II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1875 

To move the United States toward greater energy independence and security, 

to increase the flexibility, efficiency, and reliability of the electric grid, 

to increase the competitiveness of the United States economy, to protect 

consumers, and to improve the energy performance of the Federal Government, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2017 

Mr. WYDEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To move the United States toward greater energy independence and security, to increase the flexibility, efficiency, 

and reliability of the electric grid, to increase the competitiveness of the United States economy, to protect 

consumers, and to improve the energy performance of 

the Federal Government, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Flexible Grid Infrastructure Act of 2017’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Analysis of distributed energy resources, the value of grid services, and 

advanced transmission assets. 

Sec. 4. Electrification of vehicles and heating. 

Sec. 5. Privacy, security, and resilience. 

Sec. 6. Workforce development. 

Sec. 7. Flexible Grid Challenge 2022. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis6 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Energy In7 formation Administration. 

8 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

9 means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

10 (3) DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCE.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘distributed 

12 energy resource’’ means an electric device that 

13 can produce or consume energy that is lo14 cated— 

15 (i) on the distribution system or any 

16 subsystem of the distribution system; or 

17 (ii) behind a customer meter. 

18 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘distributed 

19 energy resource’’ includes— 

20 (i) an energy storage resource; 

21 (ii) an energy generation technology; 


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1 (iii) a demand response resource; 

2 (iv) an energy efficiency resource; 

3 (v) an electric vehicle and associated 

4 supply equipment and systems; and 

5 (vi) aggregations and integrated con6 trol systems, including virtual power 

7 plants, microgrids, and networks of 

8 microgrid cells. 

9 (4) ELECTRIC CONSUMER; ELECTRIC UTILITY; 

10 RATE.—The terms ‘‘electric consumer’’, ‘‘electric 

11 utility’’, and ‘‘rate’’ have the meanings given the 

12 terms in section 3 of the Public Utility Regulatory 

13 Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2602). 

14 (5) ELECTRIC RELIABILITY ORGANIZATION.— 

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

16 meaning given the term in section 215(a) of the 

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

18 (6) ENERGY STORAGE.—The term ‘‘energy 

19 storage’’ means equipment or facilities capable of 

20 absorbing energy, storing energy for a period of 

21 time, and dispatching the stored energy, that— 

22 (A) uses mechanical, electrochemical, hy23 droelectric, or thermal processes, as a single fa24 cility or as an aggregation of units, throughout 

25 the electric grid, including behind the meter to 


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1 store energy generated at one time for use at 

2 a later time; 

3 (B) uses mechanical, electrochemical, hy4 droelectric, or thermal processes, as a single fa5 cility or as an aggregation of units, throughout 

6 the electric grid, including behind the meter to 

7 store energy generated from mechanical proc8 esses that would otherwise be wasted for deliv9 ery at a later time; or 

10 (C) stores thermal energy for direct use for 

11 heating or cooling at a later time in a manner 

12 that avoids the need to use electricity at that 

13 later time. 

14 (7) GRANULAR.—The term ‘‘granular’’, with re15 spect to a rate or other price for electricity, means 

16 that the rate or price is established based on precise 

17 accounting of the value, as determined by the time 

18 and location of the production or consumption of the 

19 electricity and the unique type of energy services 

20 being provided, of electrical energy, capacity, and 

21 ancillary services, including— 

22 (A) time-of-use rates; 

23 (B) peak-time rebates; 

24 (C) critical peak pricing; 

25 (D) real-time pricing; 


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1 (E) transactive energy approaches; 

2 (F) inverted time-of-use rates; 

3 (G) forward-looking charges; 

4 (H) peak-coincident capacity network 

5 charges; and 

6 (I) 3-part rates. 

7 (8) LIGHT-DUTY CONSUMER VEHICLE.—The 

8 term ‘‘light-duty consumer vehicle’’ has the meaning 

9 given the term ‘‘light-duty vehicle’’ in section 

10 1037.801 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations 

11 (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act). 

12 (9) LOCATIONAL VALUE.—The term ‘‘locational 

13 value’’, with respect to an electric grid service, 

14 means value that is contingent on the physical loca15 tion where the electric grid service is delivered. 

16 (10) MICROGRID.—The term ‘‘microgrid’’ 

17 means a localized grid that can disconnect from the 

18 traditional grid to operate autonomously and help 

19 mitigate grid disturbances to strengthen grid resil20 ience. 

21 (11) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na22 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term 

23 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

24 U.S.C. 15801). 


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1 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

2 means the Secretary of Energy. 

3 (13) STATE ENERGY OFFICE.—The term ‘‘State 

4 energy office’’ has the meaning given the term in 

5 section 124(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

6 U.S.C. 15821(a)). 

7 (14) TEMPORAL VALUE.—The term ‘‘temporal 

8 value’’, with respect to an electric grid service, 

9 means value that is contingent on the time when the 

10 electric grid service is delivered. 

11 (15) TRANSIT AGENCY.—The term ‘‘transit 

12 agency’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

13 630.3 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as 

14 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act). 

15 (16) TRANSIT VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘transit ve16 hicle’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘bus’’ in sec17 tion 1192.3 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations 

18 (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act). 

19 SEC. 3. ANALYSIS OF DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES, 

20 THE VALUE OF GRID SERVICES, AND AD21 VANCED TRANSMISSION ASSETS. 

22 (a) DATA AND ANALYSIS FOR PROMOTING GRID

23 FLEXIBILITY AND OPTIMIZING DISTRIBUTED ENERGY

24 RESOURCES.—Section 921 of the Energy Policy Act of 

25 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16211) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

2 paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively, of subsection 

3 (b) and indenting the paragraphs appropriately; 

4 (2) in subsection (b)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre6 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘re7 source’’ after ‘‘carry out distributed energy’’; 

8 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘sub9 section’’ and inserting ‘‘section’’; and 

10 (C) in paragraphs (3) and (4) (as redesig11 nated by paragraph (1)), by striking ‘‘sub12 section (b)’’ each place it appears and inserting 

13 ‘‘this subsection’’; 

14 (3) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub15 section (h); 

16 (4) in subsection (a), by striking the subsection 

17 designation and heading and all that follows through 

18 ‘‘The Secretary’’ in the first sentence and inserting 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’ 

22 means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

23 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCE.—The 

24 term ‘distributed energy resource’ has the meaning 


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1 given the term in section 2 of the Flexible Grid In2 frastructure Act of 2017. 

3 ‘‘(3) GRID FLEXIBILITY.—The term ‘grid flexi4 bility’ means the ability of a power system— 

5 ‘‘(A) from an operational perspective, to 

6 respond to changes in supply and demand, such 

7 as abrupt changes in load conditions or sharp 

8 ramps in generation; and 

9 ‘‘(B) from a long-term planning and in10 vestment perspective, to respond to changes in 

11 technology, markets and policy, without incur12 ring stranded assets. 

