECT UPGRADES.—If the 

3 Commission determines under paragraph (3) or (5) 

4 that a proposed license amendment is not for a 

5 qualifying project upgrade, the procedures under 

6 paragraphs (6) through (9) shall not apply to the 

7 application. 

8 ‘‘(11) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 180 days 

9 after the date of enactment of this section, the Com10 mission shall, after notice and opportunity for public 

11 comment, issue a rule to implement this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(12) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(A) QUALIFYING PROJECT UPGRADE.— 

15 The term ‘qualifying project upgrade’ means a 

16 change to a project licensed under this part 

17 that meets the qualifying criteria, as deter18 mined by the Commission. 

19 ‘‘(B) QUALIFYING CRITERIA.—The term 

20 ‘qualifying criteria’ means, with respect to a 

21 project license under this part, a change to the 

22 project that— 

23 ‘‘(i) if carried out, would be unlikely 

24 to adversely affect any species listed as 

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1 dangered Species Act of 1973 or result in 

2 the destruction or adverse modification of 

3 critical habitat, as determined in consulta4 tion with the Secretary of the Interior or 

5 Secretary of Commerce, as appropriate, in 

6 accordance with section 7 of the Endan7 gered Species Act of 1973; 

8 ‘‘(ii) is consistent with any applicable 

9 comprehensive plan under section 10(a)(2); 

10 ‘‘(iii) includes only changes to project 

11 lands, waters, or operations that, in the 

12 judgment of the Commission, would result 

13 in only insignificant or minimal cumulative 

14 adverse environmental effects; 

15 ‘‘(iv) would be unlikely to adversely 

16 affect water quality and water supply; and 

17 ‘‘(v) proposes to implement— 

18 ‘‘(I) capacity increases, efficiency 

19 improvements, or other enhancements 

20 to hydropower generation at the li21 censed project; 

22 ‘‘(II) environmental protection, 

23 mitigation, or enhancement measures 

24 to benefit fish and wildlife resources 


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1 or other natural and cultural re2 sources; or 

3 ‘‘(III) improvements to public 

4 recreation at the licensed project. 

5 ‘‘(b) AMENDMENT APPROVAL PROCESSES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) RULE.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of enactment of this section, the Commission 

8 shall, after notice and opportunity for public com9 ment, issue a rule establishing new standards and 

10 procedures for license amendment applications under 

11 this part. In issuing such rule, the Commission shall 

12 seek to develop the most efficient and expedient 

13 process, consultation, and review requirements, com14 mensurate with the scope of different categories of 

15 proposed license amendments. Such rule shall ac16 count for differences in environmental effects across 

17 a wide range of categories of license amendment ap18 plications. 

19 ‘‘(2) CAPACITY.—In issuing a rule under this 

20 subsection, the Commission shall take into consider21 ation that a change in generating or hydraulic ca22 pacity may indicate the potential environmental ef23 fects of a proposed amendment but is not determina24 tive of such effects. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PROCESS OPTIONS.—In issuing a rule 

2 under this subsection, the Commission shall take 

3 into consideration the range of process options avail4 able under the Commission’s regulations for new 

5 and original license applications and adapt such op6 tions to amendment applications, where appro7 priate.’’. 

8 SEC. 1208. PROMOTING HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT AT 

9 EXISTING NONPOWERED DAMS. 

10 Part I of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et 

11 seq.), as amended by section 1207, is further amended by 

12 adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 38. PROMOTING HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT AT 

14 EXISTING NONPOWERED DAMS. 

15 ‘‘(a) EXEMPTIONS FOR QUALIFYING FACILITIES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) EXEMPTION QUALIFICATIONS.—Subject to 

17 the requirements of this subsection, the Commission 

18 may grant an exemption in whole or in part from 

19 the requirements of this part, including any license 

20 requirements contained in this part, to any facility 

21 the Commission determines is a qualifying facility. 

22 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION WITH FEDERAL AND

23 STATE AGENCIES.—In granting any exemption under 

24 this subsection, the Commission shall consult with— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

2 Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, 

3 and the State agency exercising administrative 

4 control over the fish and wildlife resources of 

5 the State in which the facility will be located, 

6 in the manner provided by the Fish and Wild7 life Coordination Act; 

8 ‘‘(B) any Federal department supervising 

9 any public lands or reservations occupied by the 

10 project; and 

11 ‘‘(C) any Indian tribe affected by the 

12 project. 

13 ‘‘(3) EXEMPTION CONDITIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

15 include in any exemption granted under this 

16 subsection only such terms and conditions that 

17 the Commission determines are— 

18 ‘‘(i) necessary to protect public safety; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(ii) reasonable, economically feasible, 

21 and essential to prevent loss of or damage 

22 to, or to mitigate adverse effects on, fish 

23 and wildlife resources directly caused by 

24 the construction and operation of the 

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1 ronmental baseline existing at the time the 

2 Commission grants the exemption. 

3 ‘‘(B) NO CHANGES TO RELEASE RE4 GIME.—No Federal authorization required with 

5 respect to a qualifying facility described in 

6 paragraph (1), including an exemption granted 

7 by the Commission under this subsection, may 

8 include any condition or other requirement that 

9 results in any material change to the storage, 

10 control, withdrawal, diversion, release, or flow 

11 operations of the associated qualifying nonpow12 ered dam. 

13 ‘‘(4) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—The Commis14 sion’s environmental review under the National En15 vironmental Policy Act of 1969 of a proposed ex16 emption under this subsection shall consist only of 

17 an environmental assessment, unless the Commis18 sion determines, by rule or order, that the Commis19 sion’s obligations under such Act for granting ex20 emptions under this subsection can be met through 

21 a categorical exclusion. 

22 ‘‘(5) VIOLATION OF TERMS OF EXEMPTION.— 

23 Any violation of a term or condition of any exemp24 tion granted under this subsection shall be treated 


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1 as a violation of a rule or order of the Commission 

2 under this Act. 

3 ‘‘(6) ANNUAL CHARGES FOR ENHANCEMENT

4 ACTIVITIES.—Exemptees under this subsection for 

5 any facility located at a non-Federal dam shall pay 

6 to the United States reasonable annual charges in 

7 an amount to be fixed by the Commission for the 

8 purpose of funding environmental enhancement 

9 projects in watersheds in which facilities exempted 

10 under this subsection are located. Such annual 

11 charges shall be equivalent to the annual charges for 

12 use of a Government dam under section 10(e), un13 less the Commission determines, by rule, that a 

14 lower charge is appropriate to protect exemptees’ in15 vestment in the project or avoid increasing the price 

16 to consumers of power due to such charges. The pro17 ceeds of charges made by the Commission under this 

18 paragraph shall be paid into the Treasury of the 

19 United States and credited to miscellaneous receipts. 

20 Subject to annual appropriation Acts, such proceeds 

21 shall be available to Federal and State fish and wild22 life agencies for purposes of carrying out specific en23 vironmental enhancement projects in watersheds in 

24 which one or more facilities exempted under this 

25 subsection are located. Not later than 180 days after 


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1 the date of enactment of this section, the Commis2 sion shall establish rules, after notice and oppor3 tunity for public comment, for the collection and ad4 ministration of annual charges under this para5 graph. 

6 ‘‘(7) EFFECT OF JURISDICTION.—The jurisdic7 tion of the Commission over any qualifying facility 

8 exempted under this subsection shall extend only to 

9 the qualifying facility exempted and any associated 

10 primary transmission line, and shall not extend to 

11 any conduit, dam, impoundment, shoreline or other 

12 land, or any other project work associated with the 

13 qualifying facility exempted under this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

15 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION.—The term 

16 ‘Federal authorization’ has the same meaning as 

17 provided in section 34. 

18 ‘‘(2) QUALIFYING CRITERIA.—The term ‘quali19 fying criteria’ means, with respect to a facility— 

20 ‘‘(A) as of the date of enactment of this 

21 section, the facility is not licensed under, or ex22 empted from the license requirements contained 

23 in, this part; 

24 ‘‘(B) the facility will be associated with a 

25 qualifying nonpowered dam; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the facility will be constructed, oper2 ated, and maintained for the generation of elec3 tric power; 

4 ‘‘(D) the facility will use for such genera5 tion any withdrawals, diversions, releases, or 

6 flows from the associated qualifying nonpow7 ered dam, including its associated impoundment 

8 or other infrastructure; and 

9 ‘‘(E) the operation of the facility will not 

10 result in any material change to the storage, 

11 control, withdrawal, diversion, release, or flow 

12 operations of the associated qualifying nonpow13 ered dam. 

14 ‘‘(3) QUALIFYING FACILITY.—The term ‘quali15 fying facility’ means a facility that is determined 

16 under this section to meet the qualifying criteria. 

17 ‘‘(4) QUALIFYING NONPOWERED DAM.—The 

18 term ‘qualifying nonpowered dam’ means any dam, 

19 dike, embankment, or other barrier— 

20 ‘‘(A) the construction of which was com21 pleted on or before the date of enactment of 

22 this section; 

23 ‘‘(B) that is operated for the control, re24 lease, or distribution of water for agricultural, 

25 municipal, navigational, industrial, commercial, 


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1 environmental, recreational, aesthetic, or flood 

2 control purposes; 

3 ‘‘(C) that, as of the date of enactment of 

4 this section, is not equipped with hydropower 

5 generating works that are licensed under, or ex6 empted from the license requirements contained 

7 in, this part; and 

8 ‘‘(D) that, in the case of a non-Federal 

9 dam, has been certified by an independent con10 sultant approved by the Commission as com11 plying with the Commission’s dam safety re12 quirements.’’. 

13 TITLE II—ENERGY SECURITY 

14 AND DIPLOMACY 

15 SEC. 2001. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

16 Congress finds the following: 

17 (1) North America’s energy revolution has sig18 nificantly enhanced energy security in the United 

19 States, and fundamentally changed the Nation’s en20 ergy future from that of scarcity to abundance. 

21 (2) North America’s energy abundance has in22 creased global energy supplies and reduced the price 

23 of energy for consumers in the United States and 

24 abroad. 


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1 (3) Allies and trading partners of the United 

2 States, including in Europe and Asia, are seeking 

3 stable and affordable energy supplies from North 

4 America to enhance their energy security. 

5 (4) The United States has an opportunity to 

6 improve its energy security and promote greater sta7 bility and affordability of energy supplies for its al8 lies and trading partners through a more integrated, 

9 secure, and competitive North American energy sys10 tem. 

11 (5) The United States also has an opportunity 

12 to promote such objectives by supporting the free 

13 flow of energy commodities and more open, trans14 parent, and competitive global energy markets, and 

15 through greater Federal agency coordination relating 

16 to regulations or agency actions that significantly af17 fect the supply, distribution, or use of energy. 

18 SEC. 2002. ENERGY SECURITY VALUATION. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ENERGY SECURITY VALU20 ATION METHODS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in col22 laboration with the Secretary of State, shall develop and 

23 transmit, after public notice and comment, to the Com24 mittee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on 

25 Science, Space, and Technology, and the Committee on 


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1 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 

2 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Com3 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and 

4 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a re5 port that develops recommended United States energy se6 curity valuation methods. In developing the report, the 

7 Secretaries may consider the recommendations of the Ad8 ministration’s Quadrennial Energy Review released on 

9 April 21, 2015. The report shall— 

10 (1) evaluate and define United States energy 

11 security to reflect modern domestic and global en12 ergy markets and the collective needs of the United 

13 States and its allies and partners; 

14 (2) identify transparent and uniform or coordi15 nated procedures and criteria to ensure that energy16 related actions that significantly affect the supply, 

17 distribution, transportation, or use of energy are 

18 evaluated with respect to their potential impact on 

19 energy security, including their impact on— 

20 (A) consumers and the economy; 

21 (B) energy supply diversity and resiliency; 

22 (C) well-functioning and competitive en23 ergy markets; 

24 (D) United States trade balance; and 

25 (E) national security objectives; and 


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1 (3) include a recommended implementation 

2 strategy that identifies and aims to ensure that the 

3 procedures and criteria referred to in paragraph (2) 

4 are— 

5 (A) evaluated consistently across the Fed6 eral Government; and 

7 (B) weighed appropriately and balanced 

8 with environmental considerations required by 

9 Federal law. 

10 (b) PARTICIPATION.—In developing the report re11 ferred to in subsection (a), the Secretaries may consult 

12 with relevant Federal, State, private sector, and inter13 national participants, as appropriate and consistent with 

14 applicable law. 

15 SEC. 2003. NORTH AMERICAN ENERGY SECURITY PLAN. 

16 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, 

18 in collaboration with the Secretary of State, shall develop 

19 and transmit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

20 and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

21 Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat22 ural Resources and the Committee on Foreign Relations 

23 of the Senate the plan described in subsection (b). 

24 (b) PURPOSE.—The plan referred to in subsection (a) 

25 shall include— 


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1 (1) a recommended framework and implementa2 tion strategy to— 

3 (A) improve planning and coordination 

4 with Canada and Mexico to enhance energy in5 tegration, strengthen North American energy 

6 security, and promote efficiencies in the explo7 ration, production, storage, supply, distribution, 

8 marketing, pricing, and regulation of North 

9 American energy resources; and 

10 (B) address— 

11 (i) North American energy public 

12 data, statistics, and mapping collaboration; 

13 (ii) responsible and sustainable best 

14 practices for the development of unconven15 tional oil and natural gas; and 

16 (iii) modern, resilient energy infra17 structure for North America, including 

18 physical infrastructure as well as institu19 tional infrastructure such as policies, regu20 lations, and practices relating to energy de21 velopment; and 

22 (2) a recommended framework and implementa23 tion strategy to improve collaboration with Carib24 bean and Central American partners on energy secu25 rity, including actions to support— 


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1 (A) more open, transparent, and competi2 tive energy markets; 

3 (B) regulatory capacity building; 

4 (C) improvements to energy transmission 

5 and storage; and 

6 (D) improvements to the performance of 

7 energy infrastructure and efficiency. 

8 (c) PARTICIPATION.—In developing the plan referred 

9 to in subsection (a), the Secretaries may consult with 

10 other Federal, State, private sector, and international par11 ticipants, as appropriate and consistent with applicable 

12 law. 

13 SEC. 2004. COLLECTIVE ENERGY SECURITY. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy and the 

15 Secretary of State shall collaborate to strengthen domestic 

16 energy security and the energy security of the allies and 

17 trading partners of the United States, including through 

18 actions that support or facilitate— 

19 (1) energy diplomacy; 

20 (2) the delivery of United States assistance, in21 cluding energy resources and technologies, to pre22 vent or mitigate an energy security crisis; 

23 (3) the development of environmentally and 

24 commercially sustainable energy resources; 


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1 (4) open, transparent, and competitive energy 

2 markets; and 

3 (5) regulatory capacity building. 

4 (b) ENERGY SECURITY FORUMS.—Not later than 1 

5 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

6 of Energy, in collaboration with the Secretary of State, 

7 shall convene not less than 2 forums to promote the collec8 tive energy security of the United States and its allies and 

9 trading partners. The forums shall include participation 

10 by the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of State. 

11 In addition, an invitation shall be extended to— 

12 (1) appropriate representatives of foreign gov13 ernments that are allies or trading partners of the 

14 United States; and 

15 (2) independent experts and industry represent16 atives. 

17 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—The forums shall— 

18 (1) consist of at least 1 Trans-Atlantic and 1 

19 Trans-Pacific energy security forum; 

20 (2) be designed to foster dialogue among gov21 ernment officials, independent experts, and industry 

22 representatives regarding— 

23 (A) the current state of global energy mar24 kets; 


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1 (B) trade and investment issues relevant to 

2 energy; and 

3 (C) barriers to more open, competitive, and 

4 transparent energy markets; and 

5 (3) be recorded and made publicly available on 

6 the Department of Energy’s website, including, not 

7 later than 30 days after each forum, publication on 

8 the website any significant outcomes. 

9 (d) NOTIFICATION.—At least 30 days before each of 

10 the forums referred to in subsection (b), the Secretary of 

11 Energy shall send a notification regarding the forum to— 

12 (1) the chair and the ranking minority member 

13 of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the 

14 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep15 resentatives; and 

16 (2) the chair and ranking minority member of 

17 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

18 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen19 ate. 

20 SEC. 2005. AUTHORIZATION TO EXPORT NATURAL GAS. 

21 (a) DECISION DEADLINE.—For proposals that must 

22 also obtain authorization from the Federal Energy Regu23 latory Commission or the United States Maritime Admin24 istration to site, construct, expand, or operate LNG export 

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1 cision on any application for the authorization to export 

2 natural gas under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 

3 U.S.C. 717b) not later than 30 days after the later of— 

4 (1) the conclusion of the review to site, con5 struct, expand, or operate the LNG facilities re6 quired by the National Environmental Policy Act of 

7 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); or 

8 (2) the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 (b) CONCLUSION OF REVIEW.—For purposes of sub10 section (a), review required by the National Environ11 mental Policy Act of 1969 shall be considered concluded— 

12 (1) for a project requiring an Environmental 

13 Impact Statement, 30 days after publication of a 

14 Final Environmental Impact Statement; 

15 (2) for a project for which an Environmental 

16 Assessment has been prepared, 30 days after publi17 cation by the Department of Energy of a Finding of 

18 No Significant Impact; and 

19 (3) upon a determination by the lead agency 

20 that an application is eligible for a categorical exclu21 sion pursuant to National Environmental Policy Act 

22 of 1969 implementing regulations. 

23 (c) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF EXPORT DESTINA24 TIONS.—Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 

25 717b) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(g) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF LNG EXPORT DES2 TINATIONS.—As a condition for approval of any authoriza3 tion to export LNG, the Secretary of Energy shall require 

4 the applicant to publicly disclose the specific destination 

5 or destinations of any such authorized LNG exports.’’. 

6 SEC. 2006. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW FOR ENERGY EXPORT 

7 FACILITIES. 

8 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including 

9 any other provision of this Act and any amendment made 

10 by this Act, to the extent that the National Environmental 

11 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) applies to 

12 the issuance of a permit for the construction, operation, 

13 or maintenance of a facility for the export of bulk com14 modities, no such permit may be denied until each applica15 ble Federal agency has completed all reviews required for 

16 the facility under such Act. 

17 SEC. 2007. AUTHORIZATION OF CROSS-BORDER INFRA18 STRUCTURE PROJECTS. 

19 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that the United States 

20 should establish a more uniform, transparent, and modern 

21 process for the construction, connection, operation, and 

22 maintenance of pipelines and electric transmission facili23 ties for the import and export of liquid products, including 

24 water and petroleum, and natural gas and the trans25 mission of electricity to and from Canada and Mexico. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF CERTAIN INFRASTRUCTURE

2 PROJECTS AT THE NATIONAL BOUNDARY OF THE

3 UNITED STATES.— 

4 (1) REQUIREMENT.—No person may construct, 

5 connect, operate, or maintain a cross-border segment 

6 of a pipeline or electric transmission facility for the 

7 import or export of liquid products or natural gas, 

8 or the transmission of electricity, to or from Canada 

9 or Mexico without obtaining a certificate of crossing 

10 for such construction, connection, operation, or 

11 maintenance under this subsection. 

12 (2) CERTIFICATE OF CROSSING.— 

13 (A) ISSUANCE.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 

15 days after final action is taken under the 

16 National Environmental Policy Act of 

17 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect 

18 to a cross-border segment described in 

19 paragraph (1), the relevant official identi20 fied under subparagraph (B), in consulta21 tion with appropriate Federal agencies, 

22 shall issue a certificate of crossing for the 

23 cross-border segment unless the relevant 

24 official finds that the construction, connec25 tion, operation, or maintenance of the 


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1 cross-border segment is not in the public 

2 interest of the United States. 

3 (ii) NATURAL GAS.—For the purposes 

4 of natural gas pipelines, a finding with re5 spect to the public interest under section 

6 3(a) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 

7 717b(a)) shall serve as a finding under 

8 clause (i) of this subparagraph. 

9 (B) RELEVANT OFFICIAL.—The relevant 

10 official referred to in subparagraph (A) is— 

11 (i) the Secretary of State with respect 

12 to liquid pipelines; 

13 (ii) the Federal Energy Regulatory 

14 Commission with respect to natural gas 

15 pipelines; and 

16 (iii) the Secretary of Energy with re17 spect to electric transmission facilities. 

