I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5154 

To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to promulgate regulations with respect to regional and interregional transmission planning, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 4, 2023 

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ (for herself, Mr. CASAR, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. TONKO, Mr. 

BOWMAN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. NORTON, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. 

FROST, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. 

JAYAPAL, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. OMAR, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. BALINT, Mr. 

GOLDMAN of New York, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. 

CROCKETT, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mrs. FOUSHEE, and Ms. LOFGREN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to 

promulgate regulations with respect to regional and 

interregional transmission planning, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Connecting Hard-to3 reach Areas with Renewably Generated Energy Act of 

4 2023’’ or the ‘‘CHARGE Act of 2023’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds that— 

7 (1) current transmission planning is fractured 

8 across many jurisdictions, prioritizes incumbent enti9 ties and highly localized transmission, and fails to 

10 identify cost-effective solutions for 21st century 

11 needs; 

12 (2) the historical structure, regulations, and in13 centives of the electric power system lead to under14 planning and under-investment in the regional and 

15 interregional transmission lines that are needed for 

16 a reliable and resilient grid; 

17 (3) much of the existing transmission infra18 structure of the United States is in need of signifi19 cant upgrade or replacement; 

20 (4) the energy sector of the United States is at 

21 a critical juncture, with a rapidly changing power 

22 generation mix and new public policy mandates; 

23 (5) it is imperative to proactively plan for elec24 tricity transmission in the future, including by tak25 ing into account long-term changes to demand and 

26 load growth; 


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1 (6) renewable energy resources must be incor2 porated into the grid efficiently in order to meet 

3 State and Federal decarbonization goals; 

4 (7) the public desires, and has a right to, elec5 tricity data that are transparent, organized, and ac6 cessible; 

7 (8) having reliable and diverse sources of elec8 tricity generation is a foundational need for the en9 tire economy; 

10 (9) climate change has increased the frequency 

11 and intensity of severe weather events that affect the 

12 grid; 

13 (10) it is in the national interest to implement 

14 policies that provide effective electric infrastructure 

15 to save consumers money, avoid preventable damage, 

16 ensure energy reliability, and save lives; 

17 (11) the Federal Government has a responsi18 bility to combat rising transmission costs and ensure 

19 customers receive just and reasonable rates for elec20 tricity; 

21 (12) industry experience, scientific studies, and 

22 modern examples of reformed electricity trans23 mission provide confidence that new public policies 

24 and regulatory guidance will achieve more efficient 

25 and beneficial planning than the status quo; and 


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1 (13) there is increasing opportunity for public, 

2 Tribal, or rural cooperative development of trans3 mission due to the recently established direct-pay in4 centives under section 6417 of the Internal Revenue 

5 Code of 1986, enacted by section 13801 of Public 

6 Law 117–169 (commonly known as the ‘‘Inflation 

7 Reduction Act of 2022’’) (136 Stat. 2003). 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

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

11 means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

12 (2) INDEPENDENT SYSTEM OPERATOR.—The 

13 term ‘‘Independent System Operator’’ has the mean14 ing given the term in section 3 of the Federal Power 

15 Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 

16 (3) INTERCONNECTION CUSTOMER.—The term 

17 ‘‘interconnection customer’’ means an individual or 

18 entity that has submitted to the owner or operator 

19 of a transmission facility or transmission system a 

20 request to interconnect a generation project or en21 ergy storage project that is subject to the jurisdic22 tion of the Commission. 

23 (4) INTERREGIONAL TRANSMISSION PLANNING

24 PROCESS.—The term ‘‘interregional transmission 

25 planning process’’ means a joint process by transVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5154.IH H5154

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1 mission providers in 2 or more adjacent transmission 

2 planning regions to evaluate electric energy trans3 mission needs. 

4 (5) LOAD-SERVING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘load5 serving entity’’ has the meaning given the term in 

6 section 217(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

7 824q(a)). 

8 (6) REGIONAL TRANSMISSION ORGANIZATION.— 

9 The term ‘‘Regional Transmission Organization’’ 

10 has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the 

11 Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 

12 (7) TRANSMISSION FACILITY.—The term 

13 ‘‘transmission facility’’ means a facility that is used 

14 for the transmission of electric energy in interstate 

15 commerce. 

