Severe Fuel Supply Emergency Response Act of 2015

To require a coordinated response to coal fuel supply emergencies that could impact electric power system adequacy or reliability. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Severe Fuel Supply Emergency Response Act of 2015 2. Severe fuel supply emergency response The Federal Power Act is amended by inserting after section 215 ( 16 U.S.C. 824o 215A. Emergency response to coal supply deficiencies (a) Findings Congress finds that— (1) electric utilities operating coal-fired generating units seek to maintain target levels of coal inventories in order to meet forecasted demand; (2) by coordinating generator actions and coal levels with Reliability Coordinators, electric utilities seek to ensure adequacy and reliability for the Bulk Power System; (3) rail service issues have resulted in critically low coal inventory levels at numerous utilities; (4) coal shortages can threaten the adequacy and reliability of electricity supplies, and may jeopardize the health and safety of electricity consumers; (5) when faced with declining coal inventories, electric utilities have taken actions to curtail coal-fired electricity production, including by closing electric generating units, in order to preserve coal stockpiles; (6) under the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 ( 15 U.S.C. 761 et seq. (7) the depletion of coal inventories due to rail service issues may constitute a fuel supply emergency. (b) Definitions In this section: (1) Board The term Board (2) Bulk-power system The term bulk-power system (3) Electric reliability organization The term Electric Reliability Organization (4) Form OE-417 The term Form OE-417 Electric Emergency Incident and Disturbance Report 15 U.S.C. 761 et seq. (5) Regional entity The term Regional Entity (6) Reliability coordinator The term Reliability Coordinator (7) Secretary The term Secretary (8) Severe fuel supply emergency The term severe fuel supply emergency (c) Coordinated response to emergencies (1) In general The Secretary shall lead the Federal response to severe fuel supply emergencies. (2) Duties of the Secretary On the filing of a Form OE-417 that reports a severe fuel supply emergency, the Secretary shall— (A) promptly investigate the circumstances of the severe fuel supply emergency; (B) notify the Board and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of the existence of the severe fuel supply emergency; (C) convene a meeting with the Board, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and, as appropriate, the Electric Reliability Organization and affected Regional Entities and Reliability Coordinators; and (D) submit in writing to the Board and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and post publicly on the website of the Department of Energy, recommendations for actions the Board or Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should consider to alleviate the severe fuel supply emergency and prevent recurrences of the severe fuel supply emergency. (d) Effect on other laws Nothing in this section limits any existing authority of any Federal agency. .

Summary: Severe Fuel Supply Emergency Response Act of 2015 This bill amends the Federal Power Act to direct the Department of Energy (DOE) to lead a coordinated federal response to severe fuel supply emergencies. A severe fuel supply emergency is a coal supply deficiency reported to DOE that has the potential to affect at least 500 megawatts of electricity generation or 100,000 electricity customers. DOE's duties are to: promptly investigate the circumstances of the emergency; notify the Surface Transportation Board and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) of the existence of the emergency; convene a meeting with the Board, FERC, and, as appropriate, the Electric Reliability Organization and affected Regional Entities and Reliability Coordinators; and submit in writing to the Board and to FERC, and publicize on the DOE website, recommendations for actions by either the Board or FERC to alleviate the emergency and to prevent future recurrences.