18 (C) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR

19 ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION FACILITIES.—The 

20 Secretary of Energy shall require, as a condi21 tion of issuing a certificate of crossing for an 

22 electric transmission facility, that the cross-bor23 der segment be constructed, connected, oper24 ated, or maintained consistent with all applica25 ble policies and standards of— 


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1 (i) the Electric Reliability Organiza2 tion and the applicable regional entity; and 

3 (ii) any Regional Transmission Orga4 nization or Independent System Operator 

5 with operational or functional control over 

6 the cross-border segment of the electric 

7 transmission facility. 

8 (3) MODIFICATIONS TO EXISTING PROJECTS.— 

9 No certificate of crossing shall be required under 

10 this subsection for a change in ownership, volume 

11 expansion, downstream or upstream interconnection, 

12 or adjustment to maintain flow (such as a reduction 

13 or increase in the number of pump or compressor 

14 stations) with respect to a liquid or natural gas pipe15 line or electric transmission facility unless such 

16 modification would result in a significant impact at 

17 the national boundary. 

18 (4) EFFECT OF OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this 

19 subsection shall affect the application of any other 

20 Federal statute (including the Natural Gas Act and 

21 the Energy Policy and Conservation Act) to a 

22 project for which a certificate of crossing is sought 

23 under this subsection. 

24 (c) IMPORTATION OR EXPORTATION OF NATURAL

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1 ural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(c)) is amended by adding 

2 at the end the following: ‘‘In the case of an application 

3 for the importation or exportation of natural gas to or 

4 from Canada or Mexico, the Commission shall grant the 

5 application not later than 30 days after the date of receipt 

6 of the complete application.’’. 

7 (d) TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRIC ENERGY TO CAN8 ADA AND MEXICO.— 

9 (1) REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT TO SECURE

10 ORDER.—Section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act 

11 (16 U.S.C. 824a(e)) is repealed. 

12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

13 (A) STATE REGULATIONS.—Section 202(f) 

14 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824a(f)) 

15 is amended by striking ‘‘insofar as such State 

16 regulation does not conflict with the exercise of 

17 the Commission’s powers under or relating to 

18 subsection 202(e)’’. 

19 (B) SEASONAL DIVERSITY ELECTRICITY

20 EXCHANGE.—Section 602(b) of the Public Util21 ity Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 

22 824a–4(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘the Com23 mission has conducted hearings and made the 

24 findings required under section 202(e) of the 

25 Federal Power Act’’ and all that follows 


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1 through the period at the end and inserting 

2 ‘‘the Secretary has conducted hearings and 

3 finds that the proposed transmission facilities 

4 would not impair the sufficiency of electric sup5 ply within the United States or would not im6 pede or tend to impede the coordination in the 

7 public interest of facilities subject to the juris8 diction of the Secretary’’. 

9 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE; RULEMAKING DEADLINES.— 

10 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsections (b) 

11 through (d), and the amendments made by such 

12 subsections, shall take effect on January 20, 2017. 

13 (2) RULEMAKING DEADLINES.—Each relevant 

14 official described in subsection (b)(2)(B) shall— 

15 (A) not later than 180 days after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act, publish in the Federal 

17 Register notice of a proposed rulemaking to 

18 carry out the applicable requirements of sub19 section (b); and 

20 (B) not later than 1 year after the date of 

21 enactment of this Act, publish in the Federal 

22 Register a final rule to carry out the applicable 

23 requirements of subsection (b). 

24 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 


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1 (1) the term ‘‘cross-border segment’’ means the 

2 portion of a liquid or natural gas pipeline or electric 

3 transmission facility that is located at the national 

4 boundary of the United States with either Canada or 

5 Mexico; 

6 (2) the terms ‘‘Electric Reliability Organiza7 tion’’ and ‘‘regional entity’’ have the meanings given 

8 those terms in section 215 of the Federal Power Act 

9 (16 U.S.C. 824o); 

10 (3) the terms ‘‘Independent System Operator’’ 

11 and ‘‘Regional Transmission Organization’’ have the 

12 meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Fed13 eral Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796); 

14 (4) the term ‘‘liquid’’ includes water, petroleum, 

15 petroleum product, and any other substance that 

16 flows through a pipeline other than natural gas; and 

17 (5) the term ‘‘natural gas’’ has the meaning 

18 given that term in section 2 of the Natural Gas Act 

19 (15 U.S.C. 717a). 

20 SEC. 2008. REPORT ON SMART METER SECURITY CON21 CERNS. 

22 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall transmit to Con24 gress a report on the weaknesses in currently available 

25 smart meters’ security architecture and features, including 


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1 an absence of event logging, as described in the Govern2 ment Accountability Office testimony entitled ‘‘Critical In3 frastructure Protection: Cybersecurity of the Nation’s 

4 Electricity Grid Requires Continued Attention’’ on Octo5 ber 21, 2015. 

6 TITLE III—ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

7 AND ACCOUNTABILITY 

8 Subtitle A—Energy Efficiency 

9 CHAPTER 1—FEDERAL AGENCY ENERGY 

10 EFFICIENCY 

11 SEC. 3111. ENERGY-EFFICIENT AND ENERGY-SAVING IN12 FORMATION TECHNOLOGIES. 

13 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subtitle C of title V of the En14 ergy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 

15 110–140; 121 Stat. 1661) is amended by adding at the 

16 end the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 530. ENERGY-EFFICIENT AND ENERGY-SAVING INFOR18 MATION TECHNOLOGIES. 

19 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 ‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

21 the Director of the Office of Management and Budg22 et. 

23 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

24 ‘information technology’ has the meaning given that 


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1 term in section 11101 of title 40, United States 

2 Code. 

3 ‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT OF IMPLEMENTATION STRAT4 EGY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

5 of this section, each Federal agency shall coordinate with 

6 the Director, the Secretary, and the Administrator of the 

7 Environmental Protection Agency to develop an implemen8 tation strategy (that includes best practices and measure9 ment and verification techniques) for the maintenance, 

10 purchase, and use by the Federal agency of energy-effi11 cient and energy-saving information technologies, taking 

12 into consideration the performance goals established under 

13 subsection (d). 

14 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—In developing an implemen15 tation strategy under subsection (b), each Federal agency 

16 shall consider— 

17 ‘‘(1) advanced metering infrastructure; 

18 ‘‘(2) energy-efficient data center strategies and 

19 methods of increasing asset and infrastructure utili20 zation; 

21 ‘‘(3) advanced power management tools; 

22 ‘‘(4) building information modeling, including 

23 building energy management; 

24 ‘‘(5) secure telework and travel substitution 

25 tools; and 


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1 ‘‘(6) mechanisms to ensure that the agency re2 alizes the energy cost savings brought about through 

3 increased efficiency and utilization. 

4 ‘‘(d) PERFORMANCE GOALS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of enactment of this section, the Di7 rector, in consultation with the Secretary, shall es8 tablish performance goals for evaluating the efforts 

9 of Federal agencies in improving the maintenance, 

10 purchase, and use of energy-efficient and energy-sav11 ing information technology. 

12 ‘‘(2) BEST PRACTICES.—The Chief Information 

13 Officers Council established under section 3603 of 

14 title 44, United States Code, shall recommend best 

15 practices for the attainment of the performance 

16 goals, which shall include Federal agency consider17 ation of, to the extent applicable by law, the use 

18 of— 

19 ‘‘(A) energy savings performance con20 tracting; and 

21 ‘‘(B) utility energy services contracting. 

22 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) AGENCY REPORTS.—Each Federal agency 

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1 tion 527 a description of the efforts and results of 

2 the agency under this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) OMB GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY REPORTS

4 AND SCORECARDS.—Effective beginning not later 

5 than October 1, 2017, the Director shall include in 

6 the annual report and scorecard of the Director re7 quired under section 528 a description of the efforts 

8 and results of Federal agencies under this section.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con10 tents for the Energy Independence and Security Act of 

11 2007 is amended by adding after the item relating to sec12 tion 529 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 530. Energy-efficient and energy-saving information technologies.’’. 

13 SEC. 3112. ENERGY EFFICIENT DATA CENTERS. 

14 Section 453 of the Energy Independence and Security 

15 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17112) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(D)(iv), by striking ‘‘de17 termined by the organization’’ and inserting ‘‘pro18 posed by the stakeholders’’; 

19 (2) by striking subsection (b)(3); and 

20 (3) by striking subsections (c) through (g) and 

21 inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(c) STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT.—The Secretary 

23 and the Administrator shall carry out subsection (b) in 

24 collaboration with the information technology industry and 

25 other key stakeholders, with the goal of producing results 


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1 that accurately reflect the most relevant and useful infor2 mation available. In such collaboration, the Secretary and 

3 the Administrator shall pay particular attention to organi4 zations that— 

5 ‘‘(1) have members with expertise in energy ef6 ficiency and in the development, operation, and 

7 functionality of data centers, information technology 

8 equipment, and software, such as representatives of 

9 hardware manufacturers, data center operators, and 

10 facility managers; 

11 ‘‘(2) obtain and address input from Department 

12 of Energy National Laboratories or any college, uni13 versity, research institution, industry association, 

14 company, or public interest group with applicable ex15 pertise; 

16 ‘‘(3) follow— 

17 ‘‘(A) commonly accepted procedures for 

18 the development of specifications; and 

19 ‘‘(B) accredited standards development 

20 processes; and 

21 ‘‘(4) have a mission to promote energy effi22 ciency for data centers and information technology. 

23 ‘‘(d) MEASUREMENTS AND SPECIFICATIONS.—The 

24 Secretary and the Administrator shall consider and assess 

25 the adequacy of the specifications, measurements, best 


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1 practices, and benchmarks described in subsection (b) for 

2 use by the Federal Energy Management Program, the En3 ergy Star Program, and other efficiency programs of the 

4 Department of Energy or the Environmental Protection 

5 Agency. 

6 ‘‘(e) STUDY.—The Secretary, in collaboration with 

7 the Administrator, shall, not later than 18 months after 

8 the date of enactment of the North American Energy Se9 curity and Infrastructure Act of 2015, make available to 

10 the public an update to the Report to Congress on Server 

11 and Data Center Energy Efficiency published on August 

12 2, 2007, under section 1 of Public Law 109–431 (120 

13 Stat. 2920), that provides— 

14 ‘‘(1) a comparison and gap analysis of the esti15 mates and projections contained in the original re16 port with new data regarding the period from 2008 

17 through 2015; 

18 ‘‘(2) an analysis considering the impact of in19 formation technologies, including virtualization and 

20 cloud computing, in the public and private sectors; 

21 ‘‘(3) an evaluation of the impact of the com22 bination of cloud platforms, mobile devices, social 

23 media, and big data on data center energy usage; 


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1 ‘‘(4) an evaluation of water usage in data cen2 ters and recommendations for reductions in such 

3 water usage; and 

4 ‘‘(5) updated projections and recommendations 

5 for best practices through fiscal year 2020. 

6 ‘‘(f) DATA CENTER ENERGY PRACTITIONER PRO7 GRAM.—The Secretary, in collaboration with key stake8 holders and the Director of the Office of Management and 

9 Budget, shall maintain a data center energy practitioner 

10 program that leads to the certification of energy practi11 tioners qualified to evaluate the energy usage and effi12 ciency opportunities in Federal data centers. Each Federal 

13 agency shall consider having the data centers of the agen14 cy evaluated every 4 years, in accordance with section 

15 543(f) of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 8253), by energy practitioners certified pursuant 

17 to such program. 

18 ‘‘(g) OPEN DATA INITIATIVE.—The Secretary, in col19 laboration with key stakeholders and the Director of the 

20 Office of Management and Budget, shall establish an open 

21 data initiative for Federal data center energy usage data, 

22 with the purpose of making such data available and acces23 sible in a manner that encourages further data center in24 novation, optimization, and consolidation. In establishing 


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1 the initiative, the Secretary shall consider the use of the 

2 online Data Center Maturity Model. 

3 ‘‘(h) INTERNATIONAL SPECIFICATIONS AND

4 METRICS.—The Secretary, in collaboration with key 

5 stakeholders, shall actively participate in efforts to har6 monize global specifications and metrics for data center 

7 energy and water efficiency. 

8 ‘‘(i) DATA CENTER UTILIZATION METRIC.—The Sec9 retary, in collaboration with key stakeholders, shall facili10 tate the development of an efficiency metric that measures 

11 the energy efficiency of a data center (including equipment 

12 and facilities). 

13 ‘‘(j) PROTECTION OF PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.— 

14 The Secretary and the Administrator shall not disclose 

15 any proprietary information or trade secrets provided by 

16 any individual or company for the purposes of carrying 

17 out this section or the programs and initiatives established 

18 under this section.’’. 

19 SEC. 3113. REPORT ON ENERGY AND WATER SAVINGS PO20 TENTIAL FROM THERMAL INSULATION. 

21 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in con23 sultation with appropriate Federal agencies and relevant 

24 stakeholders, shall submit to the Committee on Energy 

25 and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 


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1 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

2 a report on the impact of thermal insulation on both en3 ergy and water use systems for potable hot and chilled 

4 water in Federal buildings, and the return on investment 

5 of installing such insulation. 

6 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include— 

7 (1) an analysis based on the cost of municipal 

8 or regional water for delivered water and the avoided 

9 cost of new water; and 

10 (2) a summary of energy and water savings, in11 cluding short-term and long-term (20 years) projec12 tions of such savings. 

13 SEC. 3114. BATTERY STORAGE REPORT. 

14 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

15 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit to Con16 gress a report on the potential of battery energy storage 

17 that answers the following questions: 

18 (1) How do existing Federal standards impact 

19 the development and deployment of battery storage 

20 systems? 

21 (2) What are the benefits of using existing bat22 tery storage technology, and what challenges exist to 

23 their widespread use? What are some examples of 

24 existing battery storage projects providing these ben25 efits? 


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1 (3) What potential impact could large-scale bat2 tery storage and behind-the-meter battery storage 

3 have on renewable energy utilization? 

4 (4) What is the potential of battery technology 

5 for grid-scale use nationwide? What is the potential 

6 impact of battery technology on the national grid ca7 pabilities? 

8 (5) How much economic activity associated with 

9 large-scale and behind-the-meter battery storage 

10 technology is located in the United States? How 

11 many jobs do these industries account for? 

12 (6) What policies other than the Renewable En13 ergy Investment Tax Credit have research and avail14 able data shown to promote renewable energy use 

15 and storage technology deployment by State and 

16 local governments or private end-users? 

17 SEC. 3115. FEDERAL PURCHASE REQUIREMENT. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 203(b) of the Energy 

19 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15852(b)) is amended by 

20 striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(2) RENEWABLE ENERGY.—The term ‘renew22 able energy’ means electric energy, or thermal en23 ergy if resulting from a thermal energy project 

24 placed in service after December 31, 2014, gen25 erated from, or avoided by, solar, wind, biomass, 


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1 landfill gas, ocean (including tidal, wave, current, 

2 and thermal), geothermal, municipal solid waste (in 

3 accordance with subsection (e)), qualified waste heat 

4 resource, or new hydroelectric generation capacity 

5 achieved from increased efficiency or additions of 

6 new capacity at an existing hydroelectric project. 

7 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED WASTE HEAT RESOURCE.—The 

8 term ‘qualified waste heat resource’ means— 

9 ‘‘(A) exhaust heat or flared gas from any 

10 industrial process; 

11 ‘‘(B) waste gas or industrial tail gas that 

12 would otherwise be flared, incinerated, or vent13 ed; 

14 ‘‘(C) a pressure drop in any gas for an in15 dustrial or commercial process; or 

16 ‘‘(D) such other forms of waste heat as the 

17 Secretary determines appropriate.’’. 

18 (b) PAPER RECYCLING.—Section 203 of the Energy 

19 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15852) is amended by add20 ing at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(e) PAPER RECYCLING.— 

22 ‘‘(1) SEPARATE COLLECTION.—For purposes of 

23 this section, any Federal agency may consider elec24 tric energy generation purchased from a facility to 


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1 be renewable energy if the municipal solid waste 

2 used by the facility to generate the electricity is— 

3 ‘‘(A) separately collected (within the mean4 ing of section 246.101(z) of title 40, Code of 

5 Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of 

6 enactment of the North American Energy Secu7 rity and Infrastructure Act of 2015) from 

8 paper that is commonly recycled; and 

9 ‘‘(B) processed in a way that keeps paper 

10 that is commonly recycled segregated from non11 recyclable solid waste. 

12 ‘‘(2) INCIDENTAL INCLUSION.—Municipal solid 

13 waste used to generate electric energy that meets the 

14 conditions described in paragraph (1) shall be con15 sidered renewable energy even if the municipal solid 

16 waste contains incidental commonly recycled paper. 

17 ‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON EXISTING PROCESSES.— 

18 Nothing in paragraph (1) shall be interpreted to re19 quire a State or political subdivision of a State, di20 rectly or indirectly, to change the systems, processes, 

21 or equipment it uses to collect, treat, dispose of, or 

22 otherwise use municipal solid waste, within the 

23 meaning of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 

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1 tions that implement subtitle D of such Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.).’’. 

3 SEC. 3116. ENERGY PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENT FOR 

4 FEDERAL BUILDINGS. 

5 Section 543 of the National Energy Conservation 

6 Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8253) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(a) ENERGY PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENT FOR

10 FEDERAL BUILDINGS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Subject to paragraph 

12 (2), each agency shall apply energy conservation 

13 measures to, and shall improve the design for the 

14 construction of, the Federal buildings of the agency 

15 (including each industrial or laboratory facility) so 

16 that the energy consumption per gross square foot 

17 of the Federal buildings of the agency in fiscal years 

18 2006 through 2017 is reduced, as compared with the 

19 energy consumption per gross square foot of the 

20 Federal buildings of the agency in fiscal year 2003, 

21 by the percentage specified in the following table: 

Percentage 

‘‘Fiscal Year Reduction 

2006 ............................................................................................. 2

2007 ............................................................................................. 4

2008 ............................................................................................. 9

2009 ............................................................................................. 12

2010 ............................................................................................. 15

2011 ............................................................................................. 18

2012 ............................................................................................. 21


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Percentage 

‘‘Fiscal Year Reduction 

2013 ............................................................................................. 24

2014 ............................................................................................. 27

2015 ............................................................................................. 30

2016 ............................................................................................. 33

2017 ............................................................................................. 36. 

1 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSION FOR BUILDINGS WITH ENERGY

2 INTENSIVE ACTIVITIES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An agency may ex4 clude from the requirements of paragraph (1) 

5 any building (including the associated energy 

6 consumption and gross square footage) in which 

7 energy intensive activities are carried out. 

8 ‘‘(B) REPORTS.—Each agency shall iden9 tify and list in each report made under section 

10 548(a) the buildings designated by the agency 

11 for exclusion under subparagraph (A). 

