II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2332 

To provide for the modernization of the electric grid, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 30, 2019 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. HEINRICH, and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for the modernization of the electric grid, 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 ‘‘Grid Modernization Act of 2019’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Grid storage program. 

Sec. 4. Technology demonstration on the distribution system. 

Sec. 5. Micro-grid and hybrid micro-grid systems program. 

Sec. 6. Electric grid architecture, scenario development, and modeling. 

Sec. 7. Voluntary model pathways. 


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Sec. 8. Performance metrics for electricity infrastructure providers. 

Sec. 9. Voluntary State, regional, and local electricity distribution planning. 

Sec. 10. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

4 means the Department of Energy. 

5 (2) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na6 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term 

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

8 U.S.C. 15801). 

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

10 the Secretary of Energy. 

11 SEC. 3. GRID STORAGE PROGRAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

13 program of research, development, and demonstration of 

14 electric grid energy storage that addresses the principal 

15 challenges identified in the 2013 Department of Energy 

16 Strategic Plan for Grid Energy Storage. 

17 (b) AREAS OF FOCUS.—The program under this sec18 tion shall focus on— 

19 (1) materials, electric thermal, electromechani20 cal, and electrochemical systems research; 

21 (2) power conversion technologies research; 

22 (3) developing— 

23 (A) empirical and science-based industry 

24 standards to compare the storage capacity, 


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1 cycle length and capabilities, and reliability of 

2 different types of electricity storage; and 

3 (B) validation and testing techniques; 

4 (4) other fundamental and applied research 

5 critical to widespread deployment of electricity stor6 age; 

7 (5) device development that builds on results 

8 from research described in paragraphs (1), (2), and 

9 (4), including combinations of power electronics, ad10 vanced optimizing controls, and energy storage as a 

11 general purpose element of the electric grid; 

12 (6) grid-scale testing and analysis of storage 

13 devices, including test-beds and field trials; 

14 (7) cost-benefit analyses that inform capital ex15 penditure planning for regulators and owners and 

16 operators of components of the electric grid; 

17 (8) electricity storage device safety and reli18 ability, including potential failure modes, mitigation 

19 measures, and operational guidelines; 

20 (9) standards for storage device performance, 

21 control interface, grid interconnection, and inter22 operability; and 

23 (10) maintaining a public database of energy 

24 storage projects, policies, codes, standards, and reg25 ulations. 


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1 (c) ASSISTANCE TO STATES.—The Secretary may 

2 provide technical and financial assistance to States, Indian 

3 Tribes, or units of local government to participate in or 

4 use research, development, or demonstration of technology 

5 developed under this section. 

6 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

8 out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 

9 through 2028. 

10 (e) NO EFFECT ON OTHER PROVISIONS OF LAW.— 

11 Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this Act 

12 authorizes regulatory actions that would duplicate or con13 flict with regulatory requirements, mandatory standards, 

14 or related processes under section 215 of the Federal 

15 Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o). 

16 (f) USE OF FUNDS.—To the maximum extent prac17 ticable, in carrying out this section, the Secretary shall 

18 ensure that the use of funds to carry out this section is 

19 coordinated among different offices within the Grid Mod20 ernization Initiative of the Department and other pro21 grams conducting energy storage research. 

22 SEC. 4. TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION ON THE DISTRIBU23 TION SYSTEM. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

25 grant program to carry out eligible projects related to the 


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1 modernization of the electric grid, including the applica2 tion of technologies to improve observability, advanced 

3 controls, and prediction of system performance on the dis4 tribution system. 

5 (b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—To be eligible for a grant 

6 under subsection (a), a project shall— 

7 (1) be designed to improve the performance and 

8 efficiency of the future electric grid, while ensuring 

9 the continued provision of safe, secure, reliable, and 

10 affordable power; 

11 (2) demonstrate— 

12 (A) secure integration and management of 

13 two or more energy resources, including distrib14 uted energy generation, combined heat and 

15 power, micro-grids, energy storage, electric ve16 hicles, energy efficiency, demand response, and 

17 intelligent loads; and 

18 (B) secure integration and interoperability 

19 of communications and information tech20 nologies; and 

21 (3) be subject to the requirements of section 

22 545(a) of the Energy Security and Independence Act 

23 of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17155(a)). 


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1 SEC. 5. MICRO-GRID AND HYBRID MICRO-GRID SYSTEMS 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) HYBRID MICRO-GRID SYSTEM.—The term 

5 ‘‘hybrid micro-grid system’’ means a stand-alone 

6 electrical system that— 

7 (A) is comprised of conventional generation 

8 and at least 1 alternative energy resource; and 

9 (B) may use grid-scale energy storage. 