13 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION, 

14 AND COMMERCIAL APPLICATION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; 

16 (5) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated), in 

17 the second sentence, by striking ‘‘The programs’’ 

18 and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—The programs under this 

20 subsection’’; and 

21 (6) by inserting after subsection (b) (as so re22 designated) the following: 

23 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL OF

24 DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES.— 

25 ‘‘(1) ASSESSMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of enactment of the Flexible Grid 

3 Infrastructure Act of 2017, and not less fre4 quently than once every 3 years thereafter, the 

5 Commission and the Secretary shall conduct a 

6 national assessment of the technical and eco7 nomic potential of distributed energy resources 

8 to provide electric grid services, including serv9 ices that enhance grid flexibility and the reli10 ability, resilience, affordability, efficiency, and 

11 security of the electric grid. 

12 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting an 

13 assessment under subparagraph (A), the Com14 mission and the Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) consider locational characteristics, 

16 such as load pockets and electric grid con17 gestion; 

18 ‘‘(ii) consider temporal characteristics, 

19 such as hourly and subhourly electricity 

20 generation costs and electricity network 

21 costs; 

22 ‘‘(iii) consider the specific electric grid 

23 services identified by the study under sec24 tion 3(b) of the Flexible Grid Infrastruc25 ture Act of 2017; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) consider unique State regulatory 

2 and market characteristics and regional 

3 electric grid characteristics; 

4 ‘‘(v) incorporate a range of scenarios, 

5 including scenarios that assume— 

6 ‘‘(I) the existence of granular re7 tail electricity rates, including 

8 transactive energy approaches; 

9 ‘‘(II) no granular retail electricity 

10 rates; 

11 ‘‘(III) the existence of electricity 

12 market products that remunerate the 

13 electric grid services provided by dis14 tributed energy resources, incor15 porating the results of the most recent 

16 study under section 3(b) of the Flexi17 ble Grid Infrastructure Act of 2017; 

18 ‘‘(IV) no electricity market prod19 ucts that remunerate the electric grid 

20 services provided by distributed en21 ergy resources, incorporating the re22 sults of the most recent study under 

23 section 3(b) of the Flexible Grid In24 frastructure Act of 2017; 


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1 ‘‘(V) various levels of renewable 

2 energy generation penetration; 

3 ‘‘(VI) various levels of distributed 

4 energy resource penetration, including 

5 electric vehicles; 

6 ‘‘(VII) the implementation of 

7 transactive energy approaches as a 

8 means of coordinating at scale large 

9 numbers of distributed energy re10 sources; and 

11 ‘‘(VIII) different deployment sce12 narios, such as individual technology 

13 applications, combination technology 

14 applications, and integrated control 

15 system applications; 

16 ‘‘(vi) include— 

17 ‘‘(I) an analysis of the use of a 

18 comprehensive suite of distributed en19 ergy resources; and 

20 ‘‘(II) an assessment of the com21 petitive markets for each distributed 

22 energy resource; 

23 ‘‘(vii) consider various electric grid ar24 chitecture concepts and tools, including the 


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1 development of local energy networks inter2 connected with the electric grid; 

3 ‘‘(viii) include an analysis of the ways 

4 in which the different scenarios incor5 porated under clause (v) may impact the 

6 broader energy system, such as the bulk 

7 power system, the transmission network, 

8 and natural gas infrastructure; 

9 ‘‘(ix) assess any barriers to the ability 

10 of distributed energy resources to provide 

11 the identified electric grid services; 

12 ‘‘(x) to the maximum extent prac13 ticable— 

14 ‘‘(I) seek to use any relevant pre15 existing research and ongoing work; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(II) avoid duplication of effort; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(xi) conduct estimates for the 5-, 10- 

20 , and 15-year periods beginning on the 

21 date of enactment of the Flexible Grid In22 frastructure Act of 2017. 

23 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—Not later than 18 months 

24 after the date of enactment of the Flexible Grid In25 frastructure Act of 2017, and not less frequently 


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1 than once every 3 years thereafter, the Commission 

2 and the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

3 describing the results of the most recent assessment 

4 under paragraph (1) that includes— 

5 ‘‘(A) a description of the details required 

6 under clauses (i) through (xi) of paragraph 

7 (1)(B); 

8 ‘‘(B) data reported and analyzed— 

9 ‘‘(i) on a nationwide basis; 

10 ‘‘(ii) on a State basis, for each of the 

11 several States of the United States; 

12 ‘‘(iii) by sector; 

13 ‘‘(iv) by balancing authority; and 

14 ‘‘(v) to reflect— 

15 ‘‘(I) granular locational charac16 teristics, such as load pockets and 

17 grid congestion; 

18 ‘‘(II) granular temporal charac19 teristics, such as hourly and subhourly 

20 electricity generation costs and elec21 tricity network costs; and 

22 ‘‘(III) the specific electric grid 

23 services identified by the study under 

24 section 3(b) of the Flexible Grid In25 frastructure Act of 2017; 


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1 ‘‘(C) macroeconomic data, including an 

2 analysis of any effects on job creation, 

3 economywide costs and benefits, energy produc4 tivity, retail rate impacts, and gross domestic 

5 product; 

6 ‘‘(D) a description of the methodology used 

7 to conduct the assessment described in para8 graph (1); and 

9 ‘‘(E) policy recommendations— 

10 ‘‘(i) to achieve the estimated potential 

11 identified by the assessment under para12 graph (1)(A); 

13 ‘‘(ii) to promote the development of 

14 competitive markets for distributed energy 

15 resources assessed under paragraph 

16 (1)(B)(vi)(II); and 

17 ‘‘(iii) to address the barriers described 

18 in paragraph (1)(B)(ix). 

19 ‘‘(3) REDUCING DUPLICATION OF EFFORT.—In 

20 conducting the assessment under paragraph (1), the 

21 Commission and the Secretary shall use, to the max22 imum extent practicable, data and studies in exist23 ence as of the date of the assessment in an effort 

24 to reduce the potential for duplication of effort. 


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1 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

2 provide technical assistance to energy distribution utilities, 

3 State energy regulators, State energy offices, third-party 

4 energy service providers, wholesale market operators, and 

5 other interested parties relating to— 

6 ‘‘(1) use of the data and modeling tools pro7 vided under this section; and 

8 ‘‘(2) the general planning and market analysis 

9 required for cost-effective deployment of distributed 

10 energy resources and grid flexibility assets. 

11 ‘‘(e) VOLUNTARY NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON DIS12 TRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of submission of the initial report required 

15 under subsection (c)(2), the Secretary, in consulta16 tion with the Commission, shall develop a voluntary 

17 national action plan to unlock the potential of dis18 tributed energy resources to provide electric grid 

19 services, which shall be based on the assessments re20 quired under subsection (c)(1). 

21 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the vol22 untary national action plan under this subsection, to 

23 the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 

24 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) use relevant information contained in 

2 the National Action Plan on Demand Response 

3 prepared by the Commission, Docket No. 

4 AD09–10, dated June 17, 2010; and 

5 ‘‘(B) solicit participation, and take into 

6 consideration comments, from other Federal 

7 agencies, the National Laboratories, the Na8 tional Academy of Sciences, State and local 

9 governments, industry, research institutions, 

10 nonprofit organizations, consumer advocates, 

11 and other interested parties. 