12 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—Not later than December 31, 

13 2017, the Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) review the results of the implementa15 tion of the energy performance requirements es16 tablished under paragraph (1); and 

17 ‘‘(B) based on the review conducted under 

18 subparagraph (A), submit to Congress a report 

19 that addresses the feasibility of requiring each 

20 agency to apply energy conservation measures 

21 to, and improve the design for the construction 

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1 ing each industrial or laboratory facility) so 

2 that the energy consumption per gross square 

3 foot of the Federal buildings of the agency in 

4 each of fiscal years 2018 through 2030 is re5 duced, as compared with the energy consump6 tion per gross square foot of the Federal build7 ings of the agency in the prior fiscal year, by 

8 3 percent.’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (f)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

12 (E), (F), and (G) as subparagraphs (F), 

13 (G), and (H), respectively; and 

14 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

15 (D) the following: 

16 ‘‘(E) ONGOING COMMISSIONING.—The 

17 term ‘ongoing commissioning’ means an ongo18 ing process of commissioning using monitored 

19 data, the primary goal of which is to ensure 

20 continuous optimum performance of a facility, 

21 in accordance with design or operating needs, 

22 over the useful life of the facility, while meeting 

23 facility occupancy requirements.’’; 

24 (B) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(C) ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—An 

2 energy manager designated under subparagraph 

3 (A) shall consider use of a system to manage 

4 energy use at the facility and certification of 

5 the facility in accordance with the International 

6 Organization for Standardization standard 

7 numbered 50001 and entitled ‘Energy Manage8 ment Systems’.’’; 

9 (C) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4) and 

10 inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) ENERGY AND WATER EVALUATIONS AND

12 COMMISSIONING.— 

13 ‘‘(A) EVALUATIONS.—Except as provided 

14 in subparagraph (B), effective beginning on the 

15 date that is 180 days after the date of enact16 ment of the North American Energy Security 

17 and Infrastructure Act of 2015, and annually 

18 thereafter, each energy manager shall complete, 

19 for each calendar year, a comprehensive energy 

20 and water evaluation and recommissioning or 

21 retrocommissioning for approximately 25 per22 cent of the facilities of that energy manager’s 

23 agency that meet the criteria under paragraph 

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1 uation of each facility is completed at least once 

2 every 4 years. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—An evaluation and re4 commissioning or recommissioning shall not be 

5 required under subparagraph (A) with respect 

6 to a facility that— 

7 ‘‘(i) has had a comprehensive energy 

8 and water evaluation during the 8-year pe9 riod preceding the date of the evaluation; 

10 ‘‘(ii)(I) has been commissioned, re11 commissioned, or retrocommissioned dur12 ing the 10-year period preceding the date 

13 of the evaluation; or 

14 ‘‘(II) is under ongoing commissioning, 

15 recommissioning, or retrocommissioning; 

16 ‘‘(iii) has not had a major change in 

17 function or use since the previous evalua18 tion and commissioning, recommissioning, 

19 or retrocommissioning; 

20 ‘‘(iv) has been benchmarked with pub21 lic disclosure under paragraph (8) within 

22 the year preceding the evaluation; and 

23 ‘‘(v)(I) based on the benchmarking, 

24 has achieved at a facility level the most re25 cent cumulative energy savings target 


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1 under subsection (a) compared to the ear2 lier of— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the date of the most recent 

4 evaluation; or 

5 ‘‘(bb) the date— 

6 ‘‘(AA) of the most recent 

7 commissioning, recommissioning, 

8 or retrocommissioning; or 

9 ‘‘(BB) on which ongoing 

10 commissioning, recommissioning, 

11 or retrocommissioning began; or 

12 ‘‘(II) has a long-term contract in 

13 place guaranteeing energy savings at least 

14 as great as the energy savings target under 

15 subclause (I). 

16 ‘‘(4) IMPLEMENTATION OF IDENTIFIED ENERGY

17 AND WATER EFFICIENCY MEASURES.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

19 after the date of completion of each evaluation 

20 under paragraph (3), each energy manager 

21 may— 

22 ‘‘(i) implement any energy- or water23 saving measure that the Federal agency 

24 identified in the evaluation conducted 


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1 under paragraph (3) that is life-cycle cost 

2 effective; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) bundle individual measures of 

4 varying paybacks together into combined 

5 projects. 

6 ‘‘(B) MEASURES NOT IMPLEMENTED.— 

7 Each energy manager, as part of the certifi8 cation system under paragraph (7) and using 

9 guidelines developed by the Secretary, shall pro10 vide an explanation regarding any life-cycle 

11 cost-effective measures described in subpara12 graph (A)(i) that have not been implemented.’’; 

13 and 

14 (D) in paragraph (7)(C), by adding at the 

15 end the following: 

16 ‘‘(iii) SUMMARY REPORT.—The Sec17 retary shall make publicly available a re18 port that summarizes the information 

19 tracked under subparagraph (B)(i) by each 

20 agency and, as applicable, by each type of 

21 measure.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3117. FEDERAL BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY PER2 FORMANCE STANDARDS; CERTIFICATION 

3 SYSTEM AND LEVEL FOR FEDERAL BUILD4 INGS. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 303 of the Energy Con6 servation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6832) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘to be con9 structed’’ and inserting ‘‘constructed or altered’’; 

10 and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(17) MAJOR RENOVATION.—The term ‘major 

13 renovation’ means a modification of building energy 

14 systems sufficiently extensive that the whole building 

15 can meet energy standards for new buildings, based 

16 on criteria to be established by the Secretary 

17 through notice and comment rulemaking.’’. 

18 (b) FEDERAL BUILDING EFFICIENCY STANDARDS.— 

19 Section 305 of the Energy Conservation and Production 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 6834) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)(3)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘(3)(A) Not later than’’ 

23 and all that follows through the end of subpara24 graph (B) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) REVISED FEDERAL BUILDING ENERGY EF2 FICIENCY PERFORMANCE STANDARDS; CERTIFI3 CATION FOR GREEN BUILDINGS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) REVISED FEDERAL BUILDING EN5 ERGY EFFICIENCY PERFORMANCE STAND6 ARDS.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

8 year after the date of enactment of the 

9 North American Energy Security and In10 frastructure Act of 2015, the Secretary 

11 shall establish, by rule, revised Federal 

12 building energy efficiency performance 

13 standards that require that— 

14 ‘‘(I) new Federal buildings and 

15 alterations and additions to existing 

16 Federal buildings— 

17 ‘‘(aa) meet or exceed the 

18 most recent revision of the IECC 

19 (in the case of residential build20 ings) or ASHRAE Standard 90.1 

21 (in the case of commercial build22 ings) as of the date of enactment 

23 of the North American Energy 

24 Security and Infrastructure Act 

25 of 2015; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) meet or exceed the en2 ergy provisions of State and local 

3 building codes applicable to the 

4 building, if the codes are more 

5 stringent than the IECC or 

6 ASHRAE Standard 90.1, as ap7 plicable; 

8 ‘‘(II) unless demonstrated not to 

9 be life-cycle cost effective for new 

10 Federal buildings and Federal build11 ings with major renovations— 

12 ‘‘(aa) the buildings be de13 signed to achieve energy con14 sumption levels that are at least 

15 30 percent below the levels estab16 lished in the version of the 

17 ASHRAE Standard or the IECC, 

18 as appropriate, that is applied 

19 under subclause (I)(aa), includ20 ing updates under subparagraph 

21 (B); and 

22 ‘‘(bb) sustainable design 

23 principles are applied to the loca24 tion, siting, design, and construc25 tion of all new Federal buildings 


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1 and replacement Federal build2 ings; 

3 ‘‘(III) if water is used to achieve 

4 energy efficiency, water conservation 

5 technologies shall be applied to the ex6 tent that the technologies are life7 cycle cost effective; and 

8 ‘‘(IV) if life-cycle cost effective, 

9 as compared to other reasonably avail10 able technologies, not less than 30 

11 percent of the hot water demand for 

12 each new Federal building or Federal 

13 building undergoing a major renova14 tion be met through the installation 

15 and use of solar hot water heaters. 

16 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—Clause (i)(I) shall 

17 not apply to unaltered portions of existing 

18 Federal buildings and systems that have 

19 been added to or altered. 

20 ‘‘(B) UPDATES.—Not later than 1 year 

21 after the date of approval of each subsequent 

22 revision of ASHRAE Standard 90.1 or the 

23 IECC, as appropriate, the Secretary shall deter24 mine whether the revised standards established 

25 under subparagraph (A) should be updated to 


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1 reflect the revisions, based on the energy sav2 ings and life-cycle cost effectiveness of the revi3 sions.’’; 

4 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘(C) 

5 In the budget request’’ and inserting the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(C) BUDGET REQUEST.—In the budget 

8 request’’; and 

9 (C) in subparagraph (D)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘(D) Not later than’’ 

11 and all that follows through the end of the 

12 first sentence of clause (i)(III) and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(D) CERTIFICATION FOR GREEN BUILD15 INGS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—’’; 

17 (ii) by striking clause (ii); 

18 (iii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘(iii) In 

19 identifying’’ and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In identi21 fying’’; 

22 (iv) in clause (iv)— 

23 (I) by striking ‘‘(iv) At least 

24 once’’ and inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘(iii) STUDY.—At least once’’; and 


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1 (II) by striking ‘‘clause (iii)’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘clause (ii)’’; 

3 (v) in clause (v)— 

4 (I) by striking ‘‘(v) The Sec5 retary may’’ and inserting the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(iv) INTERNAL CERTIFICATION PROC8 ESSES.—The Secretary may’’; and 

9 (II) by striking ‘‘clause (i)(III)’’ 

10 each place it appears and inserting 

11 ‘‘clause (i)’’; 

12 (vi) in clause (vi)— 

13 (I) by striking ‘‘(vi) With re14 spect’’ and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(v) PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUS16 ING.—With respect’’; and 

17 (II) by striking ‘‘develop alter18 native criteria to those established by 

19 subclauses (I) and (III) of clause (i) 

20 that achieve an equivalent result in 

21 terms of energy savings, sustainable 

22 design, and’’ and inserting ‘‘develop 

23 alternative certification systems and 

24 levels than the systems and levels 


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1 identified under clause (i) that achieve 

2 an equivalent result in terms of’’; and 

3 (vii) in clause (vii), by striking ‘‘(vii) 

4 In addition to’’ and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(vi) WATER CONSERVATION TECH6 NOLOGIES.—In addition to’’; and 

7 (2) by striking subsections (c) and (d) and in8 serting the following: 

9 ‘‘(c) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) every 5 years, review the Federal building 

11 energy standards established under this section; and 

12 ‘‘(2) on completion of a review under paragraph 

13 (1), if the Secretary determines that significant en14 ergy savings would result, upgrade the standards to 

15 include all new energy efficiency and renewable en16 ergy measures that are technologically feasible and 

17 economically justified.’’. 

18 SEC. 3118. OPERATION OF BATTERY RECHARGING STA19 TIONS IN PARKING AREAS USED BY FEDERAL 

20 EMPLOYEES. 

21 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of any office of 

23 the Federal Government which owns or operates a 

24 parking area for the use of its employees (either di25 rectly or indirectly through a contractor) may inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 07, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00160 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8.RFS H8

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1 stall, construct, operate, and maintain on a reim2 bursable basis a battery recharging station in such 

3 area for the use of privately owned vehicles of em4 ployees of the office and others who are authorized 

5 to park in such area. 

6 (2) USE OF VENDORS.—The head of an office 

7 may carry out paragraph (1) through a contract 

8 with a vendor, under such terms and conditions (in9 cluding terms relating to the allocation between the 

10 office and the vendor of the costs of carrying out the 

11 contract) as the head of the office and the vendor 

12 may agree to. 

13 (b) IMPOSITION OF FEES TO COVER COSTS.— 

14 (1) FEES.—The head of an office of the Fed15 eral Government which operates and maintains a 

16 battery recharging station under this section shall 

17 charge fees to the individuals who use the station in 

18 such amount as is necessary to ensure that office re19 covers all of the costs it incurs in installing, con20 structing, operating, and maintaining the station. 

21 (2) DEPOSIT AND AVAILABILITY OF FEES.— 

22 Any fees collected by the head of an office under this 

23 subsection shall be— 


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1 (A) deposited monthly in the Treasury to 

2 the credit of the appropriations account for sal3 aries and expenses of the office; and 

4 (B) available for obligation without further 

5 appropriation during— 

6 (i) the fiscal year collected; and 

7 (ii) the fiscal year following the fiscal 

8 year collected. 

9 (c) NO EFFECT ON EXISTING PROGRAMS FOR

10 HOUSE AND SENATE.—Nothing in this section may be 

11 construed to affect the installation, construction, oper12 ation, or maintenance of battery recharging stations by 

13 the Architect of the Capitol— 

14 (1) under Public Law 112–170 (2 U.S.C. 

15 2171), relating to employees of the House of Rep16 resentatives and individuals authorized to park in 

17 any parking area under the jurisdiction of the House 

18 of Representatives on the Capitol Grounds; or 

19 (2) under Public Law 112–167 (2 U.S.C. 

20 2170), relating to employees of the Senate and indi21 viduals authorized to park in any parking area 

22 under the jurisdiction of the Senate on the Capitol 

23 Grounds. 

24 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 

25 respect to fiscal year 2016 and each succeeding fiscal year. 


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1 SEC. 3119. REPORT ON ENERGY SAVINGS AND GREEN2 HOUSE GAS EMISSIONS REDUCTION FROM 

3 CONVERSION OF CAPTURED METHANE TO 

4 ENERGY. 

5 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in con7 sultation with appropriate Federal agencies and relevant 

8 stakeholders, shall submit to the Committee on Energy 

9 and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 

10 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

11 a report on the impact of captured methane converted for 

12 energy and power generation on Federal lands, Federal 

13 buildings, and relevant municipalities that use such gen14 eration, and the return on investment and reduction in 

15 greenhouse gas emissions of utilizing such power genera16 tion. 

17 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include— 

18 (1) a summary of energy performance and sav19 ings resulting from the utilization of such power 

20 generation, including short-term and long-term (20 

21 years) projections of such savings; and 

22 (2) an analysis of the reduction in greenhouse 

23 emissions resulting from the utilization of such 

24 power generation. 


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1 CHAPTER 2—ENERGY EFFICIENT 

2 TECHNOLOGY AND MANUFACTURING 

3 SEC. 3121. INCLUSION OF SMART GRID CAPABILITY ON EN4 ERGY GUIDE LABELS. 

5 Section 324(a)(2) of the Energy Policy and Conserva6 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 6294(a)(2)) is amended by adding the 

7 following at the end: 

8 ‘‘(J) SMART GRID CAPABILITY ON ENERGY

9 GUIDE LABELS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) RULE.—Not later than 1 year 

11 after the date of enactment of this sub12 paragraph, the Commission shall initiate a 

13 rulemaking to consider making a special 

14 note in a prominent manner on any En15 ergy Guide label for any product that in16 cludes Smart Grid capability that— 

17 ‘‘(I) Smart Grid capability is a 

18 feature of that product; 

19 ‘‘(II) the use and value of that 

20 feature depend on the Smart Grid ca21 pability of the utility system in which 

22 the product is installed and the active 

23 utilization of that feature by the cus24 tomer; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) on a utility system with 

2 Smart Grid capability, the use of the 

3 product’s Smart Grid capability could 

4 reduce the customer’s cost of the 

5 product’s annual operation as a result 

6 of the incremental energy and elec7 tricity cost savings that would result 

8 from the customer taking full advan9 tage of such Smart Grid capability. 

10 ‘‘(ii) DEADLINE.—Not later than 3 

11 years after the date of enactment of this 

12 subparagraph, the Commission shall com13 plete the rulemaking initiated under clause 

14 (i).’’. 

15 SEC. 3122. VOLUNTARY VERIFICATION PROGRAMS FOR AIR 

16 CONDITIONING, FURNACE, BOILER, HEAT 

17 PUMP, AND WATER HEATER PRODUCTS. 

18 Section 326(b) of the Energy Policy and Conserva19 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 6296(b)) is amended by adding at 

20 the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(6) VOLUNTARY VERIFICATION PROGRAMS FOR

22 AIR CONDITIONING, FURNACE, BOILER, HEAT PUMP, 

23 AND WATER HEATER PRODUCTS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) RELIANCE ON VOLUNTARY PRO25 GRAMS.—For the purpose of verifying compliVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 07, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00165 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8.RFS H8

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1 ance with energy conservation standards estab2 lished under sections 325 and 342 for covered 

3 products described in paragraphs (3), (4), (5), 

4 (9), and (11) of section 322(a) and covered 

5 equipment described in subparagraphs (B), (C), 

6 (D), (F), (I), (J), and (K) of section 340(1), 

7 the Secretary shall rely on testing conducted by 

8 recognized voluntary verification programs that 

9 are recognized by the Secretary in accordance 

10 with subparagraph (B). 

11 ‘‘(B) RECOGNITION OF VOLUNTARY

12 VERIFICATION PROGRAMS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 

14 180 days after the date of enactment of 

15 this paragraph, the Secretary shall initiate 

16 a negotiated rulemaking in accordance 

17 with subchapter III of chapter 5 of title 5, 

18 United States Code (commonly known as 

19 the ‘Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990’) 

20 to develop criteria that have consensus 

21 support for achieving recognition by the 

22 Secretary as an approved voluntary 

23 verification program. Any subsequent 

24 amendment to such criteria may be made 

25 only pursuant to a subsequent negotiated 


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1 rulemaking in accordance with subchapter 

2 III of chapter 5 of title 5, United States 

3 Code. 

4 ‘‘(ii) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The 

5 criteria developed under clause (i) shall, at 

6 a minimum, ensure that a voluntary 

7 verification program— 

8 ‘‘(I) is nationally recognized; 

9 ‘‘(II) is operated by a third party 

10 and not directly operated by a pro11 gram participant; 

12 ‘‘(III) satisfies any applicable ele13 ments of— 

14 ‘‘(aa) International Organi15 zation for Standardization stand16 ard numbered 17025; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) any other relevant 

18 International Organization for 

19 Standardization standards identi20 fied and agreed to through the 

21 negotiated rulemaking under 

22 clause (i); 

23 ‘‘(IV) at least annually tests 

24 independently obtained products fol25 lowing the test procedures established 


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1 under this title to verify the certified 

2 rating of a representative sample of 

3 products and equipment within the 

4 scope of the program; 

5 ‘‘(V) maintains a publicly avail6 able list of all ratings of products sub7 ject to verification; 

8 ‘‘(VI) requires the changing of 

9 the performance rating or removal of 

10 the product or equipment from the 

11 program if testing determines that the 

12 performance rating does not meet the 

13 levels the manufacturer has certified 

14 to the Secretary; 

15 ‘‘(VII) requires new program 

16 participants to substantiate ratings 

17 through test data generated in accord18 ance with Department of Energy reg19 ulations; 

20 ‘‘(VIII) allows for challenge test21 ing of products and equipment within 

22 the scope of the program; 

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1 ment within the scope of the program 

2 for the covered product or equipment; 

3 ‘‘(X) provides to the Secretary— 

4 ‘‘(aa) an annual report of all 

5 test results, the contents of which 

6 shall be determined through the 

7 negotiated rulemaking process 

8 under clause (i); and 

9 ‘‘(bb) test reports, on the re10 quest of the Secretary, that note 

11 any instructions specified by the 

12 manufacturer or the representa13 tive of the manufacturer for the 

14 purpose of conducting the 

15 verification testing; and 

16 ‘‘(XI) satisfies any additional re17 quirements or standards that the Sec18 retary shall establish consistent with 

19 this subparagraph. 

20 ‘‘(iii) CESSATION OF RECOGNITION.— 

21 The Secretary may only cease recognition 

22 of a voluntary verification program as an 

23 approved program described in subpara24 graph (A) upon a finding that the program 

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1 ance through program review criteria de2 veloped during the negotiated rulemaking 

3 conducted under subparagraph (B). 

4 ‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATION.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

6 shall not require— 

7 ‘‘(I) manufacturers to participate 

8 in a recognized voluntary verification 

9 program described in subparagraph 

10 (A); or 

11 ‘‘(II) participating manufacturers 

12 to provide information that has al13 ready been provided to the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(ii) LIST OF COVERED PRODUCTS.— 

15 The Secretary may maintain a publicly 

16 available list of covered products and 

17 equipment that distinguishes between 

18 products that are and are not covered 

19 products and equipment verified through a 

20 recognized voluntary verification program 

21 described in subparagraph (A). 

22 ‘‘(iii) PERIODIC VERIFICATION TEST23 ING.—The Secretary— 

24 ‘‘(I) shall not subject products or 

25 equipment that have been verification 


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1 tested under a recognized voluntary 

2 verification program described in sub3 paragraph (A) to periodic verification 

4 testing to verify the accuracy of the 

5 certified performance rating of the 

6 products or equipment; but 

7 ‘‘(II) may require testing of prod8 ucts or equipment described in sub9 clause (I)— 

10 ‘‘(aa) if the testing is nec11 essary— 

12 ‘‘(AA) to assess the 

13 overall performance of a vol14 untary verification program; 

15 ‘‘(BB) to address spe16 cific performance issues; 

17 ‘‘(CC) for use in updat18 ing test procedures and 

19 standards; or 

20 ‘‘(DD) for other pur21 poses consistent with this 

22 title; or 

23 ‘‘(bb) if such testing is 

24 agreed to during the negotiated 


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1 rulemaking conducted under sub2 paragraph (B). 

3 ‘‘(D) EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITY.— 

4 Nothing in this paragraph limits the authority 

5 of the Secretary to enforce compliance with any 

6 law.’’. 

