Title: A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to conduct a study and submit a report on national resource adequacy, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
This bill requires the Department of Energy to study the ability to meet aggregate electricity demand using supply- and demand-side resources. The study must address matters including (1) the effects of recent retirements of baseload electric generation on regional electric grids; and (2) uncertainty in future electricity demand trajectories from climate change, decarbonization, and other factors.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4754 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4754

  To require the Secretary of Energy to conduct a study and submit a 
     report on national resource adequacy, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 3, 2022

   Mr. Braun introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of Energy to conduct a study and submit a 
     report on national resource adequacy, 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. STUDY AND REPORT ON NATIONAL RESOURCE ADEQUACY.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Resource adequacy.--The term ``resource adequacy'' 
        means the ability of supply side and demand-side resources to 
        meet aggregate electricity demand (including losses).
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
    (b) Study.--The Secretary shall conduct a comprehensive study on 
national resource adequacy to determine--
            (1) how recent retirements of baseload electric generation 
        have affected the regional firm capacity available for all 
        regional electric grids;
            (2) the effects that planned retirements of baseload 
        electric generation and the increased need for peaking capacity 
        have or would have on energy shortfalls;
            (3) how the variable nature of certain sources of energy 
        production and forecasting errors may impact resource adequacy 
        and capacity accreditation;
            (4)(A) a range of potential future electricity demand 
        trajectories that captures the uncertainty represented by a 
        changing climate, decarbonization, and macroeconomic factors; 
        and
            (B) whether that future electricity demand requires 
        increasing firm capacity or interregional transmission to load 
        match with regional peak power demand during all hours of the 
        year; and
            (5) the extent to which variable generation technologies in 
        concert with other technical and nontechnical solutions can 
        provide adequate capacity to meet a range of potential future 
        electricity demand trajectories.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce of the House of Representatives a report describing the 
results of the study conducted under subsection (b), including 
recommendations for Congress to ensure that the United States maintains 
necessary resource adequacy to meet forecasted demand.
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