16 (8) TRANSMISSION PLANNING REGION.—The 

17 term ‘‘transmission planning region’’ means a region 

18 for which electric energy transmission planning is 

19 appropriate, as determined by the Commission, such 

20 as a region established pursuant to the guidance 

21 contained in the final rule of the Commission enti22 tled ‘‘Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation by 

23 Transmission Owning and Operating Public Utili24 ties’’ (76 Fed. Reg. 49842 (August 11, 2011)). 


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1 (9) TRANSMISSION PROVIDER.—The term 

2 ‘‘transmission provider’’ means a public utility (as 

3 defined in section 201(e) of the Federal Power Act 

4 (16 U.S.C. 824(e))) that owns, operates, or controls 

5 1 or more transmission facilities. 

6 SEC. 4. TRANSMISSION PLANNING AND COST ALLOCATION. 

7 (a) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 18 months after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

9 promulgate a final rule that— 

10 (1) establishes transmission planning processes 

11 and cost-allocation processes that— 

12 (A) ensure that transmission providers— 

13 (i) engage in interregional trans14 mission planning processes and inter15 connection-wide transmission planning 

16 processes, in conjunction with transmission 

17 planning processes within transmission 

18 planning regions; 

19 (ii) harmonize interregional trans20 mission planning processes and inter21 connection-wide transmission planning 

22 processes with other regional transmission 

23 planning processes, such as by using a 

24 joint model on a consistent timeline with a 

25 unified set of minimum requirements reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5154.IH H5154

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1 garding needs, input assumptions, and 

2 benefit metrics; 

3 (iii) include as part of planning and 

4 cost-allocation processes the use of grid-en5 hancing transmission technologies and al6 ternative transmission technologies that in7 crease delivery of power over transmission 

8 networks, including, at a minimum— 

9 (I) dynamic line ratings; 

10 (II) topology optimization; 

11 (III) power flow control; 

12 (IV) advanced conductors and 

13 superconductors; and 

14 (V) storage-as-transmission; 

15 (iv) conduct interregional and inter16 connection-wide planning regularly and not 

17 less frequently than once every 5 years; 

18 (v) conduct interregional and inter19 connection-wide planning based on a range 

20 of possible future load and generation sce21 narios; and 

22 (vi) are required to incorporate in a 

23 transmission planning process the full 

24 scope of benefits of transmission invest25 ment, including, at a minimum— 


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1 (I) reduced costs of electric en2 ergy to customers, including reduced 

3 costs associated with lower quantities 

4 of necessary capacity, ancillary serv5 ices, and reserve margins; 

6 (II) access to resources in neigh7 boring transmission planning regions; 

8 (III) the transmission of renew9 able energy or the ability of renewable 

10 energy to connect to the grid; 

11 (IV) improvements in reliability, 

12 resilience, and flexibility of the grid, 

13 including, at a minimum— 

14 (aa) reduced loss of load 

15 probability; 

16 (bb) increased resource di17 versity; 

18 (cc) increased climate hard19 ening; and 

20 (dd) increased ability to 

21 maintain functionality during re22 gionally appropriate weather con23 ditions and severe weather sce24 narios; 


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1 (V) leveraging resources across 

2 climatological patterns or time zones 

3 to account for resource availability 

4 and weather patterns; 

5 (VI) avoidance, to the maximum 

6 extent practicable, of sensitive envi7 ronmental areas and cultural heritage 

8 sites; 

9 (VII) reasonable and economical 

10 use of existing rights-of-way; 

11 (VIII) market facilitation bene12 fits, including, at a minimum, in13 creased competitiveness, liquidity, and 

14 integrity of broader geographic mar15 kets; 

16 (IX) avoided costs and deferred 

17 cost savings, including reduced gen18 eration costs and reduced future 

19 transmission investment costs; 

20 (X) the integration of grid-en21 hancing technologies; 

22 (XI) meeting local, State, and 

23 Federal policy goals, including goals 

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1 mate, and clean energy laws (includ2 ing regulations); 

3 (XII) protections to maintain 

4 just and reasonable rates for cus5 tomers; and 

6 (XIII) any other production costs 

7 savings or other economic benefits 

8 from proposed transmission projects; 

9 (B) require that regional and interregional 

10 cost-allocation methodologies allocate costs on 

11 the basis of the multiple benefits described in 

12 subclauses (I) through (XIII) of subparagraph 

13 (A)(vi); 

