II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 888 

To promote Federal-State partnerships for developing regional energy strategies and plans to mitigate risks in changing energy systems, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 26, 2015 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To promote Federal-State partnerships for developing regional energy strategies and plans to mitigate risks in 

changing energy systems, 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 ‘‘Promoting Regional 

5 Energy Partnerships for Advancing Resilient Energy Sys6 tems Act’’ or the ‘‘PREPARE Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) energy systems in the United States are in 

2 a period of significant change; 

3 (2) aging infrastructure, new technologies, in4 creasing complexity, and growing threats are posing 

5 new challenges to energy systems and their resil6 ience; 

7 (3) the interconnected nature of energy systems 

8 means regional energy strategies and plans will be 

9 more effective at preparing for challenges and miti10 gating risks; 

11 (4) States have distinct needs and unique en12 ergy, environmental, and economic goals and will 

13 play a critical role in developing and implementing 

14 regional energy strategies and plans; 

15 (5) the views and participation of a broad range 

16 of stakeholders in the development and implementa17 tion of regional energy strategies and plans is need18 ed for success; and 

19 (6) the Federal Government, in the role of a 

20 long-term strategic energy partner, can effectively— 

21 (A) establish strategic alliances with 

22 States; 

23 (B) convene stakeholders; 

24 (C) facilitate the process of developing re25 gional energy strategies and plans; and 


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1 (D) provide technical assistance and sup2 port in implementation. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘co6 operative agreement’’ has the meaning given the 

7 term in sections 6302 and 6305 of title 31, United 

8 States Code. 

9 (2) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

10 means— 

11 (A) the Secretary of Energy, acting 

12 through the Assistant Secretary of the Office of 

13 Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability in 

14 consultation with the Assistant Secretary of 

15 Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the 

16 Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy, and the 

17 Director of the Office of Nuclear Energy, 

18 Science, and Technology Programs; and 

19 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

20 through the Assistant Secretary for Land and 

21 Minerals Management in consultation with the 

22 Director of the Bureau of Land Management, 

23 the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy 

24 Management, the Assistant Secretary for InVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Apr 07, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S888.IS S888

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1 dian Affairs, and the Assistant Secretary for 

2 Fish and Wildlife and Parks. 

3 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

4 (A) a State; 

5 (B) the District of Columbia; 

6 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

7 and 

8 (D) any other territory or possession of the 

9 United States. 

10 SEC. 4. REGIONAL ENERGY PARTNERSHIPS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall provide as12 sistance in accordance with this section for the purpose 

13 of developing energy strategies and plans that help har14 monize and promote national, regional, and State energy 

15 goals, including goals for advancing resilient energy sys16 tems to mitigate risks and prepare for emerging energy 

17 challenges. 

18 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretaries may 

19 provide such technical assistance to States, political sub20 divisions of States, substate regional organizations (in21 cluding organizations that cross State boundaries), 

22 multistate regional organizations, Indian tribes, and non23 profit organizations as the Secretaries determine appro24 priate to promote— 


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1 (1) the development and improvement of re2 gional energy strategies, where appropriate, and 

3 plans that sustain and promote energy system mod4 ernization across the United States; 

5 (2) investment in energy infrastructure, techno6 logical capacity, innovation, and workforce develop7 ment to keep pace with the changing energy eco8 system; 

9 (3) structural transformation of the financial, 

10 regulatory, legal, and institutional systems that gov11 ern energy planning, production, and delivery within 

12 States and regions; and 

13 (4) public-private partnerships for the imple14 mentation of regional energy strategies and plans. 

15 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries may enter 

17 into cooperative agreements with one or more States 

18 and Indian tribes, on a regional basis, to develop 

19 and implement strategies and plans to address the 

20 energy challenges of States, Indian tribes, and re21 gions. 