7 SEC. 3123. FACILITATING CONSENSUS FURNACE STAND8 ARDS. 

9 (a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION

10 OF PURPOSE.— 

11 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

12 (A) acting pursuant to the requirements of 

13 section 325 of the Energy Policy and Conserva14 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 6295), the Secretary of En15 ergy is considering amending the energy con16 servation standards applicable to residential 

17 nonweatherized gas furnaces and mobile home 

18 gas furnaces; 

19 (B) numerous stakeholders, representing 

20 manufacturers, distributors, and installers of 

21 residential nonweatherized gas furnaces and 

22 mobile home furnaces, natural gas utilities, 

23 home builders, multifamily property owners, 

24 and energy efficiency, environmental, and con25 sumer advocates have begun negotiations in an 


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1 attempt to agree on a consensus recommenda2 tion to the Secretary on levels for such stand3 ards that will meet the statutory criteria; and 

4 (C) the stakeholders believe these negotia5 tions are likely to result in a consensus rec6 ommendation, but several of the stakeholders 

7 do not support suspending the current rule8 making. 

9 (2) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section 

10 to provide the stakeholders described in paragraph 

11 (1) with an opportunity to continue negotiations for 

12 a limited time period to facilitate the proposal for 

13 adoption of standards that enjoy consensus support, 

14 while not delaying the current rulemaking except to 

15 the extent necessary to provide such opportunity. 

16 (b) OPPORTUNITY FOR A NEGOTIATED FURNACE

17 STANDARD.—Section 325(f)(4) of the Energy Policy and 

18 Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6295(f)(4)) is amended by 

19 adding after subparagraph (D) the following: 

20 ‘‘(E)(i) Unless the Secretary has published such a no21 tice prior to the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec22 retary shall publish, not later than October 31, 2015, a 

23 supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking or a notice 

24 of data availability updating the proposed rule entitled 

25 ‘Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: 


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1 Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Furnaces’ 

2 and published in the Federal Register on March 12, 2015 

3 (80 Fed. Reg. 13119), to provide notice and an oppor4 tunity for comment on— 

5 ‘‘(I) dividing nonweatherized gas furnaces into 

6 two or more product classes with separate energy 

7 conservation standards based on capacity; and 

8 ‘‘(II) any other matters the Secretary deter9 mines appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(ii) On receipt of a statement that is submitted on 

11 or before January 1, 2016, jointly by interested persons 

12 that are fairly representative of relevant points of view, 

13 that contains recommended standards for nonweatherized 

14 gas furnaces and mobile home gas furnaces that are con15 sistent with the requirements of this part (except that the 

16 date on which such standards will apply may be earlier 

17 or later than the date required under this part), the Sec18 retary shall evaluate the standards proposed in the joint 

19 statement for consistency with the requirements of sub20 section (o), and shall publish notice of the potential adop21 tion of the standards proposed in the joint statement, 

22 modified as necessary to ensure consistency with sub23 section (o). The Secretary shall solicit public comment for 

24 a period of at least 30 days with respect to such notice. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Not later than July 31, 2016, but not before 

2 July 1, 2016, the Secretary shall publish a final rule con3 taining a determination of whether the standards for non4 weatherized gas furnaces and mobile home gas furnaces 

5 should be amended. Such rule shall contain any such 

6 amendments to the standards.’’. 

7 SEC. 3124. NO WARRANTY FOR CERTAIN CERTIFIED EN8 ERGY STAR PRODUCTS. 

9 Section 324A of the Energy Policy and Conservation 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 6294a) is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(e) NO WARRANTY.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any disclosure relating to 

14 participation of a product in the Energy Star pro15 gram shall not create an express or implied warranty 

16 or give rise to any private claims or rights of action 

17 under State or Federal law relating to the disquali18 fication of that product from Energy Star if— 

19 ‘‘(A) the product has been certified by a 

20 certification body recognized by the Energy 

21 Star program; 

22 ‘‘(B) the Administrator has approved cor23 rective measures, including a determination of 

24 whether or not consumer compensation is ap25 propriate; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the responsible party has fully com2 plied with all approved corrective measures. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONSTRUAL.—Nothing in this subsection 

4 shall be construed to require the Administrator to 

5 modify any procedure or take any other action.’’. 

6 SEC. 3125. CLARIFICATION TO EFFECTIVE DATE FOR RE7 GIONAL STANDARDS. 

8 Section 325(o)(6)(E)(ii) of the Energy Policy and 

9 Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(6)(E)(ii)) is amend10 ed by striking ‘‘installed’’ and inserting ‘‘manufactured or 

11 imported into the United States’’. 

12 SEC. 3126. INTERNET OF THINGS REPORT. 

13 The Secretary of Energy shall, not later than 18 

14 months after the date of enactment of this Act, report to 

15 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

16 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

17 Natural Resources of the Senate on the efforts made to 

18 take advantage of, and promote, the utilization of ad19 vanced technologies such as Internet of Things end-to-end 

20 platform solutions to provide real-time actionable analytics 

21 and enable predictive maintenance and asset management 

22 to improve energy efficiency wherever feasible. In doing 

23 so, the Secretary shall look to encourage and utilize Inter24 net of Things energy management solutions that have se25 curity tightly integrated into the hardware and software 


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1 from the outset. The Secretary shall also encourage the 

2 use of Internet of Things solutions that enable seamless 

3 connectivity and that are interoperable, open standards4 based, and built on a repeatable foundation for ease of 

5 scalability. 

6 SEC. 3127. ENERGY SAVINGS FROM LUBRICATING OIL. 

7 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in cooperation with 

9 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen10 cy and the Director of Management and Budget, shall— 

11 (1) review and update the report prepared pur12 suant to section 1838 of the Energy Policy Act of 

13 2005; 

14 (2) after consultation with relevant Federal, 

15 State, and local agencies and affected industry and 

16 stakeholder groups, update data that was used in 

17 preparing that report; and 

18 (3) prepare and submit to Congress a coordi19 nated Federal strategy to increase the beneficial 

20 reuse of used lubricating oil, that— 

21 (A) is consistent with national policy as es22 tablished pursuant to section 2 of the Used Oil 

23 Recycling Act of 1980 (Public Law 96–463); 

24 and 

25 (B) addresses measures needed to— 


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1 (i) increase the responsible collection 

2 of used oil; 

3 (ii) disseminate public information 

4 concerning sustainable reuse options for 

5 used oil; and 

6 (iii) promote sustainable reuse of used 

7 oil by Federal agencies, recipients of Fed8 eral grant funds, entities contracting with 

9 the Federal Government, and the general 

10 public. 

11 SEC. 3128. DEFINITION OF EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY. 

12 Section 321(36)(A) of the Energy Policy and Con13 servation Act (42 U.S.C. 6291(36)(A)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking the subparagraph designation 

15 and all that follows through ‘‘The term’’ and insert16 ing the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘external 

21 power supply’ does not include a power 

22 supply circuit, driver, or device that is de23 signed exclusively to be connected to, and 

24 power— 


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1 ‘‘(I) light-emitting diodes pro2 viding illumination; or 

3 ‘‘(II) organic light-emitting di4 odes providing illumination.’’. 

5 SEC. 3129. STANDARDS FOR POWER SUPPLY CIRCUITS CON6 NECTED TO LEDS OR OLEDS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 325(u) of the Energy Pol8 icy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6295(u)) is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(6) POWER SUPPLY CIRCUITS CONNECTED TO

11 LEDS OR OLEDS.—Notwithstanding the exclusion de12 scribed in section 321(36)(A)(ii), the Secretary may 

13 prescribe, in accordance with subsections (o) and (p) 

14 and section 322(b), an energy conservation standard 

15 for a power supply circuit, driver, or device that is 

16 designed primarily to be connected to, and power, 

17 light-emitting diodes or organic light-emitting diodes 

18 providing illumination.’’. 

19 (b) ENERGY CONSERVATION STANDARDS.—Section 

20 346 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 6317) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(g) ENERGY CONSERVATION STANDARD FOR

23 POWER SUPPLY CIRCUITS CONNECTED TO LEDS OR

24 OLEDS.—Not earlier than 1 year after applicable testing 

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1 retary may prescribe an energy conservation standard for 

2 a power supply circuit, driver, or device that is designed 

3 primarily to be connected to, and power, light-emitting di4 odes or organic light-emitting diodes providing illumina5 tion.’’. 

6 CHAPTER 3—SCHOOL BUILDINGS 

7 SEC. 3131. COORDINATION OF ENERGY RETROFITTING AS8 SISTANCE FOR SCHOOLS. 

9 Section 392 of the Energy Policy and Conservation 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 6371a) is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION OF ENERGY RETROFITTING AS13 SISTANCE FOR SCHOOLS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF SCHOOL.—Notwith15 standing section 391(6), for the purposes of this 

16 subsection, the term ‘school’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) an elementary school or secondary 

18 school (as defined in section 9101 of the Ele19 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

20 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); 

21 ‘‘(B) an institution of higher education (as 

22 defined in section 102(a) of the Higher Edu23 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a))); 

24 ‘‘(C) a school of the defense dependents’ 

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1 ents’ Education Act of 1978 (20 U.S.C. 921 et 

2 seq.) or established under section 2164 of title 

3 10, United States Code; 

4 ‘‘(D) a school operated by the Bureau of 

5 Indian Affairs; 

6 ‘‘(E) a tribally controlled school (as de7 fined in section 5212 of the Tribally Controlled 

8 Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2511)); and 

9 ‘‘(F) a Tribal College or University (as de10 fined in section 316(b) of the Higher Education 

11 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b))). 

12 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF CLEARINGHOUSE.— 

13 The Secretary, acting through the Office of Energy 

14 Efficiency and Renewable Energy, shall establish a 

15 clearinghouse to disseminate information regarding 

16 available Federal programs and financing mecha17 nisms that may be used to help initiate, develop, and 

18 finance energy efficiency, distributed generation, and 

19 energy retrofitting projects for schools. 

20 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out para21 graph (2), the Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) consult with appropriate Federal 

23 agencies to develop a list of Federal programs 

24 and financing mechanisms that are, or may be, 


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1 used for the purposes described in paragraph 

2 (2); and 

3 ‘‘(B) coordinate with appropriate Federal 

4 agencies to develop a collaborative education 

5 and outreach effort to streamline communica6 tions and promote available Federal programs 

7 and financing mechanisms described in sub8 paragraph (A), which may include the develop9 ment and maintenance of a single online re10 source that includes contact information for rel11 evant technical assistance in the Office of En12 ergy Efficiency and Renewable Energy that 

13 States, local education agencies, and schools 

14 may use to effectively access and use such Fed15 eral programs and financing mechanisms.’’. 

16 CHAPTER 4—BUILDING ENERGY CODES 

17 SEC. 3141. GREATER ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BUILDING 

18 CODES. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 303 of the Energy Con20 servation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6832), as 

21 amended by section 3116, is further amended— 

22 (1) by striking paragraph (14) and inserting 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(14) MODEL BUILDING ENERGY CODE.—The 

25 term ‘model building energy code’ means a voluntary 


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1 building energy code or standard developed and up2 dated through a consensus process among interested 

3 persons, such as the IECC or ASHRAE Standard 

4 90.1 or a code used by other appropriate organiza5 tions regarding which the Secretary has issued a de6 termination that buildings subject to it would 

7 achieve greater energy efficiency than under a pre8 viously developed code.’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(18) ASHRAE STANDARD 90.1.—The term 

11 ‘ASHRAE Standard 90.1’ means the American So12 ciety of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning 

13 Engineers ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90/1 En14 ergy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Resi15 dential Buildings. 

16 ‘‘(19) COST-EFFECTIVE.—The term ‘cost-effec17 tive’ means having a simple payback of 10 years or 

18 less. 

19 ‘‘(20) IECC.—The term ‘IECC’ means the 

20 International Energy Conservation Code as pub21 lished by the International Code Council. 

22 ‘‘(21) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

23 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

24 Native American Housing Assistance and Self-De25 termination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103). 


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1 ‘‘(22) SIMPLE PAYBACK.—The term ‘simple 

2 payback’ means the time in years that is required 

3 for energy savings to exceed the incremental first 

4 cost of a new requirement or code. 

5 ‘‘(23) TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE.—The term 

6 ‘technically feasible’ means capable of being 

7 achieved, based on widely available appliances, 

8 equipment, technologies, materials, and construction 

9 practices.’’. 

10 (b) STATE BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

11 CODES.—Section 304 of the Energy Conservation and 

12 Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6833) is amended to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 304. UPDATING STATE BUILDING ENERGY EFFI15 CIENCY CODES. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide tech17 nical assistance, as described in subsection (e), for the 

18 purposes of— 

19 ‘‘(1) implementation of building energy codes 

20 by States, Indian tribes, and, as appropriate, by 

21 local governments, that are technically feasible and 

22 cost-effective; and 

23 ‘‘(2) supporting full compliance with the State, 

24 tribal, and local codes. 


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1 ‘‘(b) STATE AND INDIAN TRIBE CERTIFICATION OF

2 BUILDING ENERGY CODE UPDATES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) REVIEW AND UPDATING OF CODES BY

4 EACH STATE AND INDIAN TRIBE.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

6 after the date on which a model building energy 

7 code is published, each State or Indian tribe 

8 shall certify whether or not the State or Indian 

9 tribe, respectively, has reviewed and updated 

10 the energy provisions of the building code of the 

11 State or Indian tribe, respectively. 

12 ‘‘(B) DEMONSTRATION.—The certification 

13 shall include a statement of whether or not the 

14 energy savings for the code provisions that are 

15 in effect throughout the State or Indian tribal 

16 territory meet or exceed— 

17 ‘‘(i) the energy savings of the most re18 cently published model building energy 

19 code; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) the targets established under sec21 tion 307(b)(2). 

22 ‘‘(C) NO MODEL BUILDING ENERGY CODE

23 UPDATE.—If a model building energy code is 

24 not updated by a target date established under 

25 section 307(b)(2)(D), each State or Indian tribe 


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1 shall, not later than 3 years after the specified 

2 date, certify whether or not the State or Indian 

3 tribe, respectively, has reviewed and updated 

4 the energy provisions of the building code of the 

5 State or Indian tribe, respectively, to meet or 

6 exceed the target in section 307(b)(2). 

7 ‘‘(2) VALIDATION BY SECRETARY.—Not later 

8 than 90 days after a State or Indian tribe certifi9 cation under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) determine whether the code provi11 sions of the State or Indian tribe, respectively, 

12 meet the criteria specified in paragraph (1); 

13 ‘‘(B) determine whether the certification 

14 submitted by the State or Indian tribe, respec15 tively, is complete; and 

16 ‘‘(C) if the requirements of subparagraph 

17 (B) are satisfied, validate the certification. 

18 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section 

19 shall be interpreted to require a State or Indian 

20 tribe to adopt any building code or provision within 

21 a code. 

22 ‘‘(c) IMPROVEMENTS IN COMPLIANCE WITH BUILD23 ING ENERGY CODES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

2 after the date of a certification under sub3 section (b), each State and Indian tribe shall 

4 certify whether or not the State or Indian tribe, 

5 respectively, has— 

6 ‘‘(i) achieved full compliance under 

7 paragraph (3) with the applicable certified 

8 State or Indian tribe building energy code 

9 or with the associated model building en10 ergy code; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) made significant progress under 

12 paragraph (4) toward achieving compliance 

13 with the applicable certified State or In14 dian tribe building energy code or with the 

15 associated model building energy code. 

16 ‘‘(B) REPEAT CERTIFICATIONS.—If the 

17 State or Indian tribe certifies progress toward 

18 achieving compliance, the State or Indian tribe 

19 shall repeat the certification until the State or 

20 Indian tribe certifies that the State or Indian 

21 tribe has achieved full compliance. 

22 ‘‘(2) MEASUREMENT OF COMPLIANCE.—A cer23 tification under paragraph (1) shall include docu24 mentation of the rate of compliance based on— 


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1 ‘‘(A) inspections of a random sample of the 

2 buildings covered by the code in the preceding 

3 year; or 

4 ‘‘(B) an alternative method that yields an 

5 accurate measure of compliance. 

6 ‘‘(3) ACHIEVEMENT OF COMPLIANCE.—A State 

7 or Indian tribe shall be considered to achieve full 

8 compliance under paragraph (1) if— 

9 ‘‘(A) at least 90 percent of building space 

10 covered by the code in the preceding year sub11 stantially meets all the requirements of the ap12 plicable code specified in paragraph (1), or 

13 achieves equivalent or greater energy savings 

14 level; or 

15 ‘‘(B) the estimated excess energy use of 

16 buildings that did not meet the applicable code 

17 specified in paragraph (1) in the preceding 

18 year, compared to a baseline of comparable 

19 buildings that meet this code, is not more than 

20 5 percent of the estimated energy use of all 

21 buildings covered by this code during the pre22 ceding year. 

23 ‘‘(4) SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TOWARD

24 ACHIEVEMENT OF COMPLIANCE.—A State or Indian 

25 tribe shall be considered to have made significant 


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1 progress toward achieving compliance for purposes 

2 of paragraph (1) if the State or Indian tribe— 

3 ‘‘(A) has developed and is implementing a 

4 plan for achieving compliance during the 8-year 

5 period beginning on the date of enactment of 

6 this paragraph, including annual targets for 

7 compliance and active training and enforcement 

8 programs; and 

9 ‘‘(B) has met the most recent target under 

10 subparagraph (A). 

11 ‘‘(5) VALIDATION BY SECRETARY.—Not later 

12 than 90 days after a State or Indian tribe certifi13 cation under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) determine whether the State or In15 dian tribe has demonstrated meeting the cri16 teria of this subsection, including accurate 

17 measurement of compliance; 

18 ‘‘(B) determine whether the certification 

19 submitted by the State or Indian tribe is com20 plete; and 

21 ‘‘(C) if the requirements of subparagraph 

22 (B) are satisfied, validate the certification. 

23 ‘‘(6) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section 

24 shall be interpreted to require a State or Indian 


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1 tribe to adopt any building code or provision within 

2 a code. 

3 ‘‘(d) STATES OR INDIAN TRIBES THAT DO NOT

4 ACHIEVE COMPLIANCE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) REPORTING.—A State or Indian tribe that 

6 has not made a certification required under sub7 section (b) or (c) by the applicable deadline shall 

8 submit to the Secretary a report on the status of the 

9 State or Indian tribe with respect to meeting the re10 quirements and submitting the certification. 

11 ‘‘(2) STATE SOVEREIGNTY.—Nothing in this 

12 section shall be interpreted to require a State or In13 dian tribe to adopt any building code or provision 

14 within a code. 

15 ‘‘(3) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—In any State or 

16 Indian tribe for which the Secretary has not vali17 dated a certification under subsection (b) or (c), a 

18 local government may be eligible for Federal support 

19 by meeting the certification requirements of sub20 sections (b) and (c). 

21 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORTS BY SECRETARY.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

23 annually submit to Congress, and publish in the 

24 Federal Register, a report on— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the status of model building en2 ergy codes; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the status of code adoption and 

4 compliance in the States and Indian tribes; 

5 ‘‘(iii) implementation of this section; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(iv) improvements in energy savings 

8 over time as a result of the targets estab9 lished under section 307(b)(2). 

10 ‘‘(B) IMPACTS.—The report shall include 

11 estimates of impacts of past action under this 

12 section, and potential impacts of further action, 

13 on— 

14 ‘‘(i) upfront financial and construction 

15 costs, cost benefits and returns (using a 

16 return on investment analysis), and life17 time energy use for buildings; 

18 ‘‘(ii) resulting energy costs to individ19 uals and businesses; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) resulting overall annual building 

21 ownership and operating costs. 

22 ‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO STATES AND IN23 DIAN TRIBES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, upon 

25 request, provide technical assistance to States and 


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1 Indian tribes to implement the goals and require2 ments of this section— 

3 ‘‘(A) to implement State residential and 

4 commercial building energy codes; and 

5 ‘‘(B) to document the rate of compliance 

6 with a building energy code. 