14 (C) incorporate a 10- to 20-year future re15 source mix for each load-serving entity and 

16 State; 

17 (D) ensure that local or regional trans18 mission planning processes do not impair inter19 regional and interconnection-wide transmission 

20 planning processes; 

21 (E) require transmission providers to 

22 maximize the use of portfolio-based cost alloca23 tions; 

24 (F) in cases in which costs and benefits 

25 are difficult to quantify, may allocate transVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5154.IH H5154

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1 mission investment costs among transmission 

2 system customers in proportion to— 

3 (i) in the case of regional projects, the 

4 share of electricity of each customer in the 

5 region; or 

6 (ii) in the case of interregional 

7 projects, the share of electricity of each 

8 customer in each applicable region; and 

9 (G) to the extent practicable, prevent 

10 transmission providers from using cost-alloca11 tion methodologies that— 

12 (i) discourage distributed generation, 

13 energy efficiency, demand response, or 

14 storage if more economic than trans15 mission; 

16 (ii) are constrained by consideration 

17 only of benefits that are easy to allocate; 

18 or 

19 (iii) undermine previous cost-alloca20 tion agreements for projects already in op21 eration; and 

22 (2) allows a transmission developer of an inter23 regional transmission project to submit to the Com24 mission a request to recover all or a portion of the 


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1 costs of the project under section 205 of the Federal 

2 Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824d) if— 

3 (A) the project is selected through a trans4 mission planning process that meets the criteria 

5 described in paragraph (1), in accordance with 

6 the transmission planning processes and cost-al7 location processes established under that para8 graph; or 

9 (B) the transmission developer dem10 onstrates to the satisfaction of the Commission 

11 that— 

12 (i) the project connects more than 1 

13 transmission planning region; and 

14 (ii) the benefits of the project sub15 stantially outweigh the costs of the project 

16 after accounting for any transmission 

17 projects developed pursuant to a trans18 mission planning process that meets the 

19 criteria described in paragraph (1). 

20 (b) COST RECOVERY AND ALLOCATION REQUIRE21 MENTS.— 

22 (1) COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS.—In making a de23 termination under subsection (a)(2)(B)(ii) of wheth24 er a transmission developer has demonstrated to the 

25 satisfaction of the Commission that the benefits of 


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1 a project substantially outweigh the costs of the 

2 project, the Commission shall consider the benefits 

3 described in subsection (a)(1)(A)(vi). 

4 (2) ALLOCATION.—For transmission projects 

5 that meet the criteria of subparagraph (A) or (B) of 

6 subsection (a)(2), the Commission shall allocate the 

7 costs of those transmission projects to customers in 

8 the applicable regions that benefit from those 

9 projects— 

10 (A) using the benefits described in sub11 section (a)(1)(A)(vi); or 

12 (B) in cases in which those benefits are 

13 difficult to quantify, using the cost allocation 

14 methodology described in subsection (a)(1)(F). 

15 (3) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this sec16 tion limits, or may be construed to limit, any rights 

17 of transmission developers to submit and have rates 

18 approved by the Commission pursuant to section 

19 205 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824d). 

20 (c) AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCE PLANS.—The Com21 mission may require a load-serving entity to make publicly 

22 available any applicable resource plans, including any 

23 plans relating to the requirement described in subsection 

24 (a)(1)(C), if, in the determination of the Commission, the 

25 plans are not adequately described in publicly stated plans 


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1 in Securities and Exchange Commission filings, State 

2 agency filings, and power purchase contracts. 

3 (d) TECHNICAL CONFERENCES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the rulemaking 

5 process under subsection (a), the Commission may 

6 convene a technical conference to consider implemen7 tation details, as the Commission determines to be 

8 appropriate. 

9 (2) PARTICIPATION.— 

10 (A) LEADERSHIP.—A technical conference 

11 convened under paragraph (1) may be led by 

12 the members of the Commission, subject to sub13 paragraph (B). 

