H. R. 6—352
‘‘(6) Any penalty imposed under this section shall bear a reason-
able relation to the seriousness of the violation and shall take 
into consideration the efforts of such user, owner, or operator to 
remedy the violation in a timely manner. 
‘‘(f) CHANGES IN ELECTRIC RELIABILITY ORGANIZATION RULES.—
The Electric Reliability Organization shall file with the Commission 
for approval any proposed rule or proposed rule change, accom-
panied by an explanation of its basis and purpose. The Commission, 
upon its own motion or complaint, may propose a change to the 
rules of the ERO. A proposed rule or proposed rule change shall 
take effect upon a finding by the Commission, after notice and 
opportunity for comment, that the change is just, reasonable, not 
unduly discriminatory or preferential, is in the public interest, 
and satisfies the requirements of subsection (c). 
‘‘(g) RELIABILITY REPORTS.—The ERO shall conduct periodic 
assessments of the reliability and adequacy of the bulk-power 
system in North America. 
‘‘(h) COORDINATION WITH CANADA AND MEXICO.—The President 
is urged to negotiate international agreements with the govern-
ments of Canada and Mexico to provide for effective compliance 
with reliability standards and the effectiveness of the ERO in 
the United States and Canada or Mexico. 
‘‘(i) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—(1) The ERO shall have authority 
to develop and enforce compliance with reliability standards for 
only the bulk-power system. 
‘‘(2) This section does not authorize the ERO or the Commission 
to order the construction of additional generation or transmission 
capacity or to set and enforce compliance with standards for ade-
quacy or safety of electric facilities or services. 
‘‘(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preempt 
any authority of any State to take action to ensure the safety, 
adequacy, and reliability of electric service within that State, as 
long as such action is not inconsistent with any reliability standard, 
except that the State of New York may establish rules that result 
in greater reliability within that State, as long as such action 
does not result in lesser reliability outside the State than that 
provided by the reliability standards. 
‘‘(4) Within 90 days of the application of the Electric Reliability 
Organization or other affected party, and after notice and oppor-
tunity for comment, the Commission shall issue a final order deter-
mining whether a State action is inconsistent with a reliability 
standard, taking into consideration any recommendation of the 
ERO. 
‘‘(5) The Commission, after consultation with the ERO and 
the State taking action, may stay the effectiveness of any State 
action, pending the Commission’s issuance of a final order. 
‘‘(j) REGIONAL ADVISORY BODIES.—The Commission shall estab-
lish a regional advisory body on the petition of at least two-thirds 
of the States within a region that have more than one-half of 
their electric load served within the region. A regional advisory 
body shall be composed of one member from each participating 
State in the region, appointed by the Governor of each State, 
and may include representatives of agencies, States, and provinces 
outside the United States. A regional advisory body may provide 
advice to the Electric Reliability Organization, a regional entity, 
or the Commission regarding the governance of an existing or 
proposed regional entity within the same region, whether a standard
H. R. 6—353
proposed to apply within the region is just, reasonable, not unduly 
discriminatory or preferential, and in the public interest, whether 
fees proposed to be assessed within the region are just, reasonable, 
not unduly discriminatory or preferential, and in the public interest 
and any other responsibilities requested by the Commission. The 
Commission may give deference to the advice of any such regional 
advisory body if that body is organized on an Interconnection-
wide basis. 
‘‘(k) ALASKA AND HAWAII.—The provisions of this section do 
not apply to Alaska or Hawaii.’’. 
(b) STATUS OF ERO.—The Electric Reliability Organization cer-
tified by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under section 
215(c) of the Federal Power Act and any regional entity delegated 
enforcement authority pursuant to section 215(e)(4) of that Act 
are not departments, agencies, or instrumentalities of the United 
States Government. 