7 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The assistance 

8 shall include, as requested by the State or Indian 

9 tribe, technical assistance in— 

10 ‘‘(A) evaluating the energy savings of 

11 building energy codes; 

12 ‘‘(B) assessing the economic consider13 ations, referenced in section 307(b)(4), of im14 plementing building energy codes; 

15 ‘‘(C) building energy analysis and design 

16 tools; 

17 ‘‘(D) energy simulation models; 

18 ‘‘(E) building demonstrations; 

19 ‘‘(F) developing the definitions of energy 

20 use intensity and building types for use in 

21 model building energy codes to evaluate the effi22 ciency impacts of the model building energy 

23 codes; and 

24 ‘‘(G) complying with a performance-based 

25 pathway referenced in the model code. 


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1 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSION.—For purposes of this section, 

2 ‘technical assistance’ shall not include actions that 

3 promote or discourage the adoption of a particular 

4 building energy code, code provision, or energy sav5 ings target to a State or Indian tribe. 

6 ‘‘(4) INFORMATION QUALITY AND TRANS7 PARENCY.—For purposes of this section, information 

8 provided by the Secretary, attendant to any tech9 nical assistance provided to a State or Indian tribe, 

10 is ‘influential information’ and shall satisfy the 

11 guidelines established by the Office of Management 

12 and Budget and published at 67 Federal Register 

13 8,452 (February 22, 2002). 

14 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL SUPPORT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

16 support to States and Indian tribes— 

17 ‘‘(A) to implement the reporting require18 ments of this section; and 

19 ‘‘(B) to implement residential and commer20 cial building energy codes, including increasing 

21 and verifying compliance with the codes and 

22 training of State, tribal, and local building code 

23 officials to implement and enforce the codes. 

24 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSION.—Support shall not be given 

25 to support adoption and implementation of model 


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1 building energy codes for which the Secretary has 

2 made a determination under section 307(g)(1)(C) 

3 that the code is not cost-effective. 

4 ‘‘(3) TRAINING.—Support shall be offered to 

5 States to train State and local building code officials 

6 to implement and enforce codes described in para7 graph (1)(B). 

8 ‘‘(4) LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—States may work 

9 under this subsection with local governments that 

10 implement and enforce codes described in paragraph 

11 (1)(B). 

12 ‘‘(g) VOLUNTARY PROGRAMS TO EXCEED MODEL

13 BUILDING ENERGY CODE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

15 technical assistance, as described in subsection (e), 

16 for the development of voluntary programs that ex17 ceed the model building energy codes for residential 

18 and commercial buildings for use as— 

19 ‘‘(A) voluntary incentive programs adopted 

20 by local, tribal, or State governments; and 

21 ‘‘(B) nonbinding guidelines for energy-effi22 cient building design. 

23 ‘‘(2) TARGETS.—The voluntary programs de24 scribed in paragraph (1) shall be designed— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to achieve substantial energy savings 

2 compared to the model building energy codes; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) to meet targets under section 307(b), 

5 if available, up to 3 to 6 years in advance of the 

6 target years. 

7 ‘‘(h) STUDIES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) GAO STUDY.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller Gen10 eral of the United States shall conduct a study 

11 of the impacts of updating the national model 

12 building energy codes for residential and com13 mercial buildings. In conducting the study, the 

14 Comptroller General shall consider and report, 

15 at a minimum— 

16 ‘‘(i) the actual energy consumption 

17 savings stemming from updated energy 

18 codes compared to the energy consumption 

19 savings predicted during code development; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the actual consumer cost savings 

21 stemming from updated energy codes com22 pared to predicted consumer cost savings; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) an accounting of expenditures of 

2 the Federal funds under each program au3 thorized by this title. 

4 ‘‘(B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

5 than 3 years after the date of enactment of the 

6 North American Energy Security and Infra7 structure Act of 2015, the Comptroller General 

8 of the United States shall submit a report to 

9 the Committee on Energy and Natural Re10 sources of the Senate and the Committee on 

11 Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep12 resentatives including the study findings and 

13 conclusions. 

14 ‘‘(2) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—The Secretary, in 

15 consultation with building science experts from the 

16 National Laboratories and institutions of higher 

17 education, designers and builders of energy-efficient 

18 residential and commercial buildings, code officials, 

19 and other stakeholders, shall undertake a study of 

20 the feasibility, impact, economics, and merit of— 

21 ‘‘(A) code improvements that would require 

22 that buildings be designed, sited, and con23 structed in a manner that makes the buildings 

24 more adaptable in the future to become zero25 net-energy after initial construction, as adVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 07, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00196 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8.RFS H8

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1 vances are achieved in energy-saving tech2 nologies; 

3 ‘‘(B) code procedures to incorporate a ten4 year payback, not just first-year energy use, in 

5 trade-offs and performance calculations; and 

6 ‘‘(C) legislative options for increasing en7 ergy savings from building energy codes, includ8 ing additional incentives for effective State and 

9 local verification of compliance with and en10 forcement of a code. 

11 ‘‘(3) ENERGY DATA IN MULTITENANT BUILD12 INGS.—The Secretary, in consultation with appro13 priate representatives of the utility, utility regu14 latory, building ownership, and other stakeholders, 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) undertake a study of best practices 

17 regarding delivery of aggregated energy con18 sumption information to owners and managers 

19 of residential and commercial buildings with 

20 multiple tenants and uses; and 

21 ‘‘(B) consider the development of a memo22 randum of understanding between and among 

23 affected stakeholders to reduce barriers to the 

24 delivery of aggregated energy consumption in25 formation to such owners and managers. 


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1 ‘‘(i) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this sec2 tion or section 307 supersedes or modifies the application 

3 of sections 321 through 346 of the Energy Policy and 

4 Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6291 et seq.). 

5 ‘‘(j) FUNDING LIMITATIONS.—No Federal funds 

6 shall be— 

7 ‘‘(1) used to support actions by the Secretary, 

8 or States, to promote or discourage the adoption of 

9 a particular building energy code, code provision, or 

10 energy saving target to a State or Indian tribe; or 

11 ‘‘(2) provided to private third parties or non12 governmental organizations to engage in such activi13 ties.’’. 

14 (c) FEDERAL BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

15 STANDARDS.—Section 305 of the Energy Conservation 

16 and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6834) is amended by strik17 ing ‘‘voluntary building energy code’’ in subsections 

18 (a)(2)(B) and (b) and inserting ‘‘model building energy 

19 code’’. 

20 (d) MODEL BUILDING ENERGY CODES.— 

21 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 307 of the Energy 

22 Conservation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6836) 

23 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 307. SUPPORT FOR MODEL BUILDING ENERGY 

2 CODES. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide tech4 nical assistance, as described in subsection (c), for updat5 ing of model building energy codes. 

6 ‘‘(b) TARGETS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

8 technical assistance, for updating the model building 

9 energy codes. 

10 ‘‘(2) TARGETS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

12 provide technical assistance to States, Indian 

13 tribes, local governments, nationally recognized 

14 code and standards developers, and other inter15 ested parties for updating of model building en16 ergy codes by establishing one or more aggre17 gate energy savings targets through rulemaking 

18 in accordance with section 553 of title 5, 

19 United States Code, to achieve the purposes of 

20 this section. 

21 ‘‘(B) SEPARATE TARGETS.—Separate tar22 gets may be established for commercial and res23 idential buildings. 

24 ‘‘(C) BASELINES.—The baseline for updat25 ing model building energy codes shall be the 

26 2009 IECC for residential buildings and 


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1 ASHRAE Standard 90.1–2010 for commercial 

2 buildings. 

3 ‘‘(D) SPECIFIC YEARS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Targets for spe5 cific years shall be established and revised 

6 by the Secretary through rulemaking in ac7 cordance with section 553 of title 5, 

8 United States Code, and coordinated with 

9 nationally recognized code and standards 

10 developers at a level that— 

11 ‘‘(I) is at the maximum level of 

12 energy efficiency that is technically 

13 feasible and cost effective, while ac14 counting for the economic consider15 ations under paragraph (4); and 

16 ‘‘(II) promotes the achievement 

17 of commercial and residential high 

18 performance buildings through high 

19 performance energy efficiency (within 

20 the meaning of section 401 of the En21 ergy Independence and Security Act 

22 of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17061)). 

23 ‘‘(ii) INITIAL TARGETS.—Not later 

24 than 1 year after the date of enactment of 


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1 this clause, the Secretary shall establish 

2 initial targets under this subparagraph. 

3 ‘‘(iii) DIFFERENT TARGET YEARS.— 

4 Subject to clause (i), prior to the applica5 ble year, the Secretary may set a later tar6 get year for any of the model building en7 ergy codes described in subparagraph (A) 

8 if the Secretary determines that a target 

9 cannot be met. 

10 ‘‘(E) SMALL BUSINESS.—When estab11 lishing targets under this paragraph through 

12 rulemaking, the Secretary shall ensure compli13 ance with the Small Business Regulatory En14 forcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 601 

15 note; Public Law 104–121) for any indirect eco16 nomic effect on small entities that is reasonably 

17 foreseeable and a result of such rule. 

18 ‘‘(3) APPLIANCE STANDARDS AND OTHER FAC19 TORS AFFECTING BUILDING ENERGY USE.—In es20 tablishing energy savings targets under paragraph 

21 (2), the Secretary shall develop and adjust the tar22 gets in recognition of potential savings and costs re23 lating to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) efficiency gains made in appliances, 

2 lighting, windows, insulation, and building enve3 lope sealing; 

4 ‘‘(B) advancement of distributed genera5 tion and on-site renewable power generation 

6 technologies; 

7 ‘‘(C) equipment improvements for heating, 

8 cooling, and ventilation systems and water heat9 ing systems; 

10 ‘‘(D) building management systems and 

11 smart grid technologies to reduce energy use; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(E) other technologies, practices, and 

14 building systems regarding building plug load 

15 and other energy uses. 

16 In developing and adjusting the targets, the Sec17 retary shall use climate zone weighted averages for 

18 equipment efficiency for heating, cooling, ventilation, 

19 and water heating systems, using equipment that is 

20 actually installed. 

21 ‘‘(4) ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS.—In estab22 lishing and revising energy savings targets under 

23 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall consider the eco24 nomic feasibility of achieving the proposed targets 

25 established under this section and the potential costs 


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1 and savings for consumers and building owners, by 

2 conducting a return on investment analysis, using a 

3 simple payback methodology over a 3-, 5-, and 7- 

4 year period. The Secretary shall not propose or pro5 vide technical or financial assistance for any code, 

6 provision in the code, or energy target, or amend7 ment thereto, that has a payback greater than 10 

8 years. 

9 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO MODEL BUILDING

10 ENERGY CODE-SETTING AND STANDARD DEVELOPMENT

11 ORGANIZATIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, on a 

13 timely basis, provide technical assistance to model 

14 building energy code-setting and standard develop15 ment organizations consistent with the goals of this 

16 section. 

17 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The assistance 

18 shall include, as requested by the organizations, 

19 technical assistance in— 

20 ‘‘(A) evaluating the energy savings of 

21 building energy codes; 

22 ‘‘(B) assessing the economic consider23 ations, under subsection (b)(4), of code or 

24 standards proposals or revisions; 


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1 ‘‘(C) building energy analysis and design 

2 tools; 

3 ‘‘(D) energy simulation models; 

4 ‘‘(E) building demonstrations; 

5 ‘‘(F) developing definitions of energy use 

6 intensity and building types for use in model 

7 building energy codes to evaluate the efficiency 

8 impacts of the model building energy codes; 

9 ‘‘(G) developing a performance-based path10 way for compliance; 

11 ‘‘(H) developing model building energy 

12 codes by Indian tribes in accordance with tribal 

13 law; and 

14 ‘‘(I) code development meetings, including 

15 through direct Federal employee participation 

16 in committee meetings, hearings and online 

17 communication, voting, and presenting research 

18 and technical or economic analyses during such 

19 meetings. 

20 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSION.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2)(I), for purposes of this section, ‘technical 

22 assistance’ shall not include actions that promote or 

23 discourage the adoption of a particular building en24 ergy code, code provision, or energy savings target. 


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1 ‘‘(4) INFORMATION QUALITY AND TRANS2 PARENCY.—For purposes of this section, information 

3 provided by the Secretary, attendant to development 

4 of any energy savings targets, is influential informa5 tion and shall satisfy the guidelines established by 

6 the Office of Management and Budget and published 

7 at 67 Federal Register 8,452 (February 22, 2002). 

8 ‘‘(d) AMENDMENT PROPOSALS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may submit 

10 timely model building energy code amendment pro11 posals that are technically feasible, cost-effective, 

12 and technology-neutral to the model building energy 

13 code-setting and standard development organiza14 tions, with supporting evidence, sufficient to enable 

15 the model building energy codes to meet the targets 

16 established under subsection (b)(2). 

17 ‘‘(2) PROCESS AND FACTORS.—All amendment 

18 proposals submitted by the Secretary shall be pub19 lished in the Federal Register and made available on 

20 the Department of Energy website 90 days prior to 

21 any submittal to a code development body, and shall 

22 be subject to a public comment period of not less 

23 than 60 days. Information provided by the Sec24 retary, attendant to submission of any amendment 

25 proposals, is influential information and shall satisfy 


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1 the guidelines established by the Office of Manage2 ment and Budget and published at 67 Federal Reg3 ister 8,452 (February 22, 2002). When calculating 

4 the costs and benefits of an amendment, the Sec5 retary shall use climate zone weighted averages for 

6 equipment efficiency for heating, cooling, ventilation, 

7 and water heating systems, using equipment that is 

8 actually installed. 

9 ‘‘(e) ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY.—The Secretary shall 

10 make publicly available the entire calculation methodology 

11 (including input assumptions and data) used by the Sec12 retary to estimate the energy savings of code or standard 

13 proposals and revisions. 

14 ‘‘(f) METHODOLOGY DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary 

15 shall establish a methodology for evaluating cost effective16 ness of energy code changes in multifamily buildings that 

17 incorporates economic parameters representative of typical 

18 multifamily buildings. 

19 ‘‘(g) DETERMINATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) REVISION OF MODEL BUILDING ENERGY

21 CODES.—If the provisions of the IECC or ASHRAE 

22 Standard 90.1 regarding building energy use are re23 vised, the Secretary shall make a preliminary deter24 mination not later than 90 days after the date of the 

25 revision, and a final determination not later than 15 


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1 months after the date of the revision, on whether or 

2 not the revision— 

3 ‘‘(A) improves energy efficiency in build4 ings compared to the existing IECC or 

5 ASHRAE Standard 90.1, as applicable; 

6 ‘‘(B) meets the applicable targets under 

7 subsection (b)(2); and 

8 ‘‘(C) is technically feasible and cost-effec9 tive. 

10 ‘‘(2) CODES OR STANDARDS NOT MEETING CRI11 TERIA.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary 

13 makes a preliminary determination under para14 graph (1)(B) that a revised IECC or ASHRAE 

15 Standard 90.1 does not meet the targets estab16 lished under subsection (b)(2), is not technically 

17 feasible, or is not cost-effective, the Secretary 

18 may at the same time provide technical assist19 ance, as described in subsection (c), to the 

20 International Code Council or ASHRAE, as ap21 plicable, with proposed changes that would re22 sult in a model building energy code or stand23 ard that meets the criteria, and with supporting 

24 evidence. Proposed changes submitted by the 

25 Secretary shall be published in the Federal 


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1 Register and made available on the Department 

2 of Energy website 90 days prior to any sub3 mittal to a code development body, and shall be 

4 subject to a public comment period of not less 

5 than 60 days. Information provided by the Sec6 retary, attendant to submission of any amend7 ment proposals, is influential information and 

8 shall satisfy the guidelines established by the 

9 Office of Management and Budget and pub10 lished at 67 Federal Register 8,452 (February 

11 22, 2002). 

12 ‘‘(B) INCORPORATION OF CHANGES.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of the 

14 technical assistance, as described in sub15 section (c), the International Code Council 

16 or ASHRAE, as applicable, shall, prior to 

17 the Secretary making a final determination 

18 under paragraph (1), have an additional 

19 270 days to accept or reject the proposed 

20 changes made by the Secretary to the 

21 model building energy code or standard. 

22 ‘‘(ii) FINAL DETERMINATION.—A 

23 final determination under paragraph (1) 

24 shall be on the final revised model building 

25 energy code or standard. 


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1 ‘‘(h) ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying out this section, 

2 the Secretary shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) publish notice of targets, amendment pro4 posals and supporting analysis and determinations 

5 under this section in the Federal Register to provide 

6 an explanation of and the basis for such actions, in7 cluding any supporting modeling, data, assumptions, 

8 protocols, and cost-benefit analysis, including return 

9 on investment; 

10 ‘‘(2) provide an opportunity for public comment 

11 on targets and supporting analysis and determina12 tions under this section, in accordance with section 

13 553 of title 5, United States Code; and 

14 ‘‘(3) provide an opportunity for public comment 

15 on amendment proposals. 

16 ‘‘(i) VOLUNTARY CODES AND STANDARDS.—Not 

17 withstanding any other provision of this section, any 

18 model building code or standard established under this 

19 section shall not be binding on a State, local government, 

20 or Indian tribe as a matter of Federal law.’’. 

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item re22 lating to section 307 in the table of contents for the 

23 Energy Conservation and Production Act is amend24 ed to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 307. Support for model building energy codes.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3142. VOLUNTARY NATURE OF BUILDING ASSET RAT2 ING PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any program of the Secretary of 

4 Energy that may enable the owner of a commercial build5 ing or a residential building to obtain a rating, score, or 

6 label regarding the actual or anticipated energy usage or 

7 performance of a building shall be made available on a 

8 voluntary, optional, and market-driven basis. 

9 (b) DISCLAIMER AS TO REGULATORY INTENT.—In10 formation disseminated by the Secretary of Energy re11 garding the program described in subsection (a), including 

12 any information made available by the Secretary on a 

13 website, shall include language plainly stating that such 

14 program is not developed or intended to be the basis for 

15 a regulatory program by a Federal, State, local, or munic16 ipal government body. 

17 CHAPTER 5—EPCA TECHNICAL 

18 CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS 

19 SEC. 3151. MODIFYING PRODUCT DEFINITIONS. 

20 (a) AUTHORITY TO MODIFY DEFINITIONS.— 

21 (1) COVERED PRODUCTS.—Section 322 of the 

22 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 6292) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(c) MODIFYING DEFINITIONS OF COVERED PROD26 UCTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For any covered product 

2 for which a definition is provided in section 321, the 

3 Secretary may, by rule, unless prohibited herein, 

4 modify such definition in order to— 

5 ‘‘(A) address significant changes in the 

6 product or the market occurring since the defi7 nition was established; and 

8 ‘‘(B) better enable improvements in the en9 ergy efficiency of the product as part of an en10 ergy using system. 

11 ‘‘(2) ANTIBACKSLIDING EXEMPTION.—Section 

12 325(o)(1) shall not apply to adjustments to covered 

13 product definitions made pursuant to this sub14 section. 

15 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURE FOR MODIFYING DEFINI16 TION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notice of any adjust18 ment to the definition of a covered product and 

19 an explanation of the reasons therefor shall be 

20 published in the Federal Register and oppor21 tunity provided for public comment. 

22 ‘‘(B) CONSENSUS REQUIRED.—Any 

23 amendment to the definition of a covered prod24 uct under this subsection must have consensus 

25 support, as reflected in— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the outcome of negotiations con2 ducted in accordance with the subchapter 

3 III of chapter 5 of title 5, United States 

4 Code (commonly known as the ‘Negotiated 

5 Rulemaking Act of 1990’); or 

6 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary’s receipt of a state7 ment that is submitted jointly by inter8 ested persons that are fairly representative 

9 of relevant points of view (including rep10 resentatives of manufacturers of covered 

11 products, States, and efficiency advocates), 

12 as determined by the Secretary, which con13 tains a recommended modified definition 

14 for a covered product. 

15 ‘‘(4) EFFECT OF A MODIFIED DEFINITION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For any type or class 

17 of consumer product which becomes a covered 

18 product pursuant to this subsection— 

19 ‘‘(i) the Secretary may establish test 

20 procedures for such type or class of cov21 ered product pursuant to section 323 and 

22 energy conservation standards pursuant to 

23 section 325(l); 

24 ‘‘(ii) the Commission may prescribe 

25 labeling rules pursuant to section 324 if 


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1 the Commission determines that labeling in 

2 accordance with that section is techno3 logically and economically feasible and like4 ly to assist consumers in making pur5 chasing decisions; 

6 ‘‘(iii) section 327 shall begin to apply 

7 to such type or class of covered product in 

8 accordance with section 325(ii)(1); and 

9 ‘‘(iv) standards previously promul10 gated under section 325 shall not apply to 

11 such type or class of product. 