10 (2) ISOLATED COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘iso11 lated community’’ means a community that is pow12 ered by a stand-alone electric generation and dis13 tribution system without the economic and reliability 

14 benefits of connection to a regional electric grid. 

15 (3) MICRO-GRID SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘micro16 grid system’’ means a standalone electrical system 

17 that uses grid-scale energy storage. 

18 (4) STRATEGY.—The term ‘‘strategy’’ means 

19 the strategy developed pursuant to subsection 

20 (b)(2)(B). 

21 (b) PROGRAM.— 

22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es23 tablish a program to promote the development of— 

24 (A) hybrid micro-grid systems for isolated 

25 communities; and 


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1 (B) micro-grid systems to increase the re2 silience of critical infrastructure. 

3 (2) PHASES.—The program established under 

4 paragraph (1) shall be divided into the following 

5 phases: 

6 (A) Phase I, which shall consist of the de7 velopment of a feasibility assessment for— 

8 (i) hybrid micro-grid systems in iso9 lated communities; and 

10 (ii) micro-grid systems to enhance the 

11 resilience of critical infrastructure. 

12 (B) Phase II, which shall consist of the de13 velopment of an implementation strategy, in ac14 cordance with paragraph (3), to promote the 

15 development of hybrid micro-grid systems for 

16 isolated communities, particularly for those 

17 communities exposed to extreme weather condi18 tions and high energy costs, including elec19 tricity, space heating and cooling, and transpor20 tation. 

21 (C) Phase III, which shall be carried out 

22 in parallel with Phase II and consist of the de23 velopment of an implementation strategy to 

24 promote the development of micro-grid systems 


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1 that increase the resilience of critical infrastruc2 ture. 

3 (D) Phase IV, which shall consist of cost4 shared demonstration projects, based upon the 

5 strategies developed under subparagraph (B) 

6 that include the development of physical and cy7 bersecurity plans to take appropriate measures 

8 to protect and secure the electric grid. 

9 (E) Phase V, which shall establish a bene10 fits analysis plan to help inform regulators, pol11 icymakers, and industry stakeholders about the 

12 affordability, environmental and resilience bene13 fits associated with Phases II, III, and IV. 

14 (3) REQUIREMENTS FOR STRATEGY.—In devel15 oping the strategy under paragraph (2)(B), the Sec16 retary shall consider— 

17 (A) establishing future targets for the eco18 nomic displacement of conventional generation 

19 using hybrid micro-grid systems, including dis20 placement of conventional generation used for 

21 electric power generation, heating and cooling, 

22 and transportation; 

23 (B) the potential for renewable resources, 

24 including wind, solar, and hydropower, to be in25 tegrated into a hybrid micro-grid system; 


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1 (C) opportunities for improving the effi2 ciency of existing hybrid micro-grid systems; 

3 (D) the capacity of the local workforce to 

4 operate, maintain, and repair a hybrid micro5 grid system; 

6 (E) opportunities to develop the capacity of 

7 the local workforce to operate, maintain, and 

8 repair a hybrid micro-grid system; 

9 (F) leveraging existing capacity within 

10 local or regional research organizations, such as 

11 organizations based at institutions of higher 

12 education, to support development of hybrid 

13 micro-grid systems, including by testing novel 

14 components and systems prior to field deploy15 ment; 

16 (G) the need for basic infrastructure to de17 velop, deploy, and sustain a hybrid micro-grid 

18 system; 

19 (H) input of traditional knowledge from 

20 local leaders of isolated communities in the de21 velopment of a hybrid micro-grid system; 

22 (I) the impact of hybrid micro-grid systems 

23 on defense, homeland security, economic devel24 opment, and environmental interests; 


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1 (J) opportunities to leverage existing inter2 agency coordination efforts and recommenda3 tions for new interagency coordination efforts to 

4 minimize unnecessary overhead, mobilization, 

5 and other project costs; and 

6 (K) any other criteria the Secretary deter7 mines appropriate. 

8 (c) COLLABORATION.—The program established 

9 under subsection (b)(1) shall be carried out in collabora10 tion with relevant stakeholders, including, as appro11 priate— 

12 (1) States; 

13 (2) Indian Tribes; 

14 (3) regional entities and regulators; 

15 (4) units of local government; 

16 (5) institutions of higher education; and 

17 (6) private sector entities. 

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

19 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until cal20 endar year 2029, the Secretary shall submit to the Com21 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

22 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

23 House of Representatives a report on the efforts to imple24 ment the program established under subsection (b)(1) and 


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1 the status of the strategy developed under subsection 

2 (b)(2)(B). 