22 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A cooperative agreement 

23 entered into under this subsection shall include pro24 visions covering or providing— 


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1 (A) the purpose and goals of the coopera2 tive agreement, such as advancing energy effi3 ciency, clean energy, fuel and supply diversity, 

4 energy system resiliency, economic development, 

5 or other goals to make measurable, significant 

6 progress toward specified metrics and objectives 

7 that are agreed to by the States or Indian 

8 tribes and the Secretaries; 

9 (B) the roles and responsibilities of the 

10 States or Indian tribes and the Secretaries for 

11 various functions of the cooperative agreement, 

12 including outreach, communication, resources, 

13 and capabilities; 

14 (C) a comprehensive framework for the de15 velopment of energy strategies and plans for 

16 States, Indian tribes, or regions; 

17 (D) timeframes with associated metrics 

18 and objectives; 

19 (E) a governance structure to resolve con20 flicts and facilitate decisionmaking consistent 

21 with underlying authorities; and 

22 (F) other provisions determined necessary 

23 by the Secretaries, in consultation with the 

24 States or Indian tribes, to achieve the purposes 

25 described in paragraph (1). 


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1 (d) STAFF.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

3 the date of the entering into a cooperative agree4 ment under subsection (c), the Secretaries shall, as 

5 appropriate, assign or employ individuals who have 

6 expertise in the technical and regulatory issues relat7 ing to the cooperative agreement, including par8 ticular expertise in (as applicable)— 

9 (A) energy systems integration; 

10 (B) renewable energy and energy effi11 ciency; 

12 (C) innovative financing mechanisms; 

13 (D) utility regulatory policy; 

14 (E) modeling and analysis; 

15 (F) facilitation and arbitration; 

16 (G) energy assurance and emergency pre17 paredness; and 

18 (H) cyber and physical security of energy 

19 systems. 

20 (2) DUTIES.—Each individual assigned to carry 

21 out a cooperative agreement under paragraph (1) 

22 shall— 

23 (A) report to a location in the applicable 

24 State, Indian tribe, or region not later than 90 

25 days after the date of assignment; 


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1 (B) be responsible for issues and technical 

2 assistance relating to the cooperative agree3 ment; 

4 (C) participate as part of the team of per5 sonnel working on developing and implementing 

6 the applicable regional energy strategy and 

7 plan; and 

8 (D) build capacity within the State, Indian 

9 tribe, or region to continue to implement the 

10 goals of this Act after the expiration of the co11 operative agreement. 

12 (e) COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK.—Under a coop13 erative agreement, a comprehensive framework shall be 

14 developed that identifies opportunities and actions across 

15 various energy sectors and cross-cutting issue areas, in16 cluding— 

17 (1) end-use efficiency; 

18 (2) energy supply, including electric generation 

19 and fuels; 

20 (3) energy storage and delivery; 

21 (4) transportation; 

22 (5) technical integration, including standards 

23 and interdependencies; 

24 (6) institutional structures; 

25 (7) regulatory policies; 


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1 (8) financial incentives; and 

2 (9) market mechanisms. 

3 (f) AWARDS.— 

4 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

5 (A) APPLICATION GROUP.—The term ‘‘ap6 plication group’’ means a group of States or In7 dian tribes that have— 

8 (i) entered into a cooperative agree9 ment, on a regional basis, with the Secre10 taries under subsection (c); and 

11 (ii) submitted an application for an 

12 award under paragraph (2)(A). 

13 (B) PARTNER STATE.—The term ‘‘partner 

14 State’’ means a State or Indian tribe that is 

15 part of an application group. 

16 (2) APPLICATIONS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara18 graph (B), an application group may apply to 

19 the Secretaries for awards under this sub20 section. 

21 (B) INDIVIDUAL STATES.—An individual 

22 State or Indian tribe that has entered into a co23 operative agreement with the Secretaries under 

24 subsection (c) may apply to the Secretaries for 

25 an award under this subsection if the State or 


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1 Indian tribe demonstrates to the Secretaries the 

2 uniqueness of the energy challenges facing the 

3 State or Indian tribe. 

4 (3) BASE AMOUNT.—Subject to paragraph (4), 

5 the Secretaries shall provide 6 awards under this 

6 subsection, with a base amount of $20,000,000 for 

7 each award. 