12 ‘‘(3) INCLUSIONS.—The voluntary national ac13 tion plan developed under this subsection shall in14 clude provisions for— 

15 ‘‘(A) the identification of requirements for 

16 technical assistance to States to allow States to 

17 maximize distributed energy resource potential 

18 that can be developed and deployed cost-effec19 tively; 

20 ‘‘(B) the design of a national communica21 tions program that includes broad-based cus22 tomer education and support; and 

23 ‘‘(C) the identification or development of 

24 analytical tools, information, model regulatory 

25 provisions, model contracts, and other support 


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1 materials for use by customers, States, utilities, 

2 and demand response providers.’’. 

3 (b) STUDY ON VALUATION OF ELECTRIC GRID SERV4 ICES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act, and not less fre7 quently than once every 3 years thereafter, the Sec8 retary and the Commission shall conduct a com9 prehensive study that— 

10 (A) incorporates the assessment required 

11 under subsection (c)(1) of section 921 of the 

12 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16211); 

13 (B) identifies and analyzes— 

14 (i) all electric grid services that can be 

15 provided, including— 

16 (I) emerging electric grid service 

17 needs; and 

18 (II) electric grid services that can 

19 be provided by— 

20 (aa) conventional energy 

21 technologies, such as centralized 

22 thermal generation units and 

23 electricity transmission infra24 structure; 


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1 (bb) utility-scale renewable 

2 energy generation technologies; 

3 and 

4 (cc) emerging energy tech5 nologies, such as grid-scale en6 ergy storage and distributed en7 ergy resources; 

8 (ii)(I) the specific electric grid serv9 ices, the value of which is conditioned by 

10 locational value and temporal value; and 

11 (II) the degree of effect of location 

12 and time on the value of the electric grid 

13 services identified under subclause (I); 

14 (iii) for each electric grid service iden15 tified under clauses (i) and (ii), the specific 

16 technologies (including the technologies 

17 identified under clause (i)(II)) that have 

18 the capacity to provide the electric grid 

19 service, including an analysis of the extent 

20 to which a given technology can provide a 

21 given electric grid service; and 

22 (iv) the effect of integrated energy 

23 control systems (such as microgrids) on 

24 the value of grid services; 


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1 (C) quantifies the estimated value of those 

2 electric grid services, taking into consideration 

3 input from relevant industry stakeholders and 

4 unique regulatory and regional electricity sys5 tem characteristics; and 

6 (D) identifies— 

7 (i) any barriers to wholesale market 

8 participation for distributed energy re9 sources; and 

10 (ii) the most effective mechanisms for 

11 opening electricity markets to increased 

12 competition, consumer choice, and innova13 tion. 

14 (2) PUBLIC COMMENT.—In conducting the 

15 study under paragraph (1), the Secretary and the 

16 Commission shall solicit relevant public comments. 

17 (3) CONSULTATION.—As soon as practicable 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, in con19 ducting the study under paragraph (1), the Sec20 retary and the Commission shall engage a broad set 

21 of experts from other Federal agencies, the National 

22 Laboratories, the National Academy of Sciences, 

23 States, Tribal governments, units of local govern24 ment, industry, research institutions, nonprofit orgaVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Oct 03, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1875.IS S1875

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1 nizations, consumer advocates, and other interested 

2 parties. 

3 (4) REPORTS.—Not later than 18 months after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, and not less fre5 quently than once every 3 years thereafter, the Sec6 retary and the Commission shall submit to Congress 

7 a report describing the results of the most recent 

8 study conducted under paragraph (1). 

9 (c) MODELING.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta11 tion with the Administrator, shall expand modeling 

12 capabilities for the electric power sector to more ac13 curately reflect the role of distributed energy re14 sources in current and future energy consumption 

15 and in the optimization of the electric grid. 

16 (2) GRID OPTIMIZATION IN THE CONTEXT OF

17 DER AND STORAGE.—Not later than 1 year after the 

18 date of submission of the initial report required 

19 under subsection (c)(2) of section 921 of the Energy 

20 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16211), the Sec21 retary, in consultation with the Administrator and 

22 the Commission, shall provide modeling tools to as23 sist energy distribution utilities, State regulatory au24 thorities, State energy offices, third-party energy 

25 service providers, and wholesale market operators in 


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1 the planning and market analysis required for cost2 effective optimization of the electric grid and deploy3 ment of distributed energy resources and grid-scale 

4 energy storage, including modeling tools for assess5 ing individual technologies, combinations of tech6 nologies, or integrated control system applications. 

7 (3) DATA AND METHODOLOGIES.—The mod8 eling tools provided under paragraph (2) shall incor9 porate the data and methodologies used to produce 

10 the reports required under subsection (c)(2) of sec11 tion 921 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

12 U.S.C. 16211). 

13 (4) NATIONAL ENERGY MODELING SYSTEMS

14 (NEMS) DEVELOPMENT.—The Administrator shall 

15 continue to evaluate options for expanding the capa16 bility of the National Energy Modeling Systems 

17 Electricity Market Module to accurately represent 

18 the complexity of the electric power sector, including 

19 by— 

20 (A) incorporating hourly and subhourly 

21 electric power sector data; and 

22 (B) including the services provided by dis23 tributed energy resources and energy storage. 

24 (d) STUDY OF BARRIERS TO ADVANCED TRANS25 MISSION TECHNOLOGIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, to enable deploy3 ment of technologies that cost-effectively increase ex4 isting transmission capacity use, the Secretary, in 

5 consultation with relevant stakeholders, shall con6 duct a study to identify, analyze, and develop rec7 ommendations for removing barriers to the valuation 

8 and deployment of advanced materials and tech9 nologies for new and existing transmission, such as 

10 advanced technologies that enhance reliability, secu11 rity, efficiency, capacity, and affordability through 

12 visibility, analytics, and controls. 

13 (2) CONSULTATION.—As soon as practicable 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, in con15 ducting the study under paragraph (1), the Sec16 retary shall engage stakeholders and experts from 

17 other Federal agencies, the National Laboratories, 

18 States, Tribal governments, units of local govern19 ment, industry, research institutions, nonprofit orga20 nizations, and other interested parties. 

21 (3) REPORTS.—Not later than 18 months after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

23 shall submit to Congress a report describing— 

24 (A) the recommendations developed under 

25 the study conducted under paragraph (1); 


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1 (B) a framework for future research into 

2 removing the barriers identified and analyzed 

3 under the study, based on— 

4 (i) the recommendations developed 

5 under the study; and 

6 (ii) research on transmission capacity 

7 use, performance from synchrophasor in8 formation, advanced conductors, advanced 

9 transmission tower designs, dynamic line 

10 rating, advanced power flow control, and 

11 energy storage; and 

12 (C) the methodology used in the study, in13 cluding the methodology used to produce the 

14 recommendations developed under the study. 

