II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1221 

To amend the Federal Power Act to require periodic reports on electricity 

reliability and reliability impact statements for rules affecting the reliable 

operation of the bulk-power system. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 6, 2015 

Ms. MURKOWSKI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Power Act to require periodic reports 

on electricity reliability and reliability impact statements 

for rules affecting the reliable operation of the bulkpower system. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bulk-Power System 

5 Reliability Impact Statement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) no other electricity network in the world 

2 provides as much power to as many people as reli3 ably and affordably as the electric grid in the United 

4 States, but keeping the lights on in the United 

5 States is a highly complex undertaking; 

6 (2) according to the 2015 Quadrennial Energy 

7 Review, the electric grid ‘‘must handle a diverse and 

8 evolving mix of energy sources and energy products; 

9 link sources, processors, and users across immense 

10 distances; match demands that vary on multiple time 

11 scales; co-exist with competing uses of the same sys12 tems; and perform 24 hours a day, 365 days a year 

13 with high reliability’’; 

14 (3) diversity is the key characteristic of the 

15 electric system in the United States as the electric 

16 grid in the United States is immensely complicated 

17 due to the fact that— 

18 (A) wholesale electric service and the bulk19 power system have evolved in many different re20 gions of the United States with a variety of 

21 ownership and operational structures; and 

22 (B) the electric grid must adapt to man23 aging an increasingly variable energy mix and 

24 addressing retiring baseload capacity; 


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1 (4) as set forth in Presidential Policy Directive 

2 21 entitled the ‘‘Presidential Policy Directive on 

3 Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience’’, 

4 even within critical infrastructure of the United 

5 States, energy systems are ‘‘uniquely critical due to 

6 the enabling functions they provide across all critical 

7 infrastructure sectors’’; 

8 (5) the wholesale electric service and the bulk9 power system of the United States should provide 

10 for the United States electric service that is abun11 dant, affordable, clean, diverse, and secure; 

12 (6) Federal regulators empowered by Congress 

13 should be directed to use their authority to enable 

14 and not impede, on balance, the reliability and af15 fordability of electric service; and 

16 (7) just as the benefits of the electric grid ac17 crue to all, the burden of maintaining the electric 

18 grid must also be fairly borne by all. 

19 SEC. 3. RELIABILITY REPORTS. 

20 Section 215(g) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

21 824o(g)) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘The ERO’’ and inserting the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The ERO’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(2) RELIABILITY COORDINATORS.—Not later 

2 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

3 paragraph and not less than every 3 years there4 after, each reliability coordinator registered with the 

5 ERO shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

6 Congress and the Commission a report that de7 scribes, as of the date of the report— 

8 ‘‘(A) the state of and prospects for the re9 liability and affordability of electricity within 

10 the geographic area covered by the reliability 

11 coordinator; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the most significant risks to the reli13 ability of the bulk-power system that might 

14 arise or need to be monitored within the geo15 graphic area covered by the coordinator, includ16 ing risks from proposed or final Federal regula17 tions.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. RELIABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT. 

19 Section 215 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

20 824o) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(l) RELIABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT.— 

22 ‘‘(1) SOLICITATION BY COMMISSION.—Not later 

23 than 15 days after the date on which the head of a 

24 Federal agency proposes a major rule (as defined in 

25 section 804 of title 5, United States Code) that may 


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1 significantly affect the reliable operation of the bulk2 power system, the Commission shall solicit from any 

3 applicable reliability coordinator registered with the 

4 ERO affected by the proposed rule a reliability im5 pact statement with respect to the proposed rule. 

6 ‘‘(2) VOLUNTARY SUBMISSION BY RELIABILITY

7 COORDINATOR.—A reliability coordinator may pre8 pare, on the initiative of the reliability coordinator, 

9 a reliability impact statement for any proposed 

10 major Federal rule that the reliability coordinator 

11 determines would significantly affect the reliable op12 eration of the bulk-power system within the jurisdic13 tion of the reliability coordinator. 

14 ‘‘(3) MULTIJURISDICTIONAL COORDINATION.— 

15 If a proposed rule subject to a reliability impact 

16 statement under paragraph (1) or (2) affects an 

17 area broader than the jurisdiction of a single reli18 ability coordinator, the ERO shall convene a com19 mittee of the affected reliability coordinators to 

20 produce a single reliability impact statement that 

21 demonstrates for each affected area the reliability 

22 impact of the proposed rule. 

23 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.—A reliability impact 

24 statement under paragraph (1) or (2) shall include 

25 a detailed statement on— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the impact of the proposed rule on 

2 the reliable operation of the bulk-power system; 

3 ‘‘(B) any adverse effects on the reliable op4 eration of the bulk-power system if the pro5 posed rule was implemented; and 

6 ‘‘(C) alternatives to cure the identified ad7 verse reliability impacts, including, at the dis8 cretion of the reliability coordinator, a no-action 

9 alternative. 

10 ‘‘(5) SUBMISSION TO COMMISSION.—On comple11 tion of a reliability impact statement under para12 graph (1) or (2), the reliability coordinator or a 

13 committee of affected reliability coordinators con14 vened under paragraph (3) shall submit to the Com15 mission the reliability impact statement. 

16 ‘‘(6) TRANSMITTAL TO HEAD OF FEDERAL

17 AGENCY.—On receipt of a reliability impact state18 ment submitted to the Commission under paragraph 

19 (5), the Commission shall transmit to the head of 

20 the applicable Federal agency the reliability impact 

21 statement prepared under this subsection for inclu22 sion in the public record. 

23 ‘‘(7) INCLUSION OF DETAILED RESPONSE IN

24 FINAL RULE.—In issuing a proposed major rule sub25 ject to a reliability impact statement prepared under 


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1 paragraph (1) or (2), the head of the Federal agency 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) consider the reliability impact state4 ment in issuing the proposed major rule; and 

5 ‘‘(B) include in the final rule a detailed re6 sponse to the reliability impact statement.’’. 

Æ 


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