II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1232 

To amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to modify 

provisions relating to smart grid modernization, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 6, 2015 

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

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 

2007 to modify provisions relating to smart grid modernization, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Smart Grid Act of 

5 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SMART GRID INTEROPERABILITY WORKING GROUP. 

7 Section 1303 of the Energy Independence and Secu8 rity Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17383) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking the section designation and 

10 heading and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1303. SMART GRID ADVISORY COMMITTEE; SMART 

2 GRID TASK FORCE; SMART GRID INTEROPER3 ABILITY WORKING GROUP.’’; 

4 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub5 section (d); 

6 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(c) SMART GRID INTEROPERABILITY WORKING

9 GROUP.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 

11 days after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

12 the Secretary, in collaboration with the National In13 stitute of Standards and Technology of the Depart14 ment of Commerce, the Institute of Electrical and 

15 Electronics Engineers, and the Smart Grid Inter16 operability Panel, shall establish a working group, to 

17 be known as the ‘Smart Grid Interoperability Work18 ing Group’— 

19 ‘‘(A) to identify additional efforts the Fed20 eral Government can take to better promote the 

21 establishment and adoption of open standards 

22 that enhance connectivity and interoperability 

23 on the electric grid; 

24 ‘‘(B) to study the market and policy bar25 riers to deploying responsive appliances at 

26 scale; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) to develop a plan for establishing and 

2 promoting the widespread adoption of inter3 operability standards. 

4 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Smart Grid Inter5 operability Working Group shall include such rep6 resentatives as the Secretary determines to be ap7 propriate from— 

8 ‘‘(A) appliance manufacturers; 

9 ‘‘(B) utilities; 

10 ‘‘(C) software providers; 

11 ‘‘(D) energy efficiency and environmental 

12 stakeholders; and 

13 ‘‘(E) relevant Federal departments and 

14 agencies. 

15 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

16 the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Smart 

17 Grid Interoperability Working Group shall submit to 

18 the Secretary a report that describes the initial find19 ings and recommendations of the Smart Grid Inter20 operability Working Group, as described in para21 graph (1).’’; and 

22 (4) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by para23 graph (2)), by striking ‘‘and Smart Grid Task 

24 Force’’ and inserting ‘‘, the Smart Grid Task Force, 


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1 and the Smart Grid Interoperability Working 

2 Group’’. 

3 SEC. 3. SMART GRID TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, DEVELOP4 MENT, AND DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM POL5 ICY. 

6 Section 1304 of the Energy Independence and Secu7 rity Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17384) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (b)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), in the second sen10 tence, by inserting ‘‘and lessons learned from 

11 demonstration projects implemented under this 

12 section’’ before the period at the end; 

13 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (i) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

15 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

16 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

17 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

18 and’’; and 

19 (iii) by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(F) to identify best practices for the im22 plementation of the Fair Information Practice 

23 Principles (FIPPS) of the Federal Trade Com24 mission for the collection, use, disclosure, and 


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1 retention of individual customer information.’’; 

2 and 

3 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

4 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

5 (I) by striking the subparagraph 

6 designation and heading and all that 

7 follows through ‘‘the initiative’’ and 

8 inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out 

11 the Initiative, subject to clause (ii)’’; and 

12 (II) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—In selecting 

15 smart grid demonstration projects to re16 ceive assistance under this subparagraph, 

17 the Secretary shall ensure, to the max18 imum extent practicable— 

19 ‘‘(I) geographical diversity; and 

20 ‘‘(II) diversity among types of 

21 electricity markets and regulatory en22 vironments.’’; 

23 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

24 (B) through (F) as subparagraphs (C) 

25 through (G), respectively; 


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1 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

2 (A) the following: 

3 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL DEMONSTRATION

4 PROJECT FUNDING.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out 

6 the Initiative, in addition to financial as7 sistance provided under subparagraph (A), 

8 the Secretary shall provide grants, on a 

9 competitive basis, for demonstration 

10 projects in any of the following 7 program 

11 areas: 

12 ‘‘(I) TRANSACTIVE ENERGY.— 

13 Projects that implement a system of 

14 economic or control mechanisms that 

15 optimizes the dynamic balance of sup16 ply and demand across the electrical 

17 infrastructure, using economic value 

18 as a key operational parameter. 

19 ‘‘(II) INNOVATION IN VALUATION

20 OF NEW TECHNOLOGY GRID SERVICES

21 AND EFFICIENCY.—Projects that im22 plement innovative ways of valuing 

23 the grid services provided by demand 

24 response, energy efficiency, distributed 


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1 generation, electric vehicles, and stor2 age. 