15 (e) DER DATA CLEARINGHOUSE.—Not later than 

16 180 days after the date of submission of the initial report 

17 required under subsection (c)(2) of section 921 of the En18 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16211), the Secretary 

19 and the Commission shall establish on the Internet a 

20 clearinghouse of nonpersonally identifiable data relating to 

21 distributed energy resources, including the data used to 

22 conduct the assessment and report under paragraphs (1) 

23 and (2), respectively, of subsection (c) of section 921 of 

24 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16211), ex25 pressed— 


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1 (1) on a nationwide basis; 

2 (2) on a State basis, for each of the several 

3 States of the United States; 

4 (3) by sector; and 

5 (4) to reflect— 

6 (A) granular locational characteristics, 

7 such as load pockets and electric grid conges8 tion; 

9 (B) granular temporal characteristics, such 

10 as hourly and subhourly electricity generation 

11 costs and electricity network costs; and 

12 (C) the specific electric grid services identi13 fied by the study under section 3(b). 

14 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section (in16 cluding the amendments made by this section) 

17 $50,000,000, to remain available for a period of 10 years 

18 following the fiscal year for which the amounts were ap19 propriated. 

20 SEC. 4. ELECTRIFICATION OF VEHICLES AND HEATING. 

21 (a) RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRA22 TION ACTIVITIES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with para24 graphs (2) and (3), the Secretary shall conduct a 

25 program of research, development, and demonstraVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Oct 03, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1875.IS S1875

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1 tion activities to advance the electrification of trans2 portation, heating (including water heating and 

3 space heating), and other technologies, including by 

4 identifying ways to increase the resilience, efficiency, 

5 and environmental performance of the electric grid. 

6 (2) HEATING RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND

7 DEMONSTRATION ACTIVITIES.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

9 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

10 the Secretary shall initiate research, develop11 ment, and demonstration activities— 

12 (i) to develop the ability of electric 

13 heating technologies (including water heat14 ing and space heating) to provide value to 

15 electricity systems, including by operating 

16 as an energy storage resource used on a 

17 regular basis as part of grid operation to 

18 improve the operational efficiency of the 

19 electric grid; 

20 (ii) to advance the technical under21 standing of— 

22 (I) the manner in which electric 

23 heating technologies are controlled 

24 and optimized, including by advancing 


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1 telemetry and embedded metrology; 

2 and 

3 (II) the practices of transmitting 

4 secure data over the Internet, a utility 

5 system, or other mechanism, with a 

6 means for implementation, such as a 

7 standard; 

8 (iii) to optimize electric heating tech9 nologies for— 

10 (I) the integration of renewable 

11 energy technologies; and 

12 (II) the reduction of greenhouse 

13 gases and other pollutants; 

14 (iv) to investigate the technical, eco15 nomic, and legal details of using electric 

16 heating technologies for a range of electric 

17 grid services, including— 

18 (I) energy storage; 

19 (II) demand response; and 

20 (III) frequency regulation and 

21 other ancillary services; 

22 (v) to diminish the market barriers to 

23 the broad adoption of heating technologies 

24 with digital control and communication 


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1 technologies that enable grid interoper2 ability and integration; 

3 (vi) to address nonrecurring engineer4 ing costs associated with the development 

5 of interoperable electric heating tech6 nologies; 

7 (vii) to investigate and implement ap8 proaches to the aggregation, wholesale 

9 electricity marketing, and, to the maximum 

10 extent practicable, retail electricity mar11 keting of electric grid services provided by 

12 electric heating, including research into the 

13 use of transactive energy systems as a 

14 means of enabling efficient operations; 

15 (viii) to investigate and implement 

16 programs to improve the access to, and af17 fordability of, electric heating technologies 

18 for low-income populations; 

19 (ix) to implement innovative consumer 

20 marketing and contracting models, includ21 ing pricing approaches (including con22 sumer access to wholesale market pricing 

23 signals), that co-optimize customer benefits 

24 and electric grid benefits; 


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1 (x) to demonstrate best practices 

2 for— 

3 (I) customer participation and 

4 satisfaction; and 

5 (II) maximizing customer bene6 fits; 

7 (xi) to investigate and implement 

8 user-friendly equipment financing models 

9 linked to the marketing of electric grid 

10 services, including the means by which the 

11 electric grid services provided by electric 

12 heating technologies can help finance the 

13 cost of the electric heating technology; and 

14 (xii) to develop a methodology for 

15 modeling load increases expected from the 

16 deployment of electric heating technologies. 

17 (B) CONSULTATION.—As soon as prac18 ticable after the date of enactment of this Act, 

19 in carrying out the activities under subpara20 graph (A), the Secretary shall consult with 

21 stakeholders, including— 

22 (i) other Federal agencies; 

23 (ii) the National Laboratories; 

24 (iii) States; 

25 (iv) Tribal governments; 


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1 (v) units of local government; 

2 (vi) electric utilities, such as investor3 owned electric utilities, publicly owned elec4 tric utilities, and electric cooperatives; 

5 (vii) private companies, including en6 ergy technology manufacturers; 

7 (viii) third-party energy service pro8 viders; 

9 (ix) institutions of higher education; 

10 and 

11 (x) nonprofit organizations. 

12 (3) ELECTRIC VEHICLE RESEARCH, DEVELOP13 MENT, AND DEMONSTRATION ACTIVITIES.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

16 the Secretary, in collaboration with the Sec17 retary of Transportation, shall initiate research, 

18 development, and demonstration activities— 

19 (i) to advance the co-optimization of 

20 electrified transportation and electricity 

21 systems, including by identifying ways to 

22 increase the resilience, efficiency, and envi23 ronmental performance of the electric grid 

24 and the transportation system; 


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1 (ii) to advance the technical under2 standing of— 

3 (I) the manner in which vehicle 

4 charging systems are controlled and 

5 optimized, including by advancing ve6 hicle and charging station telemetry 

7 and embedded metrology; and 

8 (II) the practices of transmitting 

9 secure data over the Internet, a utility 

10 system, or other mechanism, with a 

11 means for implementation, such as a 

12 standard; 

13 (iii) to optimize electric vehicles for 

14 the integration of renewable energy tech15 nologies and the reduction of greenhouse 

16 gases and other pollutants; 

17 (iv) to investigate the technical, eco18 nomic, and legal details of using fleet, 

19 transit, and municipal vehicle batteries for 

20 a range of electric grid services, includ21 ing— 

22 (I) demand response; 

23 (II) frequency regulation and 

24 other ancillary services; and 


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1 (III) energy output, or full-scale 

2 vehicle-to-electric grid, operations; 

3 (v) to investigate the co-optimization 

4 of the electrification of transportation with 

5 advancements in autonomous vehicles and 

6 the use of vehicles for ride sharing, includ7 ing by— 

8 (I) studying consumer participa9 tion and other behavioral challenges, 

10 including incentives that promote co11 optimization; and 

12 (II) researching challenges and 

13 opportunities relating to the optimiza14 tion of electric grid operations in the 

15 context of autonomous vehicle and 

16 ride-sharing usage patterns, including 

17 the use of energy storage in charging 

18 systems; 

19 (vi) to investigate, in collaboration 

20 with the Commission, approaches to the 

21 aggregation, wholesale electricity mar22 keting, and, to the maximum extent prac23 ticable, retail electricity marketing of elec24 tric grid services provided by electric vehi25 cles, including research into the use of 