14 (B) REQUIRED INVITATIONS.—On election 

15 under subparagraph (A) by members of the 

16 Commission to lead a technical conference, the 

17 Commission shall invite to participate in the 

18 technical conference representatives of residen19 tial ratepayers, transmission providers, environ20 mental justice and equity groups, Tribal com21 munities, Independent System Operators, Re22 gional Transmission Organizations, consumer 

23 protection groups, renewable energy advocates, 

24 State utility commission and energy offices, and 


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1 such other entities as the Commission deter2 mines to be appropriate. 

3 (C) TIMELINE.—The Commission may es4 tablish and enforce a timeline for a technical 

5 conference convened under paragraph (1) that 

6 discourages actions by participants that may 

7 unnecessarily delay the conference. 

8 (3) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Commission may 

9 provide an opportunity for public comment on the 

10 topics considered by a technical conference convened 

11 under paragraph (1). 

12 (e) OFFICE OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Com13 mission shall consult the Office of Public Participation 

14 during the rulemaking process under subsection (a), in15 cluding with respect to— 

16 (1) guidance on public participation require17 ments; 

18 (2) communications with the public concerning 

19 transmission planning that may impact local com20 munities and landowners, including Tribal, indige21 nous, and environmental justice communities; and 

22 (3) minimum data transparency and access re23 quirements. 

24 (f) JOINT FEDERAL-STATE TASK FORCE ON ELEC25 TRIC TRANSMISSION.—The Commission may consult the 


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1 Joint Federal-State Task Force on Electric Transmission 

2 in any actions that— 

3 (1) involve shared Federal and State regulatory 

4 authority and processes; or 

5 (2) would benefit from a combined Federal and 

6 State perspective. 

7 SEC. 5. INTERREGIONAL MINIMUM TRANSFER REQUIRE8 MENTS. 

9 (a) ELECTRIC RELIABILITY.—Section 215(i)(2) of 

10 the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(i)(2)) is amended 

11 by striking ‘‘or transmission’’. 

12 (b) RULEMAKING.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis15 sion shall promulgate a final rule that establishes a 

16 minimum transfer capability that— 

17 (A) shall govern minimum transfer re18 quirements between transmission planning re19 gions; 

20 (B) achieves reliability and resilience 

21 standards during plausible extreme weather sce22 narios; 

23 (C) optimizes efficiency of delivering re24 newable energy to demand centers; and 


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1 (D) incorporates the best available science 

2 relating to energy transmission, climatological 

3 patterns, climate change causes and impacts, 

4 grid reliability, and grid resiliency, including 

5 study results from the Department of Energy 

6 or National Laboratories (as defined in section 

7 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

8 15801)). 

9 (2) RATES.—All rates associated with trans10 mission facilities developed pursuant to the rule pro11 mulgated under paragraph (1) shall be subject to 

12 the requirements of sections 205 and 206 of the 

13 Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824d, 824e) that all 

14 rates, charges, terms, and conditions— 

15 (A) shall be just and reasonable; and 

16 (B) shall not be unduly discriminatory or 

17 preferential. 

18 SEC. 6. DATA TRANSPARENCY. 

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

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

21 ‘‘SEC. 224. DATA TRANSPARENCY. 

22 ‘‘(a) DATA.—The Commission shall require all public 

23 utilities and other entities subject to the jurisdiction of 

24 the Commission to make, through coordination with the 

25 Environmental Protection Agency and an online database 


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1 operated by the Administrator of the Energy Information 

2 Administration, hourly operating data transparent and ac3 cessible to the public, including original source data that— 

4 ‘‘(1) are organized and easy to understand; 

5 ‘‘(2) are centralized and provided in usable for6 mats, including an application programming inter7 face; 

8 ‘‘(3) are available free of charge; 

9 ‘‘(4) are published as close to real-time as is 

10 practicable; 

11 ‘‘(5) include generation by fuel type; 

12 ‘‘(6) include hourly marginal greenhouse gas 

13 emissions per megawatt-hour of electricity generated 

14 within the metered boundaries of each entity and for 

15 each specific electrical bus location on the grid where 

16 an injection or withdrawal of power is modeled (com17 monly known as a ‘pricing node’), subject to the con18 dition that the marginal greenhouse gas emissions 

19 data made available pursuant to this paragraph shall 

20 be measured in the same time interval by which lo21 cational marginal price is measured at the same lo22 cation, but in no case shall the interval by which 

23 marginal greenhouse gas emissions are measured for 

24 purposes of this paragraph be greater than hourly; 


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1 ‘‘(7) include congestion cost and the limiting 

2 elements that cause the congestion; and 

3 ‘‘(8) include hourly locational data on genera4 tion curtailment and the reasons for that curtail5 ment. 