3 ‘‘(III) RATE DESIGN–DISTRIBU4 TION SYSTEM.—Projects that imple5 ment rates, such as 3-part rates, to 

6 equitably ensure cost-recovery and the 

7 reliability of the distribution grid, 

8 while also supporting the increased 

9 penetration of distributed generation, 

10 storage, and electric vehicles. 

11 ‘‘(IV) RATE DESIGN–CONSUMER

12 ACCEPTANCE OF TIME-BASED PRIC13 ING.—Projects that— 

14 ‘‘(aa) study consumer adop15 tion of time-based retail elec16 tricity rates through the imple17 mentation of time-based rates, in 

18 conjunction with randomized con19 trol trials; and 

20 ‘‘(bb) may— 

21 ‘‘(AA) provide to cus22 tomers a range of time23 based pricing options, as 

24 well as options to adopt ena25 bling technology; and 


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1 ‘‘(BB) implement a het2 erogeneity of marketing and 

3 outreach approaches. 

4 ‘‘(V) ENERGY STORAGE.— 

5 Projects that demonstrate innovative 

6 approaches for using energy storage 

7 for grid services, including— 

8 ‘‘(aa) flexibility; and 

9 ‘‘(bb) the integration of 

10 intermittent renewable energy. 

11 ‘‘(VI) SMART ELECTRIC VEHICLE

12 CHARGING.—Projects that— 

13 ‘‘(aa) demonstrate innova14 tive approaches for integrating 

15 electric vehicles into grid oper16 ations; or 

17 ‘‘(bb) produce, test, and cer18 tify to IEEE/UL standards 

19 bidirectional power electronics for 

20 electric vehicles. 

21 ‘‘(VII) OTHER PROGRAM AREA.— 

22 Projects in 1 additional program area 

23 that the Secretary may identify, by 

24 regulation. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) PRIORITY REQUIREMENTS.—In 

2 selecting demonstration projects to receive 

3 grants under clause (i), the Secretary shall 

4 give priority to— 

5 ‘‘(I) for demonstration projects 

6 described in subclause (I) of clause 

7 (i), projects that— 

8 ‘‘(aa) incorporate real-time 

9 prices and technologies that allow 

10 prices to be directly delivered to 

11 end-user devices (an approach 

12 commonly known as ‘prices to de13 vices’); or 

14 ‘‘(bb) advance device visi15 bility in grid system operations; 

16 ‘‘(II) for demonstration projects 

17 described in subclause (II) of clause 

18 (i), projects that address valuation of 

19 ancillary services, capacity, and serv20 ices offered in price-responsive mar21 kets; 

22 ‘‘(III) for demonstration projects 

23 described in subclause (III) of clause 

24 (i), projects that assess— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) the impact of the rates 

2 described in that subclause on 

3 customer electricity consumption 

4 patterns; 

5 ‘‘(bb) customer interest and 

6 enrollment in the new rates; 

7 ‘‘(cc) the impact of rates on 

8 the economics of distributed gen9 eration and storage; 

10 ‘‘(dd) the impact of rates on 

11 consumer adoption patterns of 

12 distributed generation and stor13 age; or 

14 ‘‘(ee) the effectiveness of 

15 various educational outreach 

16 measures in presenting the rates 

17 to customers; 

18 ‘‘(IV) for demonstration projects 

19 described in subclause (IV) of clause 

20 (i), projects that— 

21 ‘‘(aa) investigate the effects 

22 on customer participation and 

23 satisfaction rates of— 

24 ‘‘(AA) choice architec25 ture, such as defaulting to 


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1 an opt-in, versus an opt-out, 

2 program; and 

3 ‘‘(BB) enabling tech4 nology; or 

5 ‘‘(bb) demonstrate how the 

6 lessons learned from the study 

7 described in that subclause can 

8 be used to develop a rate transi9 tion plan that facilitates signifi10 cant and lasting enrollment in 

11 the new rates with a high degree 

12 of customer satisfaction; 

13 ‘‘(V) for demonstration projects 

14 described in subclause (V) of clause 

15 (i), projects that maximize— 

16 ‘‘(aa) benefits to intermit17 tent renewable energy generation; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(bb) the range of grid serv20 ices provided by storage; and 

21 ‘‘(VI) for demonstration projects 

22 described in subclause (VI) of clause 

23 (i), projects that demonstrate methods 

24 of— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) maximizing the grid 

2 services provided by electric vehi3 cles; and 

4 ‘‘(bb) minimizing load spikes 

5 and grid costs associated with 

6 electric vehicles.’’; 