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1 transactive energy systems as a means of 

2 enabling vehicle-electric grid integration; 

3 (vii) to implement innovative con4 sumer marketing and contracting models, 

5 including pricing approaches (including 

6 consumer access to wholesale market pric7 ing signals), that co-optimize transpor8 tation benefits and electric grid benefits, 

9 including by maximizing the value of the 

10 vehicle services to the electric grid while 

11 also maximizing value to the consumer (in12 cluding by maximizing the flexibility of use 

13 of the vehicle to the driver or rider); 

14 (viii) to investigate and implement 

15 user-friendly electric vehicle and related 

16 equipment financing models linked to the 

17 marketing of electric grid services, includ18 ing the means by which the electric grid 

19 services provided by an electric vehicle can 

20 help finance the cost of the vehicle; 

21 (ix) to investigate and implement pro22 grams to improve the access to, and af23 fordability of, electric vehicles for low-in24 come populations; 


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1 (x)(I) to advance best practices for 

2 manufacturers of electric vehicles, charging 

3 equipment, and systems; and 

4 (II) to embed those practices in pro5 grams and grant opportunities of the De6 partment of Energy to leverage competitive 

7 market electric vehicle products and 

8 incentivize more rapid and widespread 

9 adoption; 

10 (xi) to assist electric utilities and 

11 transit agencies in collaboratively planning 

12 an electrified fleet; 

13 (xii) to investigate the use of fleet, 

14 transit, and municipal vehicle batteries as 

15 power sources for community shelter facili16 ties during emergencies; 

17 (xiii) to develop analytical tools and fi18 nancial models to assist electric utilities 

19 and transit agencies in assessing electric 

20 utility and infrastructure requirements to 

21 support selected transit vehicle tech22 nologies and charging profiles, including 

23 analytic tools— 

24 (I) to optimize the total cost of 

25 ownership; 


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1 (II) to develop electrification 

2 route maps and transition plans, with 

3 quantitative estimates of the popu4 lation-weighted reductions in pollutant 

5 exposure from electrification of spe6 cific routes, including criteria pollut7 ants and new pollutants of concern; 

8 and 

9 (III) to articulate the strategy 

10 and timelines for transitioning to 

11 zero-emission vehicles; 

12 (xiv) to investigate scenarios for the 

13 sharing of battery assets for the purpose of 

14 maximizing cost-performance and battery 

15 use, including— 

16 (I) scenarios that optimize shared 

17 usage between transit agencies and 

18 electric utilities over the lifecycle of 

19 the battery; 

20 (II) incentives for an entity (such 

21 as an electric utility) to provide fund22 ing to reduce initial premium costs 

23 by— 


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1 (aa) owning the battery of a 

2 transit agency transit vehicle; 

3 and 

4 (bb) charging the battery 

5 using smart charging; and 

6 (III) enabling the entity to repo7 sition the battery into stationary use 

8 after the battery has served the ex9 pected life of the battery in mobility 

10 use; 

11 (xv) to develop a methodology for 

12 modeling load increases expected from elec13 trifying the transportation sector; and 

14 (xvi) to investigate the deployment of 

15 electric vehicle technologies and charging 

16 infrastructure within scalable and inte17 grated energy management systems as part 

18 of community energy infrastructure devel19 opment. 

20 (B) CONSULTATION.—As soon as prac21 ticable after the date of enactment of this Act, 

22 in carrying out the activities under subpara23 graph (A), the Secretary shall consult with 

24 stakeholders, including— 

25 (i) vehicle manufacturers, including— 


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1 (I) manufacturers of light-, me2 dium-, and heavy-duty vehicles; and 

3 (II) transit vehicle manufactur4 ers; 

5 (ii) electric utilities, such as investor6 owned electric utilities, publicly owned elec7 tric utilities, and electric cooperatives; 

8 (iii) third-party energy service pro9 viders; 

10 (iv) transit agencies; 

11 (v) fleet operators; 

12 (vi) private companies, including en13 ergy technology manufacturers and battery 

14 manufacturers; 

15 (vii) other Federal agencies; 

16 (viii) the National Laboratories; 

17 (ix) States; 

18 (x) Tribal governments; 

19 (xi) units of local government; 

20 (xii) nonprofit organizations; 

21 (xiii) institutions of higher education; 

22 (xiv) electric vehicle supply equipment 

23 and charging infrastructure manufactur24 ers; and 

25 (xv) battery manufacturers. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $100,000,000, to remain available for a period of 10 years 

4 following the fiscal year for which the amounts were ap5 propriated. 

6 SEC. 5. PRIVACY, SECURITY, AND RESILIENCE. 

7 (a) PROTECTING PRIVACY AND SECURITY.—In car8 rying out this Act, the Secretary, the Administrator, and 

9 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall identify, incor10 porate, and follow best practices for protecting the privacy 

11 of individuals and businesses and the respective sensitive 

12 data of the individuals and businesses, including by man13 aging privacy risk and implementing the Fair Information 

14 Practice Principles of the Federal Trade Commission for 

15 the collection, use, disclosure, and retention of individual 

16 electric consumer information in accordance with the Of17 fice of Management and Budget Circular A–130 (or suc18 cessor circulars). 

19 (b) PERSONAL PROTECTIONS FOR SENSITIVE PER20 SONAL DATA.—No Federal entity shall request the cre21 ation, recording, or collection of data identified to an indi22 vidual person as a result of this Act. 

23 (c) LAW ENFORCEMENT REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 


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1 (A) GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY.—The term 

2 ‘‘governmental entity’’ has the meaning given 

3 that term in section 2711 of title 18, United 

4 States Code. 

5 (B) JUDGE OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION; 

6 STATE.—The terms ‘‘judge of competent juris7 diction’’ and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given 

8 such terms in section 2510 of title 18, United 

9 States Code. 

10 (2) CONSUMER INFORMATION.—A govern11 mental entity may obtain from an electric utility, 

12 third-party aggregator, or other nongovernmental 

13 entity under an administrative subpoena authorized 

14 by a Federal or State statute or a Federal or State 

15 grand jury or trial subpoena the— 

16 (A) name of an electric consumer; 

17 (B) address of an electric consumer; 

18 (C) length of service (including start date) 

19 of, and types of service used by, an electric con20 sumer; and 

21 (D) means and source of payment for such 

22 service (including any credit card or bank ac23 count number) of an electric consumer. 

24 (3) ELECTRIC USAGE INFORMATION.—A gov25 ernmental entity may only require the disclosure by 


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1 an electric utility, third-party aggregator, or other 

2 nongovernmental entity of information regarding the 

3 use of electricity by an electric consumer (including 

4 monthly usage data, data at a greater level of detail 

5 or specificity, and information about electric use by 

6 specific appliances) pursuant to a warrant issued 

7 based on probable cause, using the procedures de8 scribed in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 

9 (or, in the case of a State court, issued using State 

10 warrant procedures) by a court of competent juris11 diction. 