3 SEC. 6. ELECTRIC GRID ARCHITECTURE, SCENARIO DEVEL4 OPMENT, AND MODELING. 

5 (a) GRID ARCHITECTURE AND SCENARIO DEVELOP6 MENT.— 

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

8 the Secretary shall establish and facilitate a collabo9 rative process to develop model grid architecture and 

10 a set of future scenarios for the electric grid to ex11 amine the impacts of different combinations of re12 sources (including different quantities of distributed 

13 energy resources and large-scale, central generation) 

14 on the electric grid. 

15 (2) MARKET STRUCTURE.—The grid architec16 ture and scenarios developed under paragraph (1) 

17 shall account for differences in market structure, in18 cluding an examination of the potential for stranded 

19 costs in each type of market structure. 

20 (3) FINDINGS.—Based on the findings of grid 

21 architecture developed under paragraph (1), the Sec22 retary shall— 

23 (A) determine whether any additional 

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1 ability of grid systems and associated commu2 nications networks; and 

3 (B) if the Secretary makes a determination 

4 that additional standards are necessary under 

5 subparagraph (A), make recommendations for 

6 additional standards, including, as may be ap7 propriate, to the Electric Reliability Organiza8 tion under section 215 of the Federal Power 

9 Act (16 U.S.C. 824o). The Electric Reliability 

10 Organization shall not be under any obligation 

11 to establish any process to consider such rec12 ommendations. 

13 (b) MODELING.—Subject to subsection (c), the Sec14 retary shall— 

15 (1) conduct modeling based on the scenarios de16 veloped under subsection (a); and 

17 (2) analyze and evaluate the technical and fi18 nancial impacts of the models to assist States, utili19 ties, and other stakeholders in— 

20 (A) enhancing strategic planning efforts; 

21 (B) avoiding stranded costs; and 

22 (C) maximizing the cost-effectiveness of fu23 ture grid-related investments. 

24 (c) INPUT.—The Secretary shall develop the sce25 narios and conduct the modeling and analysis under subVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2332.IS S2332

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1 sections (a) and (b) with participation or input, as appro2 priate, from— 

3 (1) the National Laboratories; 

4 (2) States; 

5 (3) State regulatory authorities; 

6 (4) transmission organizations; 

7 (5) representatives of all sectors of the electric 

8 power industry; 

9 (6) academic institutions; 

10 (7) independent research institutes; and 

11 (8) other entities. 

12 (d) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section grants any per13 son a right to receive or review confidential, proprietary, 

14 or otherwise protected information concerning grid archi15 tecture or scenarios. 

16 SEC. 7. VOLUNTARY MODEL PATHWAYS. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF VOLUNTARY MODEL PATH18 WAYS.— 

19 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary, in consultation with the steering committee 

22 established under paragraph (3), shall initiate the 

23 development of voluntary model pathways for mod24 ernizing the electric grid through a collaborative, 

25 public-private effort that— 


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1 (A) produces illustrative policy pathways 

2 encompassing a diverse range of technologies 

3 that can be adapted for State and regional ap4 plications by regulators and policymakers; 

5 (B) facilitates the modernization of the 

6 electric grid and associated communications 

7 networks to achieve the objectives described in 

8 paragraph (2); 

9 (C) ensures a reliable, resilient, affordable, 

10 safe, and secure electric grid; and 

11 (D) acknowledges and accounts for dif12 ferent priorities, electric systems, and rate 

13 structures across States and regions. 

14 (2) OBJECTIVES.—The pathways established 

15 under paragraph (1) shall facilitate achievement of 

16 as many of the following objectives as practicable: 

17 (A) Near real-time situational awareness of 

18 the electric system. 

19 (B) Data visualization. 

20 (C) Advanced monitoring and control of 

21 the advanced electric grid. 

22 (D) Enhanced certainty of policies for in23 vestment in the electric grid. 

24 (E) Increased innovation. 

25 (F) Greater consumer empowerment. 


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1 (G) Enhanced grid resilience, reliability, 

2 and robustness. 

3 (H) Improved— 

4 (i) integration of distributed energy 

5 resources; 

6 (ii) interoperability of the electric sys7 tem; and 

8 (iii) predictive modeling and capacity 

9 forecasting. 

10 (I) Reduced cost of service for consumers. 

11 (J) Diversification of generation sources. 