6 ‘‘(b) COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS.—The Commission 

7 may identify and reduce regulatory barriers to the devel8 opment of commercial products that use the data made 

9 publicly available under subsection (a) in order to provide 

10 verifiable emissions reductions, including short- and long11 term nodal congestion products. 

12 ‘‘(c) APPROPRIATION.—In addition to amounts other13 wise made available to the Administrator of the Energy 

14 Information Administration, there is appropriated to the 

15 Administrator of the Energy Information Administration 

16 for fiscal year 2024, out of any funds in the Treasury not 

17 otherwise appropriated, $10,000,000 to develop and oper18 ate the database described in subsection (a), to remain 

19 available until expended.’’. 

20 SEC. 7. STUDY ON METHODS OF ELECTRICITY PROCURE21 MENT AND DEVELOPMENT. 

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

23 date of enactment of this Act, the National Academies of 

24 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, in coordination with 

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1 duct, and submit to the Committee on Energy and Nat2 ural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on En3 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and 

4 make available on a public website a report describing the 

5 results of, a study that identifies the potential benefits and 

6 other effects to consumers from— 

7 (1) procuring generation from independent enti8 ties that are not utilities through a competitive proc9 ess administered by— 

10 (A) an Independent System Operator or a 

11 Regional Transmission Organization; or 

12 (B) another independent entity; and 

13 (2) generation and transmission that is fi14 nanced, developed, or owned by— 

15 (A) an entity described in subsection (b); 

16 (B) any corporation that is wholly owned, 

17 directly or indirectly, by 1 or more entities de18 scribed in that subsection; or 

19 (C) cooperatives that furnish electricity to 

20 rural areas. 

21 (b) ENTITY DESCRIBED.—An entity referred to in 

22 subsection (a)(2)(A) is— 

23 (1) the United States; 

24 (2) a State; 

25 (3) the District of Columbia; 


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1 (4) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

2 (5) any other territory or possession of the 

3 United States; 

4 (6) any political subdivision of an entity de5 scribed in any of paragraphs (2) through (5); 

6 (7) a Tribal government; or 

7 (8) any agency, authority, or instrumentality of 

8 any 1 or more entities described in paragraphs (1) 

9 through (7). 

10 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—The study conducted under 

11 subsection (a) shall— 

12 (1) take into consideration, at a minimum, po13 tential benefits with respect to— 

14 (A) cost savings; 

15 (B) improved grid reliability and resilience; 

16 and 

17 (C) greenhouse gas reductions; 

18 (2) compare the potential benefits identified 

19 under paragraph (1) to the circumstances of con20 sumers whose generation is not procured through a 

21 competitive process; and 

22 (3) compare the potential benefits and effects 

23 identified under subsection (a)(2) to the cir24 cumstances of consumers whose generation and 


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1 transmission is not financed and developed, directly 

2 or indirectly, by a public entity. 

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. 

6 SEC. 8. STATE SUBSIDIES. 

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

8 seq.) (as amended by section 6) is amended by adding at 

9 the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 225. STATE SUBSIDIES. 

11 ‘‘In order to promote competition in wholesale mar12 kets, reliability, and affordability, the Commission shall 

13 not use offer-price mitigation methods to counteract the 

14 effects of State subsidies for renewable energy resources.’’. 

15 SEC. 9. OFFICE OF TRANSMISSION. 

16 Part III of the Federal Power Act is amended by in17 serting after section 317 (16 U.S.C. 825p) the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 318. OFFICE OF TRANSMISSION. 

19 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be established in 

20 the Commission an office, to be known as the ‘Office of 

21 Transmission’ (referred to in this section as the ‘Office’). 

22 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Office shall be administered 

23 by a Director, who shall be appointed by the Chairman 

24 of the Commission. 