12 (4) NOTICE.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

14 after obtaining a warrant for electric usage in15 formation described in paragraph (3), a govern16 mental entity shall notify each electric con17 sumer whose information was obtained. 

18 (B) DELAY OF NOTICE.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—Upon application 

20 by a governmental entity, a judge of com21 petent jurisdiction may issue an order au22 thorizing the governmental entity to delay 

23 notice under subparagraph (A) for a period 

24 of not more than 180 days if the judge 


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1 finds reason to believe notifying the elec2 tric consumer of the order will result in— 

3 (I) endangering the life or phys4 ical safety of an individual; 

5 (II) flight from prosecution; 

6 (III) destroying of or tampering 

7 with evidence; 

8 (IV) intimidation of potential wit9 nesses; or 

10 (V) otherwise seriously jeopard11 izing an investigation or unduly delay12 ing a trial. 

13 (ii) UNLIMITED RENEWALS.—Upon 

14 application by a governmental entity, a 

15 judge of competent jurisdiction may renew 

16 an order delaying notice under clause (i) 

17 for additional periods of not longer than 

18 180 days if the judge makes a finding de19 scribed in clause (i). 

20 (5) SUPPRESSION.—Any electric usage informa21 tion described in paragraph (3), or evidence directly 

22 or indirectly derived from such information, may not 

23 be received in evidence in any trial, hearing, or other 

24 proceeding in or before any court, grand jury, de25 partment, officer, agency, regulatory body, legislative 


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1 committee, or other authority of the United States, 

2 a State, or a political subdivision thereof if the ob3 taining of the information was not conducted in ac4 cordance with this subsection. 

5 (6) REPORTING.— 

6 (A) BY GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.—In 

7 January of each year, each governmental entity 

8 shall submit to the Administrative Office of the 

9 United States Courts information regarding any 

10 warrant described in paragraph (3) that was 

11 sought or obtained by the governmental entity 

12 during the previous year, including— 

13 (i) the number of warrants described 

14 in paragraph (3) sought by the govern15 mental entity; 

16 (ii) the number of warrants described 

17 in paragraph (3) obtained by the govern18 mental entity; and 

19 (iii) for each warrant described in 

20 paragraph (3) sought or obtained by the 

21 governmental entity— 

22 (I) the offense specified in the 

23 application; and 

24 (II) the identity of the officer ap25 plying for the warrant. 


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1 (B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—As part of 

2 the report submitted under section 2519(3) of 

3 title 18, United States Code, the Administrative 

4 Office of the United States Courts shall provide 

5 to Congress, with respect to the previous year— 

6 (i) the number of warrants described 

7 in paragraph (3) sought by governmental 

8 entities; 

9 (ii) the number of warrants described 

10 in paragraph (3) obtained by governmental 

11 entities; and 

12 (iii) a summary and analysis of the 

13 data required to be filed with the Adminis14 trative Office under subparagraph (A). 

15 (d) MANAGING EMERGING THREATS TO THE ELEC16 TRIC GRID.— 

17 (1) MODEL STANDARDS FOR THE DISTRIBU18 TION GRID.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary shall develop model standards to assist 

22 States, electric cooperatives, and publicly owned 

23 electric utilities in the voluntary updating of 

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1 ability from natural disasters, and improving 

2 security with respect to cyber and physical 

3 threats, taking into consideration— 

4 (i) the increased use of smart grid 

5 technologies, variable energy generation, 

6 energy storage, and distributed energy re7 sources; 

8 (ii) standards for critical infrastruc9 ture; and 

10 (iii) emerging and rapidly evolving 

11 hazards. 

12 (B) CONSULTATION.—As soon as prac13 ticable after the date of enactment of this Act, 

14 in developing the model standards under sub15 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall consult 

16 with— 

17 (i) States; 

18 (ii) utilities, such as investor-owned 

19 electric utilities, publicly owned utilities, 

20 and electric cooperatives; 

21 (iii) third-party energy service pro22 viders; 

23 (iv) other Federal agencies; 

24 (v) the Electric Reliability Organiza25 tion; 


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1 (vi) private companies, including en2 ergy technology manufacturers; 

3 (vii) the National Laboratories; 

4 (viii) nonprofit organizations; and 

5 (ix) institutions of higher education. 

6 (2) EQUIPMENT STANDARDS AND TESTING PRO7 CEDURES.—Not later than 3 years after the date of 

8 enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in collaboration 

9 with the Secretary of Commerce (acting through the 

10 Director of the National Institute of Standards and 

11 Technology), electric utilities, States, and standard12 making organizations, shall— 

13 (A) evaluate whether new performance 

14 standards and testing procedures are needed to 

15 ensure electrical equipment resilience in the 

16 face of emerging and rapidly evolving hazards 

17 (like cyber and physical threats and natural dis18 asters) taking into consideration the increased 

19 use of smart grid technologies, variable energy 

20 generation, energy storage, distributed energy 

21 resources, and capabilities for autonomous en22 ergy systems integration and management 

23 (such as islandable microgrids); and 


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1 (B) develop and submit to Congress a set 

2 of recommendations for distribution equipment 

3 manufacturers to voluntarily— 

4 (i) minimize disruptions of inter5 connected distributed energy resources and 

6 associated data feeds, especially during 

7 critical peak demand; and 

8 (ii) support the reliability and resil9 ience of the distribution grid. 

10 (e) DEVELOPMENT OF UNIFORM COST-BENEFIT

11 ANALYSIS METHODS FOR SECURITY AND RESILIENCE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

14 shall develop and submit to Congress a set of meth15 ods and guidelines for calculating the costs and ben16 efits of investments in resilience and security solu17 tions for the electric grid, including— 

18 (A) the development of uniform and tech19 nology-neutral methods for valuing electric grid 

20 reliability and security, taking into consider21 ation the results of the study conducted under 

22 section 3(b); 

23 (B) guidelines for valuing the management 

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1 tacks, natural disasters, or combined threats, 

2 including the value of State and local energy as3 surance planning and investment; and 

4 (C) methods on how to quantify the secu5 rity and resilience benefits that are unique to 

6 distributed energy resources and grid-scale en7 ergy storage. 

8 (2) CONSULTATION.—As soon as practicable 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, in devel10 oping the methods and guidelines under paragraph 

11 (1), the Secretary shall consult with industry and 

12 government stakeholders, including the stakeholders 

13 described in subsection (d)(1)(B). 

14 SEC. 6. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in collabora17 tion with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of 

18 Commerce, shall enhance and align current electricity sec19 tor workforce development and training programs to sat20 isfy training requirements relating to the increasing com21 plexity of the electric grid, including developing the abili22 ties— 

23 (1) to manage the smart grid and the increased 

24 digitization and connectivity of consumer devices and 


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1 the energy system, including managing cybersecurity 

2 risks; and 

3 (2) to optimize the electric grid in the context 

4 of the increasing penetration of distributed energy 

5 resources, energy storage, variable renewable energy 

6 generation, electric vehicles, and new information, 

7 communication, and control capabilities involved in 

8 energy systems management. 