7 (iv) in subparagraph (C) (as redesig8 nated by clause (ii))— 

9 (I) by striking ‘‘subparagraph 

10 (A) shall be carried out’’ and inserting 

11 the following: ‘‘subparagraph (A) or 

12 (B) shall be— 

13 ‘‘(i) carried out’’; 

14 (II) by striking the period at the 

15 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (III) by adding at the end the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(ii) given priority in selection for as19 sistance based on the extent to which the 

20 project demonstrates strong collaboration 

21 among— 

22 ‘‘(I) State energy agencies; 

23 ‘‘(II) State public utility and 

24 public service commissions; 

25 ‘‘(III) electric utilities; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) power aggregators; and 

2 ‘‘(V) if applicable, independent 

3 system operators, regional trans4 mission organizations, or wholesale 

5 market operators.’’; 

6 (v) in subparagraph (D) (as redesig7 nated by clause (ii)), by striking ‘‘subpara8 graph (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 

9 (C)’’; 

10 (vi) in subparagraph (E) (as redesig11 nated by clause (ii)), by striking the sub12 paragraph designation and heading and all 

13 that follows through ‘‘No person’’ and in14 serting the following: 

15 ‘‘(E) ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER FUNDING.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A person or entity 

17 that receives financial assistance for a 

18 demonstration project in any program area 

19 described in subparagraph (A) or any of 

20 subclauses (I) through (VII) of subpara21 graph (B)(i) may be eligible to receive as22 sistance under any other such program 

23 area, if the person or entity establishes to 

24 the satisfaction of the Secretary a synergy 

25 between the program areas. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) INELIGIBILITY.—No person’’; 

2 and 

3 (vii) in subparagraph (F) (as redesig4 nated by clause (ii))— 

5 (I) in the first sentence, by strik6 ing ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT OF CLEARING9 HOUSE.—The Secretary’’; 

10 (II) by striking the second sen11 tence and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(ii) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.— 

13 As a condition of receiving financial assist14 ance under this subsection, a utility or 

15 other participant in a smart grid dem16 onstration project shall provide such infor17 mation as the Secretary may require, to 

18 become available through the smart grid 

19 information clearinghouse and for purposes 

20 of producing the reports described in sub21 clauses (IV) and (V) of clause (iv), in such 

22 form and at such time as the Secretary 

23 may require.’’; 


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1 (III) in the third sentence, by 

2 striking ‘‘The Secretary shall assure’’ 

3 and inserting the following: 

4 ‘‘(iii) PROTECTED INFORMATION.— 

5 The Secretary shall ensure’’; and 

6 (IV) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(iv) WORKING GROUPS.— 

9 ‘‘(I) ESTABLISHMENT.—For each 

10 program area described in subpara11 graph (A) or any of subclauses (I) 

12 through (VII) of subparagraph (B)(i), 

13 the Secretary shall establish a work14 ing group, to be composed of rep15 resentatives of each project selected to 

16 receive assistance within that program 

17 area. 

18 ‘‘(II) MEETINGS.—Each working 

19 group established under subclause (I) 

20 shall meet not less frequently than 

21 once every 90 days. 

22 ‘‘(III) PARTICIPATION RE23 QUIRED.—As a condition of receiving 

24 financial assistance under this sub25 section, the owner or operator of a 


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1 demonstration project shall designate 

2 a representative of the project to serve 

3 as a member of the applicable working 

4 group established under subclause (I), 

5 including by attending each meeting 

6 of the working group under subclause 

7 (II). 

8 ‘‘(IV) REPORTS.—Each working 

9 group established under subclause (I) 

10 shall submit to the Secretary reports 

11 regarding the demonstrations projects 

12 carried out by members of the work13 ing group, at such times and con14 taining such information as the Sec15 retary may require. 

16 ‘‘(V) PUBLICATION.—The Sec17 retary shall periodically publish re18 ports and other appropriate informa19 tional materials for use, within each 

20 program area described in subclause 

21 (I), by— 

22 ‘‘(aa) State regulators; 

23 ‘‘(bb) wholesale market op24 erators; 

25 ‘‘(cc) electric utilities; and 


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1 ‘‘(dd) such other individuals 

2 and entities as the Secretary de3 termines to be appropriate.’’; and 

4 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec8 essary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 

9 2017 through 2021.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. FEDERAL MATCHING FUND FOR SMART GRID IN11 VESTMENT COSTS. 

12 Section 1306(f) of the Energy Independence and Se13 curity Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17386(f)) is amended by 

14 striking ‘‘fiscal years 2008 through 2012’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021’’. 

Æ 


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