(c) ACCESS APPROVALS BY FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Federal agen-
cies responsible for approving access to electric transmission or 
distribution facilities located on lands within the United States 
shall, in accordance with applicable law, expedite any Federal 
agency approvals that are necessary to allow the owners or opera-
tors of such facilities to comply with any reliability standard, 
approved by the Commission under section 215 of the Federal 
Power Act, that pertains to vegetation management, electric service 
restoration, or resolution of situations that imminently endanger 
the reliability or safety of the facilities. 
Subtitle B—Transmission Infrastructure 
Modernization 
SEC. 1221. SITING OF INTERSTATE ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION FACILI-
TIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 
824 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 216. SITING OF INTERSTATE ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION FACILI-
TIES. 
‘‘(a) DESIGNATION
OF NATIONAL INTEREST ELECTRIC TRANS-
MISSION CORRIDORS.—(1) Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this section and every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary 
of Energy (referred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’), in consulta-
tion with affected States, shall conduct a study of electric trans-
mission congestion. 
‘‘(2) After considering alternatives and recommendations from 
interested parties (including an opportunity for comment from 
affected States), the Secretary shall issue a report, based on the 
study, which may designate any geographic area experiencing elec-
tric energy transmission capacity constraints or congestion that 
adversely affects consumers as a national interest electric trans-
mission corridor. 
‘‘(3) The Secretary shall conduct the study and issue the report 
in consultation with any appropriate regional entity referred to 
in section 215. 
‘‘(4) In determining whether to designate a national interest 
electric transmission corridor under paragraph (2), the Secretary 
may consider whether—
H. R. 6—354
‘‘(A) the economic vitality and development of the corridor, 
or the end markets served by the corridor, may be constrained 
by lack of adequate or reasonably priced electricity; 
‘‘(B)(i) economic growth in the corridor, or the end markets 
served by the corridor, may be jeopardized by reliance on lim-
ited sources of energy; and 
‘‘(ii) a diversification of supply is warranted; 
‘‘(C) the energy independence of the United States would 
be served by the designation; 
‘‘(D) the designation would be in the interest of national 
energy policy; and 
‘‘(E) the designation would enhance national defense and 
homeland security. 
‘‘(b) CONSTRUCTION PERMIT.—Except as provided in subsection 
(i), the Commission may, after notice and an opportunity for 
hearing, issue one or more permits for the construction or modifica-
tion of electric transmission facilities in a national interest electric 
transmission corridor designated by the Secretary under subsection 
(a) if the Commission finds that— 
‘‘(1)(A) a State in which the transmission facilities are 
to be constructed or modified does not have authority to— 
‘‘(i) approve the siting of the facilities; or 
‘‘(ii) consider the interstate benefits expected to be 
achieved by the proposed construction or modification of 
transmission facilities in the State; 
‘‘(B) the applicant for a permit is a transmitting utility 
under this Act but does not qualify to apply for a permit 
or siting approval for the proposed project in a State because 
the applicant does not serve end-use customers in the State; 
or 
‘‘(C) a State commission or other entity that has authority 
to approve the siting of the facilities has— 
‘‘(i) withheld approval for more than 1 year after the 
filing of an application seeking approval pursuant to 
applicable law or 1 year after the designation of the rel-
evant national interest electric transmission corridor, 
whichever is later; or 
‘‘(ii) conditioned its approval in such a manner that 
the proposed construction or modification will not signifi-
cantly reduce transmission congestion in interstate com-
merce or is not economically feasible; 
‘‘(2) the facilities to be authorized by the permit will be 
used for the transmission of electric energy in interstate com-
merce; 
‘‘(3) the proposed construction or modification is consistent 
with the public interest; 
‘‘(4) the proposed construction or modification will signifi-
cantly reduce transmission congestion in interstate commerce 
and protects or benefits consumers; 
‘‘(5) the proposed construction or modification is consistent 
with sound national energy policy and will enhance energy 
independence; and 
‘‘(6) the proposed modification will maximize, to the extent 
reasonable and economical, the transmission capabilities of 
existing towers or structures. 
‘‘(c) PERMIT APPLICATIONS.—(1) Permit applications under sub-
section (b) shall be made in writing to the Commission.