12 (3) STEERING COMMITTEE.—Not later than 90 

13 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

14 Secretary shall establish a steering committee to 

15 help develop the pathways under paragraph (1), to 

16 be composed of members appointed by the Secretary, 

17 consisting of persons with appropriate expertise rep18 resenting a diverse range of interests in the public, 

19 private, and academic sectors, including representa20 tives of— 

21 (A) the Federal Energy Regulatory Com22 mission; 

23 (B) the National Laboratories; 

24 (C) States; 

25 (D) State regulatory authorities; 


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1 (E) transmission organizations; 

2 (F) representatives of all sectors of the 

3 electric power industry; 

4 (G) institutions of higher education; 

5 (H) independent research institutes; and 

6 (I) other entities. 

7 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

8 provide technical assistance to States, Indian Tribes, or 

9 units of local government to adopt or implement one or 

10 more elements of the pathways developed under subsection 

11 (a)(1), including on a pilot basis. 

12 SEC. 8. PERFORMANCE METRICS FOR ELECTRICITY INFRA13 STRUCTURE PROVIDERS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta16 tion with the steering committee established under section 

17 7(a)(3), shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 

18 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on 

19 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

20 a report that includes— 

21 (1) an evaluation of the performance of the 

22 electric grid as of the date of the report; and 

23 (2) a description of the projected range of 

24 measurable costs and benefits associated with the 


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1 changes evaluated under the scenarios developed 

2 under section 6. 

3 (b) CONSIDERATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF

4 METRICS.—In developing metrics for the evaluation and 

5 projections under subsection (a), the Secretary shall con6 sider— 

7 (1) standard methodologies for calculating im8 provements or deteriorations in the performance 

9 metrics, such as reliability, grid efficiency, power 

10 quality, consumer satisfaction, sustainability, and fi11 nancial incentives; 

12 (2) standard methodologies for calculating po13 tential costs and measurable benefits value to rate14 payers, applying the performance metrics developed 

15 under paragraph (1); 

16 (3) identification of tools, resources, and de17 ployment models that may enable improved perform18 ance through the adoption of emerging, commer19 cially available or advanced grid technologies or solu20 tions, including— 

21 (A) multicustomer micro-grids; 

22 (B) distributed energy resources; 

23 (C) energy storage; 

24 (D) electric vehicles; 

25 (E) electric vehicle charging infrastructure; 


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1 (F) integrated information and commu2 nications systems; 

3 (G) transactive energy systems; and 

4 (H) advanced demand management sys5 tems; and 

6 (4) the role of States and local regulatory au7 thorities in enabling a robust future electric grid to 

8 ensure that— 

9 (A) electric utilities remain financially via10 ble; 

11 (B) electric utilities make the needed in12 vestments that ensure a reliable, secure, and re13 silient grid; and 

14 (C) costs incurred to transform to an inte15 grated grid are allocated and recovered respon16 sibly, efficiently, and equitably. 

17 SEC. 9. VOLUNTARY STATE, REGIONAL, AND LOCAL ELEC18 TRICITY DISTRIBUTION PLANNING. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—On the request of a State, re20 gional organization, or electric utility, the Secretary shall 

21 provide assistance to States, regional organizations, and 

22 electric utilities to facilitate the development of State, re23 gional, and local electricity distribution plans by— 


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1 (1) conducting a resource assessment and anal2 ysis of future demand and distribution requirements; 

3 and 

4 (2) developing open source tools for State, re5 gional, and local planning and operations. 

6 (b) RISK AND SECURITY ANALYSIS.—The assessment 

7 under subsection (a)(1) shall include— 

8 (1) the evaluation of the physical security, cy9 bersecurity, and associated communications needs of 

10 an advanced distribution management system and 

11 the integration of distributed energy resources; and 

12 (2) advanced use of grid architecture to analyze 

13 risks in an all-hazards approach that includes com14 munications infrastructure, control systems architec15 ture, and power systems architecture. 

16 (c) DESIGNATION.—The information collected for the 

17 assessment and analysis under subsection (a)(1)— 

18 (1) shall be considered to be critical electric in19 frastructure information under section 215A of the 

20 Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o–1); and 

21 (2) shall only be released in compliance with 

22 regulations implementing that section. 

23 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—For the purpose of 

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1 tricity distribution plans, the Secretary shall provide tech2 nical assistance to— 

3 (1) States; 

4 (2) regional reliability entities; and 

5 (3) other distribution asset owners and opera6 tors. 

7 (e) WITHDRAWAL.—A State or any entity that has 

8 requested technical assistance under this section may 

9 withdraw the request for technical assistance at any time, 

10 and on such withdrawal, the Secretary shall terminate all 

11 assistance efforts. 

12 (f) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section authorizes the 

13 Secretary to require any State, regional organization, re14 gional reliability entity, asset owner, or asset operator to 

15 adopt any model, tool, plan, analysis, or assessment. 

16 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec18 retary to carry out section 4 through this section 

19 $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2028. 

Æ 


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