8 (4) BONUS AMOUNT FOR APPLICATION

9 GROUPS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara11 graph (B), the Secretaries shall increase the 

12 amount of an award provided under this sub13 section to an application group for a successful 

14 application under paragraph (2)(A) by the 

15 quotient obtained by dividing— 

16 (i) the product obtained by multi17 plying— 

18 (I) the number of partner States 

19 in the application group; and 

20 (II) $100,000,000; by 

21 (ii) the total number of partner States 

22 of all successful applications under this 

23 subsection. 

24 (B) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a 

25 bonus determined under subparagraph (A) shall 


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1 not exceed an amount that represents 

2 $5,000,000 for each partner State that is a 

3 member of the relevant application group. 

4 (5) LIMITATION.—A State or Indian tribe shall 

5 not be part of more than 1 award under this sub6 section. 

7 (6) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting appli8 cations for awards under this subsection, the Secre9 taries shall consider— 

10 (A) existing commitments from States or 

11 Indian tribes, such as memoranda of under12 standing; 

13 (B) for States that are part of the contig14 uous 48 States, the number of contiguous 

15 States involved that cover a region; 

16 (C) the diversity of the regions represented 

17 by all applications; 

18 (D) the amount of cost-share or in-kind 

19 contributions from States or Indian tribes; 

20 (E) the scope and focus of regional and 

21 State programs and strategies, with an empha22 sis on energy system resiliency and grid mod23 ernization, efficiency, and clean energy; 

24 (F) a management and oversight plan to 

25 ensure that objectives are met; 


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1 (G) an outreach plan for the inclusion of 

2 stakeholders in the process for developing and 

3 implementing State or regional energy strate4 gies and plans; 

5 (H) the inclusion of tribal entities; 

6 (I) plans to fund and sustain activities 

7 identified in regional energy strategies and 

8 plans; and 

9 (J) the clarity of roles and responsibilities 

10 of each State and the Secretaries. 

11 (7) USE OF AWARDS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Awards provided under 

13 this subsection shall be used to achieve the pur14 pose of this section, including by— 

15 (i) conducting technical analyses, re16 source studies, and energy system base17 lines; 

18 (ii) convening and providing education 

19 to stakeholders on emerging energy issues; 

20 (iii) building decision support and 

21 planning tools; and 

22 (iv) improving communication between 

23 and participation of stakeholders. 

24 (B) LIMITATION.—Awards provided under 

25 this subsection shall not be used for— 


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1 (i) capitalization of green banks or 

2 loan guarantees; or 

3 (ii) building facilities or funding cap4 ital projects. 

5 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro7 priated to carry out this Act $250,000,000, to remain 

8 available until expended. 

9 (b) ALLOCATION.—Of the amount authorized to be 

10 appropriated under subsection (a)— 

11 (1) $120,000,000 shall be used for the base 

12 amount of awards under section 4(f)(3); 

13 (2) $100,000,000 shall be used for the bonus 

14 amount of awards under section 4(f)(4); and 

15 (3) $30,000,000 shall be for the administration 

16 of this Act, including— 

17 (A) the assignment of staff under section 

18 4(d); and 

19 (B) if the Secretaries determine appro20 priate, the sharing of best practices from re21 gional partnerships by parties to cooperative 

22 agreements entered into under this Act. 

23 (c) STATE ENERGY OFFICES.—Funds provided to a 

24 State under this Act shall be provided to the office within 

25 the State that is responsible for developing the State enVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Apr 07, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S888.IS S888

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1 ergy plan for the State under part D of title III of the 

2 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et 

3 seq.). 

4 (d) MAINTENANCE OF FUNDING.—The funding pro5 vided to States under this Act shall supplement (and not 

6 supplant) funding provided under part D of title III of 

7 the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 

8 et seq.). 

Æ 


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