25 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Director of the Office shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) review transmission plans submitted by 

2 public utilities in accordance with the regional and 

3 interregional transmission planning processes, in4 cluding the processes established pursuant to section 

5 206; 

6 ‘‘(2) coordinate transmission-related matters of 

7 the Commission, as the Commission determines to 

8 be appropriate; 

9 ‘‘(3) carry out the responsibilities of the Com10 mission under section 216, in coordination with the 

11 Office of Energy Projects of the Commission; 

12 ‘‘(4) review opportunities for innovation in 

13 transmission planning and operation, including de14 ployment of grid-enhancing technologies, advanced 

15 conductors, and other approaches; and 

16 ‘‘(5) provide oversight of transmission planning 

17 activities subject to the jurisdiction of the Commis18 sion.’’. 

19 SEC. 10. INTERCONNECTION. 

20 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

21 of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate regulations, 

22 or revise existing regulations— 

23 (1) to prohibit a public utility from requiring an 

24 interconnection customer to exclusively or dispropor25 tionately fund, without reimbursement, the costs of 


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1 any network upgrade identified as necessary for the 

2 interconnect request of the interconnection customer; 

3 (2) to encourage cost-sharing models that re4 flect the broad set of benefits and beneficiaries for 

5 any network upgrades identified as needed in an 

6 interconnection or affected system study, subject to 

7 the requirement that the model adheres to any re8 quirements established under paragraph (1); and 

9 (3) to alleviate interconnection backlogs and re10 duce informational and procedural barriers in inter11 connection, which may include— 

12 (A) the establishment of an interconnection 

13 analysis center within the Office of Trans14 mission established under section 318 of the 

15 Federal Power Act; and 

16 (B) consultation with staff and the use of 

17 other resources of the Department of Energy. 

18 SEC. 11. INDEPENDENT TRANSMISSION MONITOR. 

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

20 date of enactment of this Act, for the purpose of moni21 toring the planning and operation of transmission facilities 

22 in transmission planning regions, the Commission shall— 

23 (1)(A) require each transmission planning re24 gion to establish an independent entity to monitor 


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1 the planning and operation of transmission facilities 

2 in the transmission planning region; and 

3 (B) establish a council, to be known as the 

4 ‘‘Council of Transmission Monitors’’— 

5 (i) to provide oversight of each inde6 pendent entity established pursuant to subpara7 graph (A); and 

8 (ii) to ensure interregional collaboration 

9 and consistency; or 

10 (2) establish an independent entity to monitor 

11 the planning and operation of transmission facilities 

12 in all transmission planning regions. 

13 (b) ROLE OF TRANSMISSION MONITOR.—An inde14 pendent entity described in paragraph (1)(A) or (2) of 

15 subsection (a) shall, as applicable— 

16 (1) review the operation of applicable trans17 mission planning regions for inefficiency and prac18 tices that may lead to unjust and unreasonable 

19 rates; 

20 (2) review costs of transmission facilities, in21 cluding identifying inefficiencies among local, re22 gional, and interregional planning; 

23 (3) provide examples and advice to transmission 

24 providers on appropriate regional transmission oper25 ations, planning, and cost-allocation processes; and 


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1 (4) identify situations in which— 

2 (A) nonwire alternatives may be more cost3 effective than transmission; 

4 (B) grid-enhancing technologies may be 

5 appropriate; 

6 (C) high-capacity, interregional lines may 

7 be— 

8 (i) more cost-effective; or 

9 (ii) a more appropriate reliability and 

10 resilience alternative; or 

11 (D) high-capacity regional lines may be 

12 more cost-effective than local upgrades. 

13 SEC. 12. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

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

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall estab16 lish an advisory committee (referred to in this section as 

17 the ‘‘committee’’) to make recommendations regarding— 

18 (1) oversight and governance of Independent 

19 System Operators or Regional Transmission Organi20 zations; 

21 (2) stakeholder participation best practices— 

22 (A) that ensure transparency, account23 ability, independence, oversight, and fair rep24 resentation; 


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1 (B) the purposes of which are to promote 

2 competition, reliability, and affordability in all 

3 transmission planning regions; and 

4 (C) that include best practices relating to 

5 stakeholder disclosure of the impact of a pro6 posed tariff reform on the company or client of 

7 the stakeholder prior to voting on the proposed 

8 tariff reform; 

9 (3) enhancing transparency and open decision10 making in regions not classified as Independent Sys11 tem Operators or Regional Transmission Organiza12 tions; and 