12 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—For any type or 

13 class of consumer product which ceases to be a 

14 covered product pursuant to this subsection, the 

15 provisions of this part shall no longer apply to 

16 the type or class of consumer product.’’. 

17 (2) COVERED EQUIPMENT.—Section 341 of the 

18 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 6312) is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(d) MODIFYING DEFINITIONS OF COVERED EQUIP22 MENT.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For any covered equipment 

24 for which a definition is provided in section 340, the 


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1 Secretary may, by rule, unless prohibited herein, 

2 modify such definition in order to— 

3 ‘‘(A) address significant changes in the 

4 product or the market occurring since the defi5 nition was established; and 

6 ‘‘(B) better enable improvements in the en7 ergy efficiency of the equipment as part of an 

8 energy using system. 

9 ‘‘(2) ANTIBACKSLIDING EXEMPTION.—Section 

10 325(o)(1) shall not apply to adjustments to covered 

11 equipment definitions made pursuant to this sub12 section. 

13 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURE FOR MODIFYING DEFINI14 TION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notice of any adjust16 ment to the definition of a type of covered 

17 equipment and an explanation of the reasons 

18 therefor shall be published in the Federal Reg19 ister and opportunity provided for public com20 ment. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONSENSUS REQUIRED.—Any 

22 amendment to the definition of a type of cov23 ered equipment under this subsection must have 

24 consensus support, as reflected in— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the outcome of negotiations con2 ducted in accordance with the subchapter 

3 III of chapter 5 of title 5, United States 

4 Code (commonly known as the ‘Negotiated 

5 Rulemaking Act of 1990’); or 

6 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary’s receipt of a state7 ment that is submitted jointly by inter8 ested persons that are fairly representative 

9 of relevant points of view (including rep10 resentatives of manufacturers of covered 

11 equipment, States, and efficiency advo12 cates), as determined by the Secretary, 

13 which contains a recommended modified 

14 definition for a type of covered equipment. 

15 ‘‘(4) EFFECT OF A MODIFIED DEFINITION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) For any type or class of equipment 

17 which becomes covered equipment pursuant to 

18 this subsection— 

19 ‘‘(i) the Secretary may establish test 

20 procedures for such type or class of cov21 ered equipment pursuant to section 343 

22 and energy conservation standards pursu23 ant to section 325(l); 

24 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary may prescribe la25 beling rules pursuant to section 344 if the 


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1 Secretary determines that labeling in ac2 cordance with that section is techno3 logically and economically feasible and like4 ly to assist purchasers in making pur5 chasing decisions; 

6 ‘‘(iii) section 327 shall begin to apply 

7 to such type or class of covered equipment 

8 in accordance with section 325(ii)(1); and 

9 ‘‘(iv) standards previously promul10 gated under section 325, 342, or 346 shall 

11 not apply to such type or class of covered 

12 equipment. 

13 ‘‘(B) For any type or class of equipment 

14 which ceases to be covered equipment pursuant 

15 to this subsection the provisions of this part 

16 shall no longer apply to the type or class of 

17 equipment.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS PROVIDING FOR JU19 DICIAL REVIEW.— 

20 (1) Section 336 of the Energy Policy and Con21 servation Act (42 U.S.C. 6306) is amended by strik22 ing ‘‘section 323,’’ each place it appears and insert23 ing ‘‘section 322, 323,’’; and 


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1 (2) Section 345(a)(1) of the Energy Policy and 

2 Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6316(a)(1)) is amend3 ed to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(1) the references to sections 322, 323, 324, 

5 and 325 of this Act shall be considered as references 

6 to sections 341, 343, 344, and 342 of this Act, re7 spectively;’’. 

8 SEC. 3152. CLARIFYING RULEMAKING PROCEDURES. 

9 (a) COVERED PRODUCTS.—Section 325(p) of the En10 ergy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6295(p)) is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 

13 and (4) as paragraphs (2), (3), (5), and (6), respec14 tively; 

15 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so re16 designated by paragraph (1) of this subsection) the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall provide an opportunity 

19 for public input prior to the issuance of a proposed 

20 rule, seeking information— 

21 ‘‘(A) identifying and commenting on design 

22 options; 

23 ‘‘(B) on the existence of and opportunities 

24 for voluntary nonregulatory actions; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) identifying significant subgroups of 

2 consumers and manufacturers that merit anal3 ysis.’’; 

4 (3) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated by 

5 paragraph (1) of this subsection)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

7 ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘adequate;’’; 

8 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

9 ‘‘standard.’’ and inserting ‘‘standard;’’; and 

10 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

11 subparagraphs: 

12 ‘‘(E) whether the technical and economic 

13 analytical assumptions, methods, and models 

14 used to justify the standard to be prescribed 

15 are— 

16 ‘‘(i) justified; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) available and accessible for pub18 lic review, analysis, and use; and 

19 ‘‘(F) the cumulative regulatory impacts on 

20 the manufacturers of the product, taking into 

21 account— 

22 ‘‘(i) other government standards af23 fecting energy use; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) other energy conservation stand2 ards affecting the same manufacturers.’’; 

3 and 

4 (4) by inserting after paragraph (3) (as so re5 designated by paragraph (1) of this subsection) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(4) RESTRICTION ON TEST PROCEDURE

8 AMENDMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any proposed energy 

10 conservation standards rule shall be based on 

11 the final test procedure which shall be used to 

12 determine compliance, and the public comment 

13 period on the proposed standards shall conclude 

14 no sooner than 180 days after the date of publi15 cation of a final rule revising the test proce16 dure. 

17 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may 

18 propose or prescribe an amendment to the test 

19 procedures issued pursuant to section 323 for 

20 any type or class of covered product after the 

21 issuance of a notice of proposed rulemaking to 

22 prescribe an amended or new energy conserva23 tion standard for that type or class of covered 

24 product, but before the issuance of a final rule 

25 prescribing any such standard, if— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the amendments to the test pro2 cedure have consensus support achieved 

3 through a rulemaking conducted in accord4 ance with the subchapter III of chapter 5 

5 of title 5, United States Code (commonly 

6 known as the ‘Negotiated Rulemaking Act 

7 of 1990’); or 

8 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary receives a state9 ment that is submitted jointly by inter10 ested persons that are fairly representative 

11 of relevant points of view (including rep12 resentatives of manufacturers of the type 

13 or class of covered product, States, and ef14 ficiency advocates), as determined by the 

15 Secretary, which contains a recommenda16 tion that a supplemental notice of proposed 

17 rulemaking is not necessary for the type or 

18 class of covered product.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 345(b)(1) 

20 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 6316(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 325(p)(4),’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘section 325(p)(3), (4), and (6),’’. 


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1 CHAPTER 6—ENERGY AND WATER 

2 EFFICIENCY 

3 SEC. 3161. SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY PILOT 

4 PROGRAM. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti7 ty’’ means— 

8 (A) a utility; 

9 (B) a municipality; 

10 (C) a water district; and 

11 (D) any other authority that provides 

12 water, wastewater, or water reuse services. 

13 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of Energy. 

15 (3) SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY

16 PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘smart energy and 

17 water efficiency pilot program’’ or ‘‘pilot program’’ 

18 means the pilot program established under sub19 section (b). 

20 (b) SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY PILOT

21 PROGRAM.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

23 and carry out a smart energy and water efficiency 

24 management pilot program in accordance with this 

25 section. 


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1 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the smart en2 ergy and water efficiency pilot program is to award 

3 grants to eligible entities to demonstrate advanced 

4 and innovative technology-based solutions that will— 

5 (A) increase and improve the energy effi6 ciency of water, wastewater, and water reuse 

7 systems to help communities across the United 

8 States make significant progress in conserving 

9 water, saving energy, and reducing costs; 

10 (B) support the implementation of innova11 tive processes and the installation of advanced 

12 automated systems that provide real-time data 

13 on energy and water; and 

14 (C) improve energy and water conserva15 tion, water quality, and predictive maintenance 

16 of energy and water systems, through the use 

17 of Internet-connected technologies, including 

18 sensors, intelligent gateways, and security em19 bedded in hardware. 

20 (3) PROJECT SELECTION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

22 make competitive, merit-reviewed grants under 

23 the pilot program to not less than 3, but not 

24 more than 5, eligible entities. 


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1 (B) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting an 

2 eligible entity to receive a grant under the pilot 

3 program, the Secretary shall consider— 

4 (i) energy and cost savings anticipated 

5 to result from the project; 

6 (ii) the innovative nature, commercial 

7 viability, and reliability of the technology 

8 to be used; 

9 (iii) the degree to which the project 

10 integrates next-generation sensors, soft11 ware, hardware, analytics, and manage12 ment tools; 

13 (iv) the anticipated cost effectiveness 

14 of the pilot project in terms of energy effi15 ciency savings, water savings or reuse, and 

16 infrastructure costs averted; 

17 (v) whether the technology can be de18 ployed in a variety of geographic regions 

19 and the degree to which the technology can 

20 be implemented on a smaller or larger 

21 scale, including whether the technology can 

22 be implemented by each type of eligible en23 tity; 

24 (vi) whether the technology has been 

25 successfully deployed elsewhere; 


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1 (vii) whether the technology is sourced 

2 from a manufacturer based in the United 

3 States; and 

4 (viii) whether the project will be com5 pleted in 5 years or less. 

6 (C) APPLICATIONS.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

8 (ii), an eligible entity seeking a grant 

9 under the pilot program shall submit to 

10 the Secretary an application at such time, 

11 in such manner, and containing such infor12 mation as the Secretary determines to be 

13 necessary. 

14 (ii) CONTENTS.—An application under 

15 clause (i) shall, at a minimum, include— 

16 (I) a description of the project; 

17 (II) a description of the tech18 nology to be used in the project; 

19 (III) the anticipated results, in20 cluding energy and water savings, of 

21 the project; 

22 (IV) a comprehensive budget for 

23 the project; 

24 (V) the names of the project lead 

25 organization and any partners; 


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1 (VI) the number of users to be 

2 served by the project; and 

3 (VII) any other information that 

4 the Secretary determines to be nec5 essary to complete the review and se6 lection of a grant recipient. 

7 (4) ADMINISTRATION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 300 

9 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

10 the Secretary shall select grant recipients under 

11 this section. 

12 (B) EVALUATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

13 annually carry out an evaluation of each project 

14 for which a grant is provided under this section 

15 that— 

16 (i) evaluates the progress and impact 

17 of the project; and 

18 (ii) assesses the degree to which the 

19 project is meeting the goals of the pilot 

20 program. 

21 (C) TECHNICAL AND POLICY ASSIST22 ANCE.—On the request of a grant recipient, the 

23 Secretary shall provide technical and policy as24 sistance to the grant recipient to carry out the 

25 project. 


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1 (D) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary 

2 shall make available to the public— 

3 (i) a copy of each evaluation carried 

4 out under subparagraph (B); and 

5 (ii) a description of any best practices 

6 identified by the Secretary as a result of 

7 those evaluations. 

8 (E) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Sec9 retary shall submit to Congress a report con10 taining the results of each evaluation carried 

11 out under subparagraph (B). 

12 (c) FUNDING.—To carry out this section, the Sec13 retary is authorized to use not more than $15,000,000, 

14 to the extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts. 

15 SEC. 3162. WATERSENSE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Energy Policy and Conserva17 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) is amended by adding 

18 after section 324A the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 324B. WATERSENSE. 

20 ‘‘(a) WATERSENSE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within 

22 the Environmental Protection Agency a voluntary 

23 program, to be entitled ‘WaterSense’, to identify 

24 water efficient products, buildings, landscapes, facili25 ties, processes, and services that sensibly— 


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1 ‘‘(A) reduce water use; 

2 ‘‘(B) reduce the strain on public and com3 munity water systems and wastewater and 

4 stormwater infrastructure; 

5 ‘‘(C) conserve energy used to pump, heat, 

6 transport, and treat water; and 

7 ‘‘(D) preserve water resources for future 

8 generations, through voluntary labeling of, or 

9 other forms of communications about, products, 

10 buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and 

11 services while still meeting strict performance 

12 criteria. 

13 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Administrator, coordinating 

14 as appropriate with the Secretary of Energy, shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) establish— 

16 ‘‘(i) a WaterSense label to be used for 

17 items meeting the certification criteria es18 tablished in this section; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the procedure, including the 

20 methods and means, by which an item may 

21 be certified to display the WaterSense 

22 label; 

23 ‘‘(B) conduct a public awareness education 

24 campaign regarding the WaterSense label; 


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1 ‘‘(C) preserve the integrity of the 

2 WaterSense label by— 

3 ‘‘(i) establishing and maintaining fea4 sible performance criteria so that products, 

5 buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, 

6 and services labeled with the WaterSense 

7 label perform as well or better than less 

8 water-efficient counterparts; 

9 ‘‘(ii) overseeing WaterSense certifi10 cations made by third parties; 

11 ‘‘(iii) using testing protocols, from the 

12 appropriate, applicable, and relevant con13 sensus standards, for the purpose of deter14 mining standards compliance; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) auditing the use of the 

16 WaterSense label in the marketplace and 

17 preventing cases of misuse; and 

18 ‘‘(D) not more often than every six years, 

19 review and, if appropriate, update WaterSense 

20 criteria for the defined categories of water-effi21 cient product, building, landscape, process, or 

22 service, including— 

23 ‘‘(i) providing reasonable notice to in24 terested parties and the public of any such 


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1 changes, including effective dates, and an 

2 explanation of the changes; 

3 ‘‘(ii) soliciting comments from inter4 ested parties and the public prior to any 

5 such changes; 

6 ‘‘(iii) as appropriate, responding to 

7 comments submitted by interested parties 

8 and the public; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) providing an appropriate transi10 tion time prior to the applicable effective 

11 date of any such changes, taking into ac12 count the timing necessary for the manu13 facture, marketing, training, and distribu14 tion of the specific water-efficient product, 

15 building, landscape, process, or service cat16 egory being addressed. 

17 ‘‘(b) USE OF SCIENCE.—In carrying out this section, 

18 and, to the degree that an agency action is based on 

19 science, the Administrator shall use— 

20 ‘‘(1) the best available peer-reviewed science 

21 and supporting studies conducted in accordance with 

22 sound and objective scientific practices; and 

23 ‘‘(2) data collected by accepted methods or best 

24 available methods (if the reliability of the method 


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1 and the nature of the decision justify use of the 

2 data). 

3 ‘‘(c) DISTINCTION OF AUTHORITIES.—In setting or 

4 maintaining standards for Energy Star pursuant to sec5 tion 324A, and WaterSense under this section, the Sec6 retary and Administrator shall coordinate to prevent du7 plicative or conflicting requirements among the respective 

8 programs. 

9 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis11 trator’ means the Administrator of the Environ12 mental Protection Agency. 

13 ‘‘(2) FEASIBLE.—The term ‘feasible’ means 

14 feasible with the use of the best technology, treat15 ment techniques, and other means that the Adminis16 trator finds, after examination for efficacy under 

17 field conditions and not solely under laboratory con18 ditions, are available (taking cost into consider19 ation). 

20 ‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

21 the Secretary of Energy. 

22 ‘‘(4) WATER-EFFICIENT PRODUCT, BUILDING, 

23 LANDSCAPE, PROCESS, OR SERVICE.—The term 

24 ‘water-efficient product, building, landscape, process, 

25 or service’ means a product, building, landscape, 


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1 process, or service for a residence or a commercial 

2 or institutional building, or its landscape, that is 

3 rated for water efficiency and performance, the cov4 ered categories of which are— 

5 ‘‘(A) irrigation technologies and services; 

6 ‘‘(B) point-of-use water treatment devices; 

7 ‘‘(C) plumbing products; 

8 ‘‘(D) reuse and recycling technologies; 

9 ‘‘(E) landscaping and gardening products, 

10 including moisture control or water enhancing 

11 technologies; 

12 ‘‘(F) xeriscaping and other landscape con13 versions that reduce water use; and 

14 ‘‘(G) new water efficient homes certified 

15 under the WaterSense program.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con17 tents for the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (Public 

18 Law 94–163; 42 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) is amended by in19 serting after the item relating to section 324A the fol20 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 324B. WaterSense.’’. 


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1 Subtitle B—Accountability 

2 CHAPTER 1—MARKET MANIPULATION, 

3 ENFORCEMENT, AND COMPLIANCE 

4 SEC. 3211. FERC OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE AND 

5 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. 

6 Section 319 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

7 825q–1) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 319. OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE AND PUB9 LIC PARTICIPATION. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

11 the Commission an Office of Compliance Assistance and 

12 Public Participation (referred to in this section as the ‘Of13 fice’). The Office shall be headed by a Director. 

14 ‘‘(b) DUTIES OF DIRECTOR.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office 

16 shall promote improved compliance with Commission 

17 rules and orders by— 

18 ‘‘(A) making recommendations to the Com19 mission regarding— 

20 ‘‘(i) the protection of consumers; 

21 ‘‘(ii) market integrity and support for 

22 the development of responsible market be23 havior; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the application of Commission 

2 rules and orders in a manner that ensures 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(I) rates and charges for, or in 

5 connection with, the transmission or 

6 sale of electric energy subject to the 

7 jurisdiction of the Commission shall 

8 be just and reasonable and not unduly 

9 discriminatory or preferential; and 

10 ‘‘(II) markets for such trans11 mission and sale of electric energy are 

12 not impaired and consumers are not 

13 damaged; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) the impact of existing and pro15 posed Commission rules and orders on 

16 small entities, as defined in section 601 of 

17 title 5, United States Code (commonly 

18 known as the Regulatory Flexibility Act); 

19 ‘‘(B) providing entities subject to regula20 tion by the Commission the opportunity to ob21 tain timely guidance for compliance with Com22 mission rules and orders; and 

23 ‘‘(C) providing information to the Commis24 sion and Congress to inform policy with respect 


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1 to energy issues under the jurisdiction of the 

2 Commission. 

3 ‘‘(2) REPORTS AND GUIDANCE.—The Director 

4 shall, as the Director determines appropriate, issue 

5 reports and guidance to the Commission and to enti6 ties subject to regulation by the Commission, regard7 ing market practices, proposing improvements in 

8 Commission monitoring of market practices, and ad9 dressing potential improvements to both industry 

10 and Commission practices. 

11 ‘‘(3) OUTREACH.—The Director shall promote 

12 improved compliance with Commission rules and or13 ders through outreach, publications, and, where ap14 propriate, direct communication with entities regu15 lated by the Commission.’’. 

16 CHAPTER 2—MARKET REFORMS 

17 SEC. 3221. GAO STUDY ON WHOLESALE ELECTRICITY MAR18 KETS. 

19 (a) STUDY AND REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

21 General shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 

22 Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Com23 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

24 a report describing the results of a study of whether and 

25 how the current market rules, practices, and structures 


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1 of each regional transmission entity produce rates that are 

2 just and reasonable by— 

3 (1) facilitating fuel diversity, the availability of 

4 generation resources during emergency and severe 

5 weather conditions, resource adequacy, and reli6 ability, including the cost-effective retention and de7 velopment of needed generation; 

8 (2) promoting the equitable treatment of busi9 ness models, including different utility types, the in10 tegration of diverse generation resources, and ad11 vanced grid technologies; 

12 (3) identifying and addressing regulatory bar13 riers to entry, market-distorting incentives, and arti14 ficial constraints on competition; 

15 (4) providing transparency regarding dispatch 

16 decisions, including the need for out-of-market ac17 tions and payments, and the accuracy of day-ahead 

18 unit commitments; 

19 (5) facilitating the development of necessary 

20 natural gas pipeline and electric transmission infra21 structure; 

22 (6) ensuring fairness and transparency in gov23 ernance structures and stakeholder processes, in24 cluding meaningful participation by both voting and 

25 nonvoting stakeholder representatives; 


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1 (7) ensuring the proper alignment of the energy 

2 and transmission markets by including both energy 

3 and financial transmission rights in the day-ahead 

4 markets; 

5 (8) facilitating the ability of load-serving enti6 ties to self-supply their service territory load; 

7 (9) considering, as appropriate, State and local 

8 resource planning; and 

9 (10) mitigating, to the extent practicable, the 

10 disruptive effects of tariff revisions on the economic 

11 decisionmaking of market participants. 