9 (b) INITIATIVES.—In carrying out subsection (a), the 

10 Secretary shall— 

11 (1) in collaboration with electric utilities, tech12 nology providers to the utility industry, academic in13 stitutions, nonprofit organizations, and Federal 

14 agencies (such as the Department of Labor, the Na15 tional Science Foundation, the Department of Com16 merce, the Department of Education, and the De17 partment of Defense), coordinate Federal initiatives 

18 on electricity sector education and training, includ19 ing by— 

20 (A) establishing programs to facilitate na21 tional training credentials in new electricity 

22 technologies; 

23 (B) developing appropriate curricula for 

24 community colleges; and 


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1 (C) fostering lifelong learning relating to 

2 new electricity technologies; 

3 (2) expand existing Department of Energy 

4 training programs to increase the number of intern5 ships, fellowships, traineeships, and registered ap6 prenticeships; 

7 (3) in collaboration with the Secretary of 

8 Labor, develop workforce training curricula; 

9 (4) in collaboration with the Secretary of 

10 Labor, improve labor market information on the 

11 changing requirements for skilled technical workers 

12 to better align workforce development with advances 

13 in science and technology; 

14 (5) in collaboration with the Secretary of 

15 Labor, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary 

16 of Veterans Affairs, create workforce opportunities 

17 for veterans; 

18 (6) in collaboration with the Secretary of 

19 Labor, create workforce opportunities that— 

20 (A) expand workforce diversity; and 

21 (B) provide to low- and moderate-income 

22 individuals job training that is aligned with in23 demand jobs; and 

24 (C) make use of partnerships between 

25 management and labor; 


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1 (7) in collaboration with the Secretary of 

2 Labor, the Secretary of Defense, and other relevant 

3 agencies, develop a single resource web portal to in4 form industry and potential employees about the 

5 Federal agency workforce development initiatives 

6 and resources; 

7 (8) develop workforce assessment tools to com8 plement training programs; and 

9 (9) support and facilitate regional approaches 

10 to workforce development, including workforce ef11 forts of States and units of local government (such 

12 as workforce investment boards). 

13 (c) DEPARTMENT OF LABOR LEADERSHIP.—In col14 laborating with the Secretary to carry out subsection (a), 

15 the Secretary of Labor shall collaborate with the Secretary 

16 to expand Department of Labor preapprenticeship pro17 grams in the electricity industry, with priority given to de18 veloping preapprenticeship programs that align with the 

19 training initiatives described in subsection (b). 

20 (d) COMMUNITY-CENTERED PROGRAMS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in collabora22 tion with the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of 

23 Veterans Affairs, and the Secretary of Health and 

24 Human Services, shall develop workforce training 


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1 programs to reach certain affected populations, in2 cluding— 

3 (A) individuals displaced from declining 

4 employment in the coal mining industry; 

5 (B) low-income at-risk youth in urban en6 vironments; 

7 (C) low-income and unemployed popu8 lations in rural areas; 

9 (D) women; 

10 (E) minorities; and 

11 (F) workers displaced by technological ad12 vancements. 

13 (2) DEMOGRAPHIC AWARENESS.—In developing 

14 the programs under paragraph (1), the Secretary, in 

15 collaboration with the Secretary of Labor, the Sec16 retary of Veterans Affairs, and the Secretary of 

17 Health and Human Services, shall take into consid18 eration unique cultural, demographic, historical, and 

19 economic factors— 

20 (A) to ensure that the programs are appro21 priate for the populations described in subpara22 graphs (A) through (F) of paragraph (1); and 

23 (B) to maximize the success of the pro24 grams. 

25 (3) METRICS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—In developing the pro2 grams under paragraph (1), the Secretary, in 

3 collaboration with the Secretary of Labor, the 

4 Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the Sec5 retary of Health and Human Services, shall de6 velop metrics for measuring the success of the 

7 programs developed under that paragraph, tak8 ing into consideration public health and mental 

9 health factors, employment and earnings data, 

10 and community economic development factors. 

11 (B) COLLECTION OF CERTAIN DATA.—For 

12 the purposes of collecting employment and 

13 earnings data for consideration under subpara14 graph (A), the data shall be collected through 

15 means other than survey data or self-reported 

16 data, such as through agreements with Federal 

17 or State agencies. 

18 (e) ANALYSIS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act and every 3 years thereafter, the 

20 Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of Labor, 

21 shall conduct an analysis of employment within the energy 

22 sector, including a detailed analysis of the skill level and 

23 ability of the electricity sector workforce to manage the 

24 complexity and changes of the electricity system. 


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1 (f) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

2 Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of Labor, 

3 the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, and 

4 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall consult with indus5 try and government stakeholder, including— 

6 (1) States; 

7 (2) units of local government; 

8 (3) electric utilities; 

9 (4) third-party energy service providers; 

10 (5) private companies, including energy tech11 nology manufacturers; 

12 (6) institutions of higher education; and 

13 (7) nonprofit organizations. 

14 (g) REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

15 of enactment of this Act and every 3 years thereafter, the 

16 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing— 

17 (1) the quantitative impact of programs carried 

18 out under this section; 

19 (2) the results of the analysis conducted under 

20 subsection (e); 

21 (3) a summary of benefits gained and barriers 

22 faced by individuals participating in programs under 

23 this section, including a description of— 

24 (A) job opportunities created by the pro25 grams; and 


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1 (B) skills gained by individuals partici2 pating in the programs; 

3 (4) national and regional observations and rec4 ommendations to improve workforce development, 

5 including feedback from participants; and 

6 (5) the administrative costs of the programs af7 fected by this section. 

8 SEC. 7. FLEXIBLE GRID CHALLENGE 2022. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es11 tablish a competitive program, pursuant to section 24 of 

12 the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 

13 (15 U.S.C. 3719), to be known as the ‘‘Flexible Grid Chal14 lenge 2022’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘pro15 gram’’), to award grants to States to enhance the peak 

16 load management and flexibility of the electric grid. 

17 (b) CONSULTATION.—Pursuant to section 24(d) of 

18 the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 

19 (15 U.S.C. 3719(d)), the program shall seek to engage 

20 a broad set of experts, including from— 

21 (1) electric utilities; 

22 (2) institutions of higher education; 

23 (3) other Federal agencies; 

24 (4) private companies, including energy tech25 nology manufacturers; 


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1 (5) States; 

2 (6) units of local government; 

3 (7) nonprofit organizations; and 

4 (8) the National Laboratories. 

