537
mission Organization or Independent System Oper-
ator, if any, or (B) if such an organization does not
exist, regional reliability organization; and
(5) will not duplicate the functions of existing
transmission facilities or proposed facilities which
are the subject of ongoing or approved siting and re-
lated permitting proceedings.
(c) OTHER FUNDS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out a Project
under subsection (a) or (b), the Secretary may ac-
cept and use funds contributed by another entity for
the purpose of carrying out the Project.
(2) AVAILABILITY.—The contributed funds
shall be available for expenditure for the purpose of
carrying out the Project—
(A) without fiscal year limitation; and
(B) as if the funds had been appropriated
specifically for that Project.
(3) ALLOCATION OF COSTS.—In carrying out a
Project under subsection (a) or (b), any costs of the
Project not paid for by contributions from another
entity shall be collected through rates charged to
customers using the new transmission capability pro-
vided by the Project and allocated equitably among
538
these project beneficiaries using the new trans-
mission capability.
(d) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in
this section affects any requirement of—
(1) any Federal environmental law, including
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
(2) any Federal or State law relating to the
siting of energy facilities; or
(3) any existing authorizing statutes.
(e) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall
constrain or restrict an Administrator in the utilization
of other authority delegated to the Administrator of
WAPA or SWPA.
(f) SECRETARIAL
DETERMINATIONS.—Any deter-
mination made pursuant to subsections (a) or (b) shall
be based on findings by the Secretary using the best avail-
able data.
(g) MAXIMUM FUNDING AMOUNT.—The Secretary
shall not accept and use more than $100,000,000 under
subsection (c)(1) for the period encompassing fiscal years
2006 through 2015.
SEC. 1223. TRANSMISSION SYSTEM MONITORING.
Within 6 months after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Energy and the Federal Energy Reg-
539
ulatory Commission shall study and report to Congress on
the steps which must be taken to establish a system to
make available to all transmission system owners and Re-
gional Transmission Organizations (as defined in the Fed-
eral Power Act) within the Eastern and Western Inter-
connections real-time information on the functional status
of all transmission lines within such Interconnections. In
such study, the Commission shall assess technical means
for implementing such transmission information system
and identify the steps the Commission or Congress must
take to require the implementation of such system.
SEC. 1224. ADVANCED TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGIES.
(a) AUTHORITY.—The Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, in the exercise of its authorities under the
Federal Power Act and the Public Utility Regulatory Poli-
cies Act of 1978, shall encourage the deployment of ad-
vanced transmission technologies.
(b) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section,
the term ‘‘advanced transmission technologies’’ means
technologies that increase the capacity, efficiency, or reli-
ability of existing or new transmission facilities, including,
but not limited to—
(1) high-temperature lines (including super-
conducting cables);
(2) underground cables;
540
(3) advanced conductor technology (including
advanced composite conductors, high-temperature
low-sag conductors, and fiber optic temperature
sensing conductors);
(4) high-capacity ceramic electric wire, connec-
tors, and insulators;
(5) optimized transmission line configurations
(including multiple phased transmission lines);
(6) modular equipment;
(7) wireless power transmission;
(8) ultra-high voltage lines;
(9) high-voltage DC technology;
(10) flexible AC transmission systems;
(11) energy storage devices (including pumped
hydro, compressed air, superconducting magnetic en-
ergy storage, flywheels, and batteries);
(12) controllable load;
(13) distributed generation (including PV, fuel
cells, microturbines);
(14) enhanced power device monitoring;
(15) direct system state sensors;
(16) fiber optic technologies;
(17) power electronics and related software (in-
cluding real time monitoring and analytical soft-
ware); and