12 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) LOAD-SERVING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘load14 serving entity’’ has the meaning given that term in 

15 section 217 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

16 824q). 

17 (2) REGIONAL TRANSMISSION ENTITY.—The 

18 term ‘‘regional transmission entity’’ means a Re19 gional Transmission Organization or an Independent 

20 System Operator, as such terms are defined in sec21 tion 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 

22 SEC. 3222. CLARIFICATION OF FACILITY MERGER AUTHOR23 IZATION. 

24 Section 203(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Power Act (16 

25 U.S.C. 824b(a)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘such faciliVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 07, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00236 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8.RFS H8

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1 ties or any part thereof’’ and inserting ‘‘such facilities, or 

2 any part thereof, of a value in excess of $10,000,000’’. 

3 CHAPTER 3—CODE MAINTENANCE 

4 SEC. 3231. REPEAL OF OFF-HIGHWAY MOTOR VEHICLES 

5 STUDY. 

6 (a) REPEAL.—Part I of title III of the Energy Policy 

7 and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6373) is repealed. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con9 tents for the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (Public 

10 Law 94–163; 89 Stat. 871) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking the item relating to part I of 

12 title III; and 

13 (2) by striking the item relating to section 385. 

14 SEC. 3232. REPEAL OF METHANOL STUDY. 

15 Section 400EE of the Energy Policy and Conserva16 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 6374d) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking subsection (a); and 

18 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 

19 subsections (a) and (b), respectively. 

20 SEC. 3233. REPEAL OF RESIDENTIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

21 STANDARDS STUDY. 

22 (a) REPEAL.—Section 253 of the National Energy 

23 Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8232) is repealed. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con25 tents for the National Energy Conservation Policy Act 


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1 (Public Law 95–619; 92 Stat. 3206) is amended by strik2 ing the item relating to section 253. 

3 SEC. 3234. REPEAL OF WEATHERIZATION STUDY. 

4 (a) REPEAL.—Section 254 of the National Energy 

5 Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8233) is repealed. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con7 tents for the National Energy Conservation Policy Act 

8 (Public Law 95–619; 92 Stat. 3206) is amended by strik9 ing the item relating to section 254. 

10 SEC. 3235. REPEAL OF REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

11 (a) REPEAL.—Section 273 of the National Energy 

12 Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8236b) is repealed. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con14 tents for the National Energy Conservation Policy Act 

15 (Public Law 95–619; 92 Stat. 3206) is amended by strik16 ing the item relating to section 273. 

17 SEC. 3236. REPEAL OF REPORT BY GENERAL SERVICES AD18 MINISTRATION. 

19 (a) REPEAL.—Section 154 of the Energy Policy Act 

20 of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 8262a) is repealed. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (1) The table of contents for the Energy Policy 

23 Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–486; 106 Stat. 2776) 

24 is amended by striking the item relating to section 

25 154. 


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1 (2) Section 159 of the Energy Policy Act of 

2 1992 (42 U.S.C. 8262e) is amended by striking sub3 section (c). 

4 SEC. 3237. REPEAL OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL ENERGY 

5 MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND COORDINA6 TION WORKSHOPS. 

7 (a) REPEAL.—Section 156 of the Energy Policy Act 

8 of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 8262b) is repealed. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con10 tents for the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102– 

11 486; 106 Stat. 2776) is amended by striking the item re12 lating to section 156. 

13 SEC. 3238. REPEAL OF INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDIT SUR14 VEY AND PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL ON INTEG15 RITY AND EFFICIENCY REPORT TO CON16 GRESS. 

17 (a) REPEAL.—Section 160 of the Energy Policy Act 

18 of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 8262f) is amended by striking the sec19 tion designation and heading and all that follows through 

20 ‘‘(c) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.—Each Inspector 

21 General’’ and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 160. INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW. 

23 ‘‘Each Inspector General’’. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con25 tents for the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102– 


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1 486; 106 Stat. 2776) is amended by striking the item re2 lating to section 160 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 160. Inspector General review.’’. 

3 SEC. 3239. REPEAL OF PROCUREMENT AND IDENTIFICA4 TION OF ENERGY EFFICIENT PRODUCTS PRO5 GRAM. 

6 (a) REPEAL.—Section 161 of the Energy Policy Act 

7 of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 8262g) is repealed. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con9 tents for the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102– 

10 486; 106 Stat. 2776) is amended by striking the item re11 lating to section 161. 

12 SEC. 3240. REPEAL OF NATIONAL ACTION PLAN FOR DE13 MAND RESPONSE. 

14 (a) REPEAL.—Part 5 of title V of the National En15 ergy Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8279) is re16 pealed. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con18 tents for the National Energy Conservation Policy Act 

19 (Public Law 95–619; 92 Stat. 3206; 121 Stat. 1665) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by striking the item relating to part 5 of 

22 title V; and 

23 (2) by striking the item relating to section 571. 


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1 SEC. 3241. REPEAL OF NATIONAL COAL POLICY STUDY. 

2 (a) REPEAL.—Section 741 of the Powerplant and In3 dustrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 8451) is re4 pealed. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con6 tents for the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 

7 1978 (Public Law 95–620; 92 Stat. 3289) is amended by 

8 striking the item relating to section 741. 

9 SEC. 3242. REPEAL OF STUDY ON COMPLIANCE PROBLEM 

10 OF SMALL ELECTRIC UTILITY SYSTEMS. 

11 (a) REPEAL.—Section 744 of the Powerplant and In12 dustrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 8454) is re13 pealed. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con15 tents for the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 

16 1978 (Public Law 95–620; 92 Stat. 3289) is amended by 

17 striking the item relating to section 744. 

18 SEC. 3243. REPEAL OF STUDY OF SOCIOECONOMIC IM19 PACTS OF INCREASED COAL PRODUCTION 

20 AND OTHER ENERGY DEVELOPMENT. 

21 (a) REPEAL.—Section 746 of the Powerplant and In22 dustrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 8456) is re23 pealed. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con25 tents for the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 


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1 1978 (Public Law 95–620; 92 Stat. 3289) is amended by 

2 striking the item relating to section 746. 

3 SEC. 3244. REPEAL OF STUDY OF THE USE OF PETROLEUM 

4 AND NATURAL GAS IN COMBUSTORS. 

5 (a) REPEAL.—Section 747 of the Powerplant and In6 dustrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 8457) is re7 pealed. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con9 tents for the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 

10 1978 (Public Law 95–620; 92 Stat. 3289) is amended by 

11 striking the item relating to section 747. 

12 SEC. 3245. REPEAL OF SUBMISSION OF REPORTS. 

13 (a) REPEAL.—Section 807 of the Powerplant and In14 dustrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 8483) is re15 pealed. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con17 tents for the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 

18 1978 (Public Law 95–620; 92 Stat. 3289) is amended by 

19 striking the item relating to section 807. 

20 SEC. 3246. REPEAL OF ELECTRIC UTILITY CONSERVATION 

21 PLAN. 

22 (a) REPEAL.—Section 808 of the Powerplant and In23 dustrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 8484) is re24 pealed. 

25 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con2 tents for the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use 

3 Act of 1978 (Public Law 95–620; 92 Stat. 3289) is 

4 amended by striking the item relating to section 

5 808. 

6 (2) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION.—Section 

7 712 of the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act 

8 of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 8422) is amended— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘(a) GENERALLY.—’’; and 

10 (B) by striking subsection (b). 

11 SEC. 3247. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO POWERPLANT AND 

12 INDUSTRIAL FUEL USE ACT OF 1978. 

13 The table of contents for the Powerplant and Indus14 trial Fuel Use Act of 1978 (Public Law 95–620; 92 Stat. 

15 3289) is amended by striking the item relating to section 

16 742. 

17 SEC. 3248. EMERGENCY ENERGY CONSERVATION REPEALS. 

18 (a) REPEALS.— 

19 (1) Section 201 of the Emergency Energy Con20 servation Act of 1979 (42 U.S.C. 8501) is amend21 ed— 

22 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

23 ‘‘FINDINGS AND’’; 

24 (B) by striking subsection (a); and 

25 (C) by striking ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—’’. 


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1 (2) Section 221 of the Emergency Energy Con2 servation Act of 1979 (42 U.S.C. 8521) is repealed. 

3 (3) Section 222 of the Emergency Energy Con4 servation Act of 1979 (42 U.S.C. 8522) is repealed. 

5 (4) Section 241 of the Emergency Energy Con6 servation Act of 1979 (42 U.S.C. 8531) is repealed. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con8 tents for the Emergency Energy Conservation Act of 1979 

9 (Public Law 96–102; 93 Stat. 749) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking the item relating to section 201 

11 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 201. Purposes.’’; 

12 and 

13 (2) by striking the items relating to sections 

14 221, 222, and 241. 

15 SEC. 3249. REPEAL OF STATE UTILITY REGULATORY AS16 SISTANCE. 

17 (a) REPEAL.—Section 207 of the Energy Conserva18 tion and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6807) is repealed. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con20 tents for the Energy Conservation and Production Act 

21 (Public Law 94–385; 90 Stat. 1125) is amended by strik22 ing the item relating to section 207. 


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1 SEC. 3250. REPEAL OF SURVEY OF ENERGY SAVING POTEN2 TIAL. 

3 (a) REPEAL.—Section 550 of the National Energy 

4 Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8258b) is repealed. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (1) The table of contents for the National En7 ergy Conservation Policy Act (Public Law 95–619; 

8 92 Stat. 3206; 106 Stat. 2851) is amended by strik9 ing the item relating to section 550. 

10 (2) Section 543(d)(2) of the National Energy 

11 Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8253(d)(2)) is 

12 amended by striking ‘‘, incorporating any relevant 

13 information obtained from the survey conducted pur14 suant to section 550’’. 

15 SEC. 3251. REPEAL OF PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY PROGRAM. 

16 (a) REPEAL.—Part 4 of title V of the National En17 ergy Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8271 et seq.) is 

18 repealed. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of con20 tents for the National Energy Conservation Policy Act 

21 (Public Law 95–619; 92 Stat. 3206) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking the item relating to part 4 of 

23 title V; and 

24 (2) by striking the items relating to sections 

25 561 through 570. 


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1 SEC. 3252. REPEAL OF ENERGY AUDITOR TRAINING AND 

2 CERTIFICATION. 

3 (a) REPEAL.—Subtitle F of title V of the Energy Se4 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 8285 et seq.) is repealed. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con6 tents for the Energy Security Act (Public Law 96–294; 

7 94 Stat. 611) is amended by striking the items relating 

8 to subtitle F of title V. 

9 CHAPTER 4—AUTHORIZATION 

10 SEC. 3261 AUTHORIZATION. 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated, out of funds 

12 authorized under previously enacted laws, amounts re13 quired for carrying out this Act and the amendments 

14 made by this Act. 

15 TITLE IV—CHANGING CRUDE 

16 OIL MARKET CONDITIONS 

17 SEC. 4001. FINDINGS. 

18 The Congress finds the following: 

19 (1) The United States has enjoyed a renais20 sance in energy production, establishing the United 

21 States as the world’s leading oil producer. 

22 (2) By authorizing crude oil exports, the Con23 gress can spur domestic energy production, create 

24 and preserve jobs, help maintain and strengthen our 

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1 tional defense, and generate State and Federal reve2 nues. 

3 (3) An energy-secure United States that is a 

4 net exporter of energy has the potential to transform 

5 the security environment around the world, notably 

6 in Europe and the Middle East. 

7 (4) For our European allies and Israel, the 

8 presence of more United States oil in the market 

9 will offer more secure supply options, which will 

10 strengthen United States strategic alliances and help 

11 curtail the use of energy as a political weapon. 

12 (5) The 60-ship Maritime Security Fleet is a 

13 vital element of our military’s strategic sealift and 

14 global response capability. It assures United States15 flag ships and United States crews will be available 

16 to support the United States military when it needs 

17 to mobilize to protect our allies, and is the most pru18 dent and economical solution to meet current and 

19 projected sealift requirements for the United States. 

20 (6) The Maritime Security Fleet program pro21 vides a labor base of skilled American mariners who 

22 are available to crew the United States Government23 owned strategic sealift fleet, as well as the United 

24 States commercial fleet, in both peace and war. 


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1 (7) The United States has reduced its oil con2 sumption over the past decade, and increasing in3 vestment in clean energy technology and energy effi4 ciency will lower energy prices, reduce greenhouse 

5 gas emissions, and increase national security. 

6 SEC. 4002. REPEAL. 

7 Section 103 of the Energy Policy and Conservation 

8 Act (42 U.S.C. 6212) and the item relating thereto in the 

9 table of contents of that Act are repealed. 

10 SEC. 4003. NATIONAL POLICY ON OIL EXPORT RESTRIC11 TIONS. 

12 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to pro13 mote the efficient exploration, production, storage, supply, 

14 marketing, pricing, and regulation of energy resources, in15 cluding fossil fuels, no official of the Federal Government 

16 shall impose or enforce any restriction on the export of 

17 crude oil. 

18 SEC. 4004. STUDIES. 

19 (a) GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.—Not later than 

20 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary of Energy shall conduct, and transmit to the Com22 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep23 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 

24 Resources of the Senate the results of, a study on the net 


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1 greenhouse gas emissions that will result from the repeal 

2 of the crude oil export ban under section 4002. 

3 (b) CRUDE OIL EXPORT STUDY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Com5 merce, in consultation with the Department of En6 ergy, and other departments as appropriate, shall 

7 conduct a study of the State and national implica8 tions of lifting the crude oil export ban with respect 

9 to consumers and the economy. 

10 (2) CONTENTS.—The study conducted under 

11 paragraph (1) shall include an analysis of— 

12 (A) the economic impact that exporting 

13 crude oil will have on the economy of the 

14 United States; 

15 (B) the economic impact that exporting 

16 crude oil will have on consumers, taking into 

17 account impacts on energy prices; 

18 (C) the economic impact that exporting 

19 crude oil will have on domestic manufacturing, 

20 taking into account impacts on employment; 

21 and 

22 (D) the economic impact that exporting 

23 crude oil will have on the refining sector, taking 

24 into account impacts on employment. 


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1 (3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 

2 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Bu3 reau of Industry and Security shall submit to Con4 gress a report containing the results of the study 

5 conducted under paragraph (1). 

6 SEC. 4005. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

7 Nothing in this title limits the authority of the Presi8 dent under the Constitution, the International Emergency 

9 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Na10 tional Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), part B 

11 of title II of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 6271 et seq.), the Trading With the Enemy Act 

13 (50 U.S.C. App. 1 et seq.), or any other provision of law 

14 that imposes sanctions on a foreign person or foreign gov15 ernment (including any provision of law that prohibits or 

16 restricts United States persons from engaging in a trans17 action with a sanctioned person or government), including 

18 a foreign government that is designated as a state sponsor 

19 of terrorism, to prohibit exports. 

20 SEC. 4006. PARTNERSHIPS WITH MINORITY SERVING INSTI21 TUTIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Energy shall 

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1 sities (HBCUs) in the areas of oil and gas exploration, 

2 production, midstream, and refining. 

3 (b) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.—The Depart4 ment of Energy shall encourage public-private partner5 ships between the energy sector and minority serving insti6 tutions, including Hispanic Serving Institutions and His7 torically Black Colleges and Universities. 

8 SEC. 4007. REPORT. 

9 Not later than 10 years after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary 

11 of Commerce shall jointly transmit to Congress a report 

12 that reviews the impact of lifting the oil export ban under 

13 this title as it relates to promoting United States energy 

14 and national security. 

15 SEC. 4008. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

16 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act, the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary 

18 of Commerce shall jointly transmit to Congress a report 

19 analyzing how lifting the ban on crude oil exports will help 

20 create opportunities for veterans and women in the United 

21 States, while promoting energy and national security. 


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1 SEC. 4009. PROHIBITION ON EXPORTS OF CRUDE OIL, RE2 FINED PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, AND PETRO3 CHEMICAL PRODUCTS TO THE ISLAMIC RE4 PUBLIC OF IRAN. 

5 Nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize 

6 the export of crude oil, refined petroleum products, and 

7 petrochemical products by or through any entity or per8 son, wherever located, subject to the jurisdiction of the 

9 United States to any entity or person located in, subject 

10 to the jurisdiction of, or sponsored by the Islamic Republic 

11 of Iran. 

12 TITLE V—OTHER MATTERS 

13 SEC. 5001. ASSESSMENT OF REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

16 Environmental Protection Agency shall ensure that the re17 quirements described in subsection (b) are satisfied. 

18 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator shall sat19 isfy— 

20 (1) section 4 of Executive Order No. 12866 (5 

21 U.S.C. 601 note) (relating to regulatory planning 

22 and review) and Executive Order No. 13563 (5 

23 U.S.C. 601 note) (relating to improving regulation 

24 and regulatory review) (or any successor Executive 

25 order establishing requirements applicable to the 


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1 uniform reporting of regulatory and deregulatory 

2 agendas); 

3 (2) section 602 of title 5, United States Code; 

4 (3) section 8 of Executive Order No. 13132 (5 

5 U.S.C. 601 note) (relating to federalism); and 

6 (4) section 202(a) of the Unfunded Mandates 

7 Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1532(a)). 

8 SEC. 5002. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this title: 

10 (1) COVERED CIVIL ACTION.—The term ‘‘cov11 ered civil action’’ means a civil action containing a 

12 claim under section 702 of title 5, United States 

13 Code, regarding agency action (as defined for the 

14 purposes of that section) affecting a covered energy 

15 project on Federal land. 

16 (2) COVERED ENERGY PROJECT.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered en18 ergy project’’ means— 

19 (i) the leasing of Federal land for the 

20 exploration, development, production, proc21 essing, or transmission of oil, natural gas, 

22 coal, geothermal, hydroelectric, biomass, 

23 solar, or any other source of energy; and 

24 (ii) any action under the lease. 


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1 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered en2 ergy project’’ does not include any dispute be3 tween the parties to a lease regarding the obli4 gations under the lease, including any alleged 

5 breach of the lease. 

6 SEC. 5003. EXCLUSIVE VENUE FOR CERTAIN CIVIL ACTIONS 

7 RELATING TO COVERED ENERGY PROJECTS. 

8 Venue for any covered civil action shall lie in the 

9 United States district court in which the covered energy 

10 project or lease exists or is proposed. 

11 SEC. 5004. TIMELY FILING. 

12 To ensure timely redress by the courts, a covered civil 

13 action shall be filed not later than the end of the 90-day 

14 period beginning on the date of the final Federal agency 

15 action to which the covered civil action relates. 

16 SEC. 5005. EXPEDITION IN HEARING AND DETERMINING 

17 THE ACTION. 

18 The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any 

19 covered civil action as expeditiously as practicable. 

20 SEC. 5006. LIMITATION ON INJUNCTION AND PROSPECTIVE 

21 RELIEF. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—In a covered civil action, a court 

23 shall not grant or approve any prospective relief unless 

24 the court finds that the relief— 

25 (1) is narrowly drawn; 


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1 (2) extends no further than necessary to correct 

2 the violation of a legal requirement; and 

3 (3) is the least intrusive means necessary to 

4 correct the violation. 

5 (b) DURATION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—A court shall limit the dura7 tion of preliminary injunctions to halt covered en8 ergy projects to not more than 60 days, unless the 

9 court finds clear reasons to extend the injunction. 

10 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—In the case of an exten11 sion, the extension shall— 

12 (A) only be in 30-day increments; and 

13 (B) require action by the court to renew 

14 the injunction. 

15 (c) IN GENERAL.—Sections 504 of title 5 and 2412 

16 of title 28, United States Code (commonly known as the 

17 ‘‘Equal Access to Justice Act’’), shall not apply to a cov18 ered civil action. 

19 (d) COURT COSTS.—A party to a covered civil action 

20 shall not receive payment from the Federal Government 

21 for the attorneys’ fees, expenses, or other court costs in22 curred by the party. 