5 (c) GOALS.—The goals of the program shall be— 

6 (1) to optimize— 

7 (A) future electric infrastructure, including 

8 generation, delivery, consumption, and control 

9 methods; 

10 (B) electric grid design solutions to ensure 

11 electric grid reliability and resilience; and 

12 (C) retail electricity pricing and wholesale 

13 market valuation of electric grid services, taking 

14 into consideration consumer protection con15 straints; 

16 (2) to reliably, cost-effectively, safely, and se17 curely integrate and manage variable and distributed 

18 energy resources, including— 

19 (A) distributed generation; 

20 (B) combined heat and power; 

21 (C) energy storage; 

22 (D) electric vehicles; 

23 (E) energy efficiency; 

24 (F) demand response; 


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1 (G) smart technologies that can enable in2 tegrated systems control of distributed energy 

3 resources; and 

4 (H) other technologies; 

5 (3) to improve the integration and interoper6 ability of telecommunications, information tech7 nology, operational technologies, or other systems 

8 and technologies with the electric grid; 

9 (4) to help States overcome any technological, 

10 regulatory, business model, and market barriers; 

11 (5) to increase electricity reliability levels from 

12 levels available as of the date of enactment of this 

13 Act to levels sufficient to provide critical load; 

14 (6) to define the role of the electric utility of 

15 the future as compared to products provided by mar16 ket-driven entities; 

17 (7) to mitigate specific challenges that are 

18 unique to the region where the project is located, in19 cluding reliability and resilience concerns; 

20 (8) to address the problems faced by the re21 search community at the time of the award; and 

22 (9) to achieve the goals described in paragraphs 

23 (1) through (8) by 2022. 

24 (d) CRITERIA.— 


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1 (1) AWARD CRITERIA DEVELOPMENT.—Subject 

2 to paragraphs (2) and (3), not later than 180 days 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec4 retary shall develop simple, ambitious, quantifiable, 

5 and achievable performance criteria that shall be the 

6 basis on which one or more winners will be selected 

7 and publish a notice pursuant to section 24(f) of the 

8 Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 

9 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719(f)). 

10 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the cri11 teria under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall con12 sider criteria that achieve the goals described in sub13 section (c). 

14 (3) CONSULTATION.—Before establishing the 

15 criteria under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

16 consult with a broad set of experts, including experts 

17 from entities described in subsection (b). 

18 (e) AWARDS TO STATES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after 

20 the selection of States participating in the program 

21 under subsection (f)(3), the Secretary shall— 

22 (A) select not more than 3 States as win23 ners of the program; and 

24 (B) provide to each winner an award of 

25 not more than $50,000,000. 


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1 (2) BASIS OF SELECTION.—In selecting the 

2 winners of the program under paragraph (1)(A), the 

3 Secretary shall use the criteria developed and pub4 lished under subsection (d)(1). 

5 (3) NO REQUIREMENT TO RECEIVE TECHNICAL

6 OR SUPPORT GRANTS.—The receipt or lack of re7 ceipt of technical assistance under subsection (g)(1) 

8 or a support grant under subsection (g)(2) shall not 

9 affect the eligibility of a State to be selected as a 

10 winner of the program under paragraph (1). 

11 (f) PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY.— 

12 (1) APPLICATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec14 retary shall invite States to submit applications to 

15 participate in the program. 

16 (2) APPLICATION PROCESS.—A State seeking to 

17 participate in the program shall submit to the Sec18 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 

19 and containing such information as the Secretary 

20 may require, including evidence that the State— 

21 (A) has partnered with, at a minimum— 

22 (i) an electric utility; 

23 (ii) an energy technology manufac24 turer; and 


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1 (iii) a National Laboratory or institu2 tion of higher education; and 

3 (B) has established a plan for appropriate 

4 use of any funds made available under the pro5 gram. 

6 (3) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

8 after the date on which an application is sub9 mitted under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall 

10 determine whether the applicant State may par11 ticipate in the program. 

12 (B) BASIS OF DETERMINATION.—In select13 ing States under subparagraph (A), the Sec14 retary shall ensure that the application of a se15 lected State demonstrates an ability to achieve 

16 one or more of the goals described in subsection 

17 (c). 

18 (g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND GRANTS.— 

19 (1) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

20 shall provide to participant States selected under 

21 subsection (f)(3) technical assistance in the form of 

22 individual consultations, tools, and other resources, 

23 on an as-needed basis. 

24 (2) SUPPORT GRANTS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

2 provide support grants to participant States se3 lected under subparagraph (E). 

4 (B) APPLICATION PROCESS.—A participant 

5 State seeking a support grant shall submit to 

6 the Secretary an application at such time, in 

7 such manner, and containing such information 

8 as the Secretary may require, including a plan 

9 describing the proposed use of funds. 

10 (C) ELIGIBILITY.—In determining the eli11 gibility of a participant State for a support 

12 grant under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

13 shall consider whether the plan of the partici14 pant State described in subparagraph (B) in15 cludes methods for achieving one or more of the 

16 goals described in subsection (c). 

17 (D) AMOUNT OF SUPPORT GRANT.—The 

18 amount of a support grant awarded to a partic19 ipant State selected under subparagraph (E) 

20 shall be not less than $500,000 and not greater 

21 than $10,000,000. 

22 (E) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 

24 days after the date on which an application 


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1 is submitted under subparagraph (B), the 

2 Secretary shall determine— 

3 (I) whether the applicant State 

4 shall receive a support grant; and 

5 (II) if so, the amount of the sup6 port grant. 

7 (ii) BASIS OF DETERMINATION.—In 

8 making a determination under clause (i), 

9 the Secretary shall ensure that the applica10 tion of a selected State demonstrates an 

11 ability to achieve improvement in flexible 

12 peak load management one or more of the 

13 goals described in subsection (c). 

14 (F) REQUIREMENT.—As a condition of re15 ceiving financial assistance under this sub16 section, a State receiving a support grant shall 

17 provide to the Secretary such information, at 

18 such time, and in such manner as the Secretary 

19 may require, to be made publicly available by 

20 the Secretary subject to applicable Federal pri21 vacy laws. 

22 (G) REPORTING BY PARTICIPANTS.—Not 

23 later than 1 year after the date on which a 

24 State initially receives a support grant, and 

25 each year thereafter for the duration of the 


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1 grant period, a State that receives a support 

2 grant shall submit to the Secretary a written 

3 report that— 

4 (i) summarizes the benefits gained 

5 throughout the duration of the program; 

6 (ii) describes barriers overcome during 

7 the program; 

8 (iii) outlines a continuation plan in 

9 the event the State is not selected as a 

10 winner of the program under subsection 

11 (e); and 

12 (iv) provides feedback on the program, 

13 including proposed modifications to the 

14 program. 

15 (h) REPORTS.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

16 on which amounts are first distributed under this section, 

17 and not later than the date that is 3 years thereafter, the 

18 Secretary shall submit to Congress reports describing— 

19 (1) the number, type, and details of projects 

20 proposed and projects undertaken under the pro21 gram; 

22 (2) a summary of benefits gained and barriers 

23 faced by participant States in the competition; 

24 (3) a summary of continuation plans collected 

25 from the participant States; 


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1 (4) national and regional observations and rec2 ommendations to improve peak load management 

3 and flexibility, including feedback from participant 

4 States; 

5 (5) the administrative costs of the program; 

6 and 

7 (6) the total amount of funds distributed under 

8 the program, including the amount awarded to each 

9 participant State. 

10 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

12 there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

13 this section $150,000,000, of which $15,000,000 is 

14 authorized for use by the Department of Energy to 

15 administer the prize. 

16 (2) AVAILABILITY.—The amounts authorized 

17 under paragraph (1) shall remain available until ex18 pended. 

Æ 


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