Title: Consumer Access to Grid Information Act of 2020
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Consumer Access to Grid Information Act of 2020
This bill requires the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the Department of Energy to establish a grant program for the creation of a cellular phone application (app). The app must allow the public to monitor power grids, including by enabling the public to view the demand and capacity of the energy grid, the types of energy sources that are serving the grid, and regional energy prices.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5649 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5649

 To direct the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Energy Efficiency 
and Renewable Energy to establish a grant program to fund research and 
 development with respect to certain cellular phone applications, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 16, 2020

  Ms. Porter (for herself, Ms. Stevens, and Mr. Tonko) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, 
                             and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Energy Efficiency 
and Renewable Energy to establish a grant program to fund research and 
 development with respect to certain cellular phone applications, and 
                          for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Consumer Access to Grid Information 
Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR CELLULAR PHONE APPLICATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall establish a grant 
program under which the Assistant Secretary shall award grants to 
eligible entities to carry out an eligible project described in 
subsection (b).
    (b) Eligible Project.--An eligible entity receiving a grant under 
subsection (a) may use grant funds for research and development 
activities with respect to the creation of a cellular phone application 
that allows the public to monitor an applicable power grid, including 
providing a user with the ability to--
            (1) receive grid system alerts;
            (2) view the status of the grid, including--
                    (A) current demand for power;
                    (B) the forecasted peak demand for power; and
                    (C) trends in demand for power;
            (3) monitor power grid capacity;
            (4) visualize, through a chart or graph--
                    (A) the types of energy sources that are serving 
                the grid, including clean energy sources and other 
                energy sources, as applicable;
                    (B) the percentage of power that is being provided 
                to the grid from each such energy source;
                    (C) the power supply in response to demand on the 
                grid, with a display of the different types of energy 
                sources being used to meet demand; and
                    (D) the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from 
                energy use with respect to the grid, including a 
                breakdown showing the percentage of emissions coming 
                from any energy sources creating such emissions; and
            (5) monitor energy prices in each region served by an 
        independent system operator.
    (c) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Assistant Secretary an 
application in such form, at such time, and containing such information 
as the Assistant Secretary determines necessary.
    (d) Outreach.--The Assistant Secretary shall conduct such outreach 
as the Assistant Secretary determines is necessary to ensure that 
eligible entities are aware of the existence of the grant program 
established under this section.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Applicable power grid; grid.--The terms ``applicable 
        power grid'' and ``grid'' mean a power grid overseen by an 
        eligible entity.
            (2) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary'' 
        means the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Energy 
        Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the Department of Energy.
            (3) Cellular phone application.--The term ``cellular phone 
        application'' means a software application that enables the 
        performance of specific tasks that may be run on a computer, a 
        mobile device, the internet, or any other electronic device.
            (4) Clean energy source.--The term ``clean energy source'' 
        means a fuel, electrical, or energy source that significantly 
        limits or avoids greenhouse gas emissions, as determined by the 
        Secretary.
            (5) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means an 
        independent system operator, regional transmission 
        organization, or other transmission system operator.
            (6) Independent system operator.--The term ``independent 
        system operator'' has the meaning given such term in section 3 
        of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796).
            (7) Load.--The term ``load'' means the total amount of 
        electrical power that is demanded by users of the grid.
            (8) Regional transmission organization.--The term 
        ``regional transmission organization'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 
        796).
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