23 SEC. 5007. LEGAL STANDING. 

24 A challenger that files an appeal with the Department 

25 of the Interior Board of Land Appeals shall meet the same 


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1 standing requirements as a challenger before a United 

2 States district court. 

3 SEC. 5008. STUDY TO IDENTIFY LEGAL AND REGULATORY 

4 BARRIERS THAT DELAY, PROHIBIT, OR IM5 PEDE THE EXPORT OF NATURAL ENERGY RE6 SOURCES. 

7 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary 

9 of Commerce shall jointly transmit to the Committee on 

10 Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Natural Re11 sources of the House of Representatives, and the Com12 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

13 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen14 ate, the results of a study to— 

15 (1) identify legal and regulatory barriers that 

16 delay, prohibit, or impede the export of natural en17 ergy resources, including government and technical 

18 (physical or market) barriers that hinder coal, nat19 ural gas, oil, and other energy exports; and 

20 (2) estimate the economic impacts of such bar21 riers. 

22 SEC. 5009. STUDY OF VOLATILITY OF CRUDE OIL. 

23 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall transmit to Con25 gress the results of a study to determine the maximum 


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1 level of volatility that is consistent with the safest prac2 ticable shipment of crude oil by rail. 

3 SEC. 5010. SMART METER PRIVACY RIGHTS. 

4 (a) ELECTRICAL CORPORATION OR GAS CORPORA5 TIONS.— 

6 (1) For purposes of this section, ‘‘electrical or 

7 gas consumption data’’ means data about a cus8 tomer’s electrical or natural gas usage that is made 

9 available as part of an advanced metering infrastruc10 ture, and includes the name, account number, or 

11 residence of the customer. 

12 (2)(A) An electrical corporation or gas corpora13 tion shall not share, disclose, or otherwise make ac14 cessible to any third party a customer’s electrical or 

15 gas consumption data, except as provided in sub16 section (a)(5) or upon the consent of the customer. 

17 (B) An electrical corporation or gas corporation 

18 shall not sell a customer’s electrical or gas consump19 tion data or any other personally identifiable infor20 mation for any purpose. 

21 (C) The electrical corporation or gas corpora22 tion or its contractors shall not provide an incentive 

23 or discount to the customer for accessing the cus24 tomer’s electrical or gas consumption data without 

25 the prior consent of the customer. 


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1 (D) An electrical or gas corporation that uti2 lizes an advanced metering infrastructure that al3 lows a customer to access the customer’s electrical 

4 and gas consumption data shall ensure that the cus5 tomer has an option to access that data without 

6 being required to agree to the sharing of his or her 

7 personally identifiable information, including elec8 trical or gas consumption data, with a third party. 

9 (3) If an electrical corporation or gas corpora10 tion contracts with a third party for a service that 

11 allows a customer to monitor his or her electricity or 

12 gas usage, and that third party uses the data for a 

13 secondary commercial purpose, the contract between 

14 the electrical corporation or gas corporation and the 

15 third party shall provide that the third party promi16 nently discloses that secondary commercial purpose 

17 to the customer. 

18 (4) An electrical corporation or gas corporation 

19 shall use reasonable security procedures and prac20 tices to protect a customer’s unencrypted electrical 

21 or gas consumption data from unauthorized access, 

22 destruction, use, modification, or disclosure. 

23 (5)(A) Nothing in this section shall preclude an 

24 electrical corporation or gas corporation from using 

25 customer aggregate electrical or gas consumption 


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1 data for analysis, reporting, or program manage2 ment if all information has been removed regarding 

3 the individual identity of a customer. 

4 (B) Nothing in this section shall preclude an 

5 electrical corporation or gas corporation from dis6 closing a customer’s electrical or gas consumption 

7 data to a third party for system, grid, or operational 

8 needs, or the implementation of demand response, 

9 energy management, or energy efficiency programs, 

10 provided that, for contracts entered into after Janu11 ary 1, 2016, the utility has required by contract that 

12 the third party implement and maintain reasonable 

13 security procedures and practices appropriate to the 

14 nature of the information, to protect the personal in15 formation from unauthorized access, destruction, 

16 use, modification, or disclosure, and prohibits the 

17 use of the data for a secondary commercial purpose 

18 not related to the primary purpose of the contract 

19 without the customer’s consent. 

20 (C) Nothing in this section shall preclude an 

21 electrical corporation or gas corporation from dis22 closing electrical or gas consumption data as re23 quired or permitted under State or Federal law or 

24 by an order of a State public utility commission. 


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1 (6) If a customer chooses to disclose his or her 

2 electrical or gas consumption data to a third party 

3 that is unaffiliated with, and has no other business 

4 relationship with, the electrical or gas corporation, 

5 the electrical or gas corporation shall not be respon6 sible for the security of that data, or its use or mis7 use. 

8 (b) LOCAL PUBLICLY OWNED ELECTRIC UTILI9 TIES.— 

10 (1) For purposes of this section, ‘‘electrical con11 sumption data’’ means data about a customer’s elec12 trical usage that is made available as part of an ad13 vanced metering infrastructure, and includes the 

14 name, account number, or residence of the customer. 

15 (2)(A) A local publicly owned electric utility 

16 shall not share, disclose, or otherwise make acces17 sible to any third party a customer’s electrical con18 sumption data, except as provided in subsection (b) 

19 (5) or upon the consent of the customer. 

20 (B) A local publicly owned electric utility shall 

21 not sell a customer’s electrical consumption data or 

22 any other personally identifiable information for any 

23 purpose. 

24 (C) The local publicly owned electric utility or 

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1 count to the customer for accessing the customer’s 

2 electrical consumption data without the prior con3 sent of the customer. 

4 (D) A local publicly owned electric utility that 

5 utilizes an advanced metering infrastructure that al6 lows a customer to access the customer’s electrical 

7 consumption data shall ensure that the customer has 

8 an option to access that data without being required 

9 to agree to the sharing of his or her personally iden10 tifiable information, including electrical consumption 

11 data, with a third party. 

12 (3) If a local publicly owned electric utility con13 tracts with a third party for a service that allows a 

14 customer to monitor his or her electricity usage, and 

15 that third party uses the data for a secondary com16 mercial purpose, the contract between the local pub17 licly owned electric utility and the third party shall 

18 provide that the third party prominently discloses 

19 that secondary commercial purpose to the customer. 

20 (4) A local publicly owned electric utility shall 

21 use reasonable security procedures and practices to 

22 protect a customer’s unencrypted electrical consump23 tion data from unauthorized access, destruction, use, 

24 modification, or disclosure, and prohibits the use of 

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1 lated to the primary purpose of the contract without 

2 the customer’s consent. 

3 (5)(A) Nothing in this section shall preclude a 

4 local publicly owned electric utility from using cus5 tomer aggregate electrical consumption data for 

6 analysis, reporting, or program management if all 

7 information has been removed regarding the indi8 vidual identity of a customer. 

9 (B) Nothing in this section shall preclude a 

10 local publicly owned electric utility from disclosing a 

11 customer’s electrical consumption data to a third 

12 party for system, grid, or operational needs, or the 

13 implementation of demand response, energy manage14 ment, or energy efficiency programs, provided, for 

15 contracts entered into after January 1, 2016, that 

16 the utility has required by contract that the third 

17 party implement and maintain reasonable security 

18 procedures and practices appropriate to the nature 

19 of the information, to protect the personal informa20 tion from unauthorized access, destruction, use, 

21 modification, or disclosure. 

22 (C) Nothing in this section shall preclude a 

23 local publicly owned electric utility from disclosing 

24 electrical consumption data as required under State 

25 or Federal law. 


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1 (6) If a customer chooses to disclose his or her 

2 electrical consumption data to a third party that is 

3 unaffiliated with, and has no other business relation4 ship with, the local publicly owned electric utility, 

5 the utility shall not be responsible for the security of 

6 that data, or its use or misuse. 

7 SEC. 5011. YOUTH ENERGY ENTERPRISE COMPETITION. 

8 The Secretaries of Energy and Commerce shall joint9 ly establish an energy enterprise competition to encourage 

10 youth to propose solutions to the energy challenges of the 

11 United States and to promote youth interest in careers 

12 in science, technology, engineering, and math, especially 

13 as those fields relate to energy. 

14 SEC. 5012. MODERNIZATION OF TERMS RELATING TO MI15 NORITIES. 

16 (a) OFFICE OF MINORITY ECONOMIC IMPACT.—Sec17 tion 211(f)(1) of the Department of Energy Organization 

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 7141(f)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘a 

19 Negro, Puerto Rican, American Indian, Eskimo, Oriental, 

20 or Aleut or is a Spanish speaking individual of Spanish 

21 descent’’ and inserting ‘‘Asian American, African Amer22 ican, Hispanic, Puerto Rican, Native American, or an 

23 Alaska Native’’. 

24 (b) MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISES.—Section 

25 106(f)(2) of the Local Public Works Capital Development 


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1 and Investment Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6705(f)(2)) is 

2 amended by striking ‘‘Negroes, Spanish-speaking, Ori3 entals, Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘Asian American, African American, Hispanic, Native 

5 American, or Alaska Natives’’. 

6 SEC. 5013. VOLUNTARY VEGETATION MANAGEMENT OUT7 SIDE RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of the Interior 

9 or the Secretary of Agriculture may authorize an owner 

10 or operator of an electric transmission or distribution fa11 cility to manage vegetation selectively within 150 feet of 

12 the exterior boundary of the right-of-way near structures 

13 for selective thinning and fuel reduction. 

14 (b) STATUS OF REMOVED VEGETATION.—Any vege15 tation removed pursuant to this section shall be the prop16 erty of the United States and not available for sale by 

17 the owner or operator. 

18 (c) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—An owner or oper19 ator of an electric transmission or distribution facility 

20 shall not be held liable for wildlife damage, loss, or injury, 

21 including the cost of fire suppression, resulting from ac22 tivities carried out pursuant to subsection (a) except in 

23 the case of harm resulting from the owner or operator’s 

24 gross negligence or criminal misconduct. 


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1 SEC. 5014. REPEAL OF RULE FOR NEW RESIDENTIAL WOOD 

2 HEATERS. 

3 The final rule entitled ‘‘Standards of Performance for 

4 New Residential Wood Heaters, New Residential Hydronic 

5 Heaters and Forced-Air Furnaces’’ published at 80 Fed. 

6 Reg. 13672 (March 16, 2015) shall have no force or effect 

7 and shall be treated as if such rule had never been issued. 

8 TITLE VI—PROMOTING RENEW9 ABLE ENERGY WITH SHARED 

10 SOLAR 

11 SEC. 6001. SHORT TITLE. 

12 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Renewable 

13 Energy with Shared Solar Act of 2015’’. 

14 SEC. 6002. PROVISION OF INTERCONNECTION SERVICE AND 

15 NET BILLING SERVICE FOR COMMUNITY 

16 SOLAR FACILITIES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 111(d) of the Public Util18 ity Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2621(d)) 

19 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(20) COMMUNITY SOLAR FACILITIES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(i) COMMUNITY SOLAR FACILITY.— 

23 The term ‘community solar facility’ means 

24 a solar photovoltaic system that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) allocates electricity to mul2 tiple individual electric consumers of 

3 an electric utility; 

4 ‘‘(II) has a nameplate rating of 2 

5 megawatts or less; and 

6 ‘‘(III) is— 

7 ‘‘(aa) owned by the electric 

8 utility, jointly owned, or third9 party-owned; 

10 ‘‘(bb) connected to a local 

11 distribution facility of the electric 

12 utility; and 

13 ‘‘(cc) located on or off the 

14 property of a consumer of the 

15 electricity. 

16 ‘‘(ii) INTERCONNECTION SERVICE.— 

17 The term ‘interconnection service’ means a 

18 service provided by an electric utility to an 

19 electric consumer, in accordance with the 

20 standards described in paragraph (15), 

21 through which a community solar facility is 

22 connected to an applicable local distribu23 tion facility. 

24 ‘‘(iii) NET BILLING SERVICE.—The 

25 term ‘net billing service’ means a service 


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1 provided by an electric utility to an electric 

2 consumer through which electric energy 

3 generated for that electric consumer from 

4 a community solar facility may be used to 

5 offset electric energy provided by the elec6 tric utility to the electric consumer during 

7 the applicable billing period. 

8 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—On receipt of a re9 quest of an electric consumer served by the 

10 electric utility, each electric utility shall make 

11 available to the electric consumer interconnec12 tion service and net billing service for a commu13 nity solar facility.’’. 

14 (b) COMPLIANCE.— 

15 (1) TIME LIMITATIONS.—Section 112(b) of the 

16 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 

17 U.S.C. 2622(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(7)(A) Not later than 1 year after the date of 

20 enactment of this paragraph, each State regulatory 

21 authority (with respect to each electric utility for 

22 which the State has ratemaking authority) and each 

23 nonregulated utility shall commence consideration 

24 under section 111, or set a hearing date for considVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 07, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00267 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8.RFS H8

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1 eration, with respect to the standard established by 

2 paragraph (20) of section 111(d). 

3 ‘‘(B) Not later than 2 years after the date of 

4 enactment of this paragraph, each State regulatory 

5 authority (with respect to each electric utility for 

6 which the State has ratemaking authority), and each 

7 nonregulated electric utility shall complete the con8 sideration and make the determination under section 

9 111 with respect to the standard established by 

10 paragraph (20) of section 111(d).’’. 

11 (2) FAILURE TO COMPLY.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 112(c) of the 

13 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 

14 (16 U.S.C. 2622(c)) is amended— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘such paragraph (14)’’ 

16 and all that follows through ‘‘paragraphs 

17 (16)’’ and inserting ‘‘such paragraph (14). 

18 In the case of the standard established by 

19 paragraph (15) of section 111(d), the ref20 erence contained in this subsection to the 

21 date of enactment of this Act shall be 

22 deemed to be a reference to the date of en23 actment of that paragraph (15). In the 

24 case of the standards established by para25 graphs (16)’’; and 


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1 (ii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: ‘‘In the case of the standard estab3 lished by paragraph (20) of section 111(d), 

4 the reference contained in this subsection 

5 to the date of enactment of this Act shall 

6 be deemed to be a reference to the date of 

7 enactment of that paragraph (20).’’. 

8 (B) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—Section 1254(b) of 

10 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 

11 Law 109–58; 119 Stat. 971) is amended 

12 by striking paragraph (2). 

13 (ii) TREATMENT.—The amendment 

14 made by paragraph (2) of section 1254(b) 

15 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 

16 Law 109–58; 119 Stat. 971) (as in effect 

17 on the day before the date of enactment of 

18 this Act) is void, and section 112(d) of the 

19 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 

20 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2622(d)) shall be in ef21 fect as if those amendments had not been 

22 enacted. 

23 (3) PRIOR STATE ACTIONS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 112 of the 

25 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 


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1 (16 U.S.C. 2622) is amended by adding at the 

2 end the following: 

3 ‘‘(g) PRIOR STATE ACTIONS.—Subsections (b) and 

4 (c) shall not apply to the standard established by para5 graph (20) of section 111(d) in the case of any electric 

6 utility in a State if, before the date of enactment of this 

7 subsection— 

8 ‘‘(1) the State has implemented for the electric 

9 utility the standard (or a comparable standard); 

10 ‘‘(2) the State regulatory authority for the 

11 State or the relevant nonregulated electric utility has 

12 conducted a proceeding to consider implementation 

13 of the standard (or a comparable standard) for the 

14 electric utility; or 

15 ‘‘(3) the State legislature has voted on the im16 plementation of the standard (or a comparable 

17 standard) for the electric utility.’’. 

18 (B) CROSS-REFERENCE.—Section 124 of 

19 the Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act of 

20 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2634) is amended by adding 

21 at the end the following: ‘‘In the case of the 

22 standard established by paragraph (20) of sec23 tion 111(d), the reference contained in this sub24 section to the date of enactment of this Act 


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1 shall be deemed to be a reference to the date 

2 of enactment of that paragraph (20).’’. 

3 TITLE VII—MARINE 

4 HYDROKINETIC 

5 SEC. 7001. DEFINITION OF MARINE AND HYDROKINETIC RE6 NEWABLE ENERGY. 

7 Section 632 of the Energy Independence and Security 

8 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17211) is amended in the matter 

9 preceding paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘electrical’’. 

10 SEC. 7002. MARINE AND HYDROKINETIC RENEWABLE EN11 ERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

12 Section 633 of the Energy Independence and Security 

13 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17212) is amended to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 633. MARINE AND HYDROKINETIC RENEWABLE EN16 ERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

17 ‘‘The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

18 the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Federal 

19 Energy Regulatory Commission, shall carry out a program 

20 of research, development, demonstration, and commercial 

21 application to accelerate the introduction of marine and 

22 hydrokinetic renewable energy production into the United 

23 States energy supply, giving priority to fostering acceler24 ated research, development, and commercialization of 

25 technology, including— 


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1 ‘‘(1) to assist technology development to im2 prove the components, processes, and systems used 

3 for power generation from marine and hydrokinetic 

4 renewable energy resources; 

5 ‘‘(2) to establish critical testing infrastructure 

6 necessary— 

7 ‘‘(A) to cost effectively and efficiently test 

8 and prove the efficacy of marine and 

9 hydrokinetic renewable energy devices; and 

10 ‘‘(B) to accelerate the technological readi11 ness and commercialization of those devices; 

12 ‘‘(3) to support efforts to increase the efficiency 

13 of energy conversion, lower the cost, increase the 

14 use, improve the reliability, and demonstrate the ap15 plicability of marine and hydrokinetic renewable en16 ergy technologies by participating in demonstration 

17 projects; 

18 ‘‘(4) to investigate variability issues and the ef19 ficient and reliable integration of marine and 

20 hydrokinetic renewable energy with the utility grid; 

21 ‘‘(5) to identify and study critical short- and 

22 long-term needs to create a sustainable marine and 

23 hydrokinetic renewable energy supply chain based in 

24 the United States; 


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1 ‘‘(6) to increase the reliability and survivability 

2 of marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy tech3 nologies; 

4 ‘‘(7) to verify the performance, reliability, main5 tainability, and cost of new marine and hydrokinetic 

6 renewable energy device designs and system compo7 nents in an operating environment; 

8 ‘‘(8) to coordinate and avoid duplication of ac9 tivities across programs of the Department and 

10 other applicable Federal agencies, including National 

11 Laboratories, and to coordinate public-private col12 laboration in all programs under this section; 

13 ‘‘(9) to identify opportunities for joint research 

14 and development programs and development of 

15 economies of scale between— 

16 ‘‘(A) marine and hydrokinetic renewable 

17 energy technologies; and 

18 ‘‘(B) other renewable energy and fossil en19 ergy programs, offshore oil and gas production 

20 activities, and activities of the Department of 

21 Defense; and 

22 ‘‘(10) to support in-water technology develop23 ment with international partners using existing co24 operative procedures (including memoranda of un25 derstanding)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to allow cooperative funding and 

2 other support of value to be exchanged and le3 veraged; and 

4 ‘‘(B) to encourage international research 

5 centers and international companies to partici6 pate in the development of water technology in 

7 the United States and to encourage United 

8 States research centers and United States com9 panies to participate in water technology 

10 projects abroad.’’. 

11 SEC. 7003. NATIONAL MARINE RENEWABLE ENERGY RE12 SEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRA13 TION CENTERS. 

14 Section 634(b) of the Energy Independence and Se15 curity Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17213(b)) is amended to 

16 read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—A Center (in coordination with the 

18 Department and National Laboratories) shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) advance research, development, demonstra20 tion, and commercial application of marine and 

21 hydrokinetic renewable energy technologies; 

22 ‘‘(2) support in-water testing and demonstra23 tion of marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy 

24 technologies, including facilities capable of testing— 


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1 ‘‘(A) marine and hydrokinetic renewable 

2 energy systems of various technology readiness 

3 levels and scales; 

4 ‘‘(B) a variety of technologies in multiple 

5 test berths at a single location; and 

6 ‘‘(C) arrays of technology devices; and 

7 ‘‘(3) serve as information clearinghouses for the 

8 marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy industry 

9 by collecting and disseminating information on best 

10 practices in all areas relating to developing and 

11 managing marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy 

12 resources and energy systems.’’. 

13 SEC. 7004. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 Section 636 of the Energy Independence and Security 

15 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17215) is amended by striking 

16 ‘‘2008 through 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2016 through 

17 2019’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 3, 

2015. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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