13 (4) the requirements of governing boards within 

14 Independent System Operators or Regional Trans15 mission Organizations. 

16 (b) REPRESENTATION.—The committee shall be com17 posed of not more than 30 members, including— 

18 (1) at least 2 representatives of end-use cus19 tomers; 

20 (2) at least 1 representative of transmission 

21 providers; 

22 (3) at least 2 representatives of environmental 

23 justice and equity groups; 

24 (4) at least 1 representative of Tribal commu25 nities; 


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1 (5) at least 1 representative of Independent 

2 System Operators; 

3 (6) at least 1 representative of Regional Trans4 mission Organizations; 

5 (7) at least 1 representative of consumer pro6 tection groups; 

7 (8) at least 2 representatives of renewable en8 ergy advocates; 

9 (9) at least 1 representative of State commis10 sions; 

11 (10) at least 1 representative of public power 

12 entities; 

13 (11) at least 1 representative of marketers; and 

14 (12) at least 1 representative of generators. 

15 (c) FACA APPLICABILITY.—Chapter 10 of title 5, 

16 United States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Federal 

17 Advisory Committee Act’’), shall apply to the committee. 

18 SEC. 13. RTO AND ISO GOVERNANCE. 

19 (a) STAKEHOLDER PROCESSES.— 

20 (1) PUBLIC VOTING.—Each vote cast by any 

21 party during a stakeholder process of a Regional 

22 Transmission Organization or Independent System 

23 Operator shall be made public. 

24 (2) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION FUNDING.—Not 

25 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 


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1 this Act, the Commission shall promulgate regula2 tions requiring Regional Transmission Organizations 

3 and Independent System Operators to develop a 

4 process to provide intervenor compensation or other 

5 funding to assist with public interest participation in 

6 the stakeholder processes of the Regional Trans7 mission Organization or Independent System Oper8 ator. 

9 (3) CONSUMER ORGANIZATIONS; MEMBERSHIP

10 FEE WAIVERS.—Not later than 18 months after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

12 promulgate regulations requiring each Regional 

13 Transmission Organization and Independent System 

14 Operator— 

15 (A) to grant full voting and participation 

16 rights for consumer organizations within stake17 holder processes; and 

18 (B) to consider membership fee waivers for 

19 stakeholder processes. 

20 (b) STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS.— 

21 (1) RECORDING AND TRANSCRIPTION.—Each 

22 stakeholder meeting of a Regional Transmission Or23 ganization or Independent System Operator shall be 

24 recorded and transcribed, and the recording and 


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1 transcription shall be made freely available to the 

2 public. 

3 (2) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—An individual described 

5 in subparagraph (B) shall publicly disclose, at 

6 any stakeholder meeting of a Regional Trans7 mission Organization or Independent System 

8 Operator that the individual attends or in which 

9 the individual otherwise participates— 

10 (i) that the individual is attending or 

11 participating on behalf of a Regional 

12 Transmission Organization or Independent 

13 System Operator; and 

14 (ii) the identity of that Regional 

15 Transmission Organization or Independent 

16 System Operator. 

17 (B) INDIVIDUAL DESCRIBED.—An indi18 vidual referred to in subparagraph (A) is any 

19 representative of a law firm or consulting firm, 

20 or any other agent, that is compensated to rep21 resent or advocate for the interests of a Re22 gional Transmission Organization or Inde23 pendent System Operator. 

24 (c) APPLICABILITY OF FOIA.—Section 552 of title 

25 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom 


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1 of Information Act’’), including any exceptions under that 

2 section, shall apply to the activities, records, and pro3 ceedings of each Regional Transmission Organization and 

4 Independent System Operator, including with respect to 

5 the operations of the Regional Transmission Organization 

6 or Independent System Operator. 

7 (d) LIMITATIONS ON SPONSORSHIPS.—Not later than 

8 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Com9 mission shall promulgate regulations— 

10 (1) to prohibit entities with interests in matters 

11 before a Regional Transmission Organization or 

12 Independent System Operator from serving as finan13 cial sponsors of special events or activities at Re14 gional Transmission Organization or Independent 

15 System Operator meetings; or 

16 (2) if the Commission determines appropriate, 

17 to establish disclosure requirements for entities with 

18 interests in matters before a Regional Transmission 

19 Organization or Independent System Operator that 

20 serve as financial sponsors of special events or ac21 tivities at Regional Transmission Organization or 

22 Independent System Operator meetings. 

23 (e) BOARDS OF DIRECTORS.— 

24 (1) INDEPENDENT BOARD.—Not later than 180 

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


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1 Commission shall promulgate regulations requiring, 

2 subject to exceptions defined by the Commission, 

3 that the board of directors of a Regional Trans4 mission Organization or Independent System Oper5 ator be independent from, and not affiliated with, 

6 the members of the Regional Transmission Organi7 zation or Independent System Operator. 

8 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—Not later than 18 months 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis10 sion shall promulgate regulations— 

11 (A) requiring the board of directors of 

12 each Regional Transmission Organization and 

13 Independent System Operator to have members 

14 who have expertise and experience in rep15 resenting consumers, including at least 1 mem16 ber with expertise in the interests of retail resi17 dential consumers; 

18 (B) establishing the number of members 

19 described in subparagraph (A) that shall be re20 quired on a board of directors described in that 

21 subparagraph in order to avoid marginalization 

22 of the perspectives and contributions of those 

23 members; and 

24 (C) requiring each Regional Transmission 

25 Organization and Independent System Operator 


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1 to designate at least 1 member of the board of 

2 directors of that Regional Transmission Organi3 zation or Independent System Operator who 

4 shall represent and be directly accountable, in 

5 such manner as the Commission determines to 

6 be appropriate, to the public interest within the 

7 geographic footprint of the Regional Trans8 mission Organization or Independent System 

9 Operator. 

10 (f) EMPLOYMENT AND COMPENSATION.— 

11 (1) REVOLVING DOOR PROHIBITIONS.— 

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

13 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

14 the Commission shall promulgate regulations 

15 requiring Regional Transmission Organizations 

16 and Independent System Operators to establish 

17 rules prohibiting the Regional Transmission Or18 ganization or Independent System Operator 

19 from employing, during the periods described in 

20 subparagraph (B), an individual who is or was 

21 an executive of a utility (commonly known as a 

22 ‘‘revolving door prohibition’’). 

23 (B) PERIODS DESCRIBED.—The periods 

24 referred to in subparagraph (A) are— 


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1 (i) any period during which the indi2 vidual is an executive of a utility; and 

3 (ii) the 1-year period beginning on the 

4 date on which the employment of the indi5 vidual as an executive of a utility ends. 

6 (2) COMPENSATION.—Not later than 180 days 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis8 sion shall establish guidelines for executive com9 pensation at Regional Transmission Organizations 

10 and Independent System Operators in order to limit 

11 excessive compensation of those executives. 

12 (g) ENFORCEMENT.—The Commission shall enforce 

13 the requirements of this section using the authority of the 

14 Commission under sections 205 and 206 of the Federal 

15 Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824d, 824e). 

16 SEC. 14. INTERVENOR FUNDING AT OFFICE OF PUBLIC 

17 PARTICIPATION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 319(b)(2) of the Federal 

19 Power Act (16 U.S.C. 825q–l(b)(2)) is amended— 

20 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking the comma 

21 and inserting a semicolon; 

22 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 

23 (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and indent24 ing the clauses appropriately; 


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1 (3) in the matter preceding clause (i) (as so re2 designated), in the second sentence, by striking 

3 ‘‘Such compensation’’ and inserting the following: 

4 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATIONS REQUIRED.—Com5 pensation under this paragraph’’; and 

6 (4) by striking the paragraph designation and 

7 all that follows through ‘‘by it,’’ in the matter pre8 ceding subparagraph (B) (as so designated) and in9 serting the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) COMPENSATION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On making the deter12 minations described in subparagraph (B) and in 

13 accordance with rules promulgated by the Com14 mission, the Commission shall’’. 

15 (b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall pro17 mulgate a final rule to provide compensation under para18 graph (2) of section 319(b) of the Federal Power Act (16 

19 U.S.C. 825q–1(b)) in accordance with the amendment 

20 made by subsection (a). 

21 SEC. 15. APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 In addition to amounts otherwise available, there is 

23 appropriated to the Commission for fiscal year 2024, out 

24 of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 


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1 $200,000,000, to remain available until expended, to carry 

2 out— 

3 (1) sections 4, 5, and 10; and 

4 (2) the amendment made by section 9. 

Æ 


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