119-hr603

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 603 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 603

 To direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to improve 
 interregional electricity transfer capability between immediately 
 adjacent transmission planning regions, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 January 22, 2025

 Mr. Casten introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to improve 
 interregional electricity transfer capability between immediately 
 adjacent transmission planning regions, 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 ``Reinforcing the Grid Against Extreme 
Weather Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVING INTERREGIONAL ELECTRICITY TRANSFER CAPABILITY.

 Part II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:

``

SEC. 224. IMPROVING INTERREGIONAL ELECTRICITY TRANSFER CAPABILITY.

 ``

    (a) Rulemaking.--Not later than 24 months after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Commission shall issue regulations to 
establish a process for--
 ``

    (1) calculating existing transfer capability between each 
 transmission planning region and its immediately adjacent 
 transmission planning region, such that--
 ``
        (A) each transmission planning entity for a given 
 transmission planning region and the transmission 
 planning entities for any immediately adjacent 
 transmission planning region shall use the same method 
 to calculate the transfer capability between them; and
 ``
        (B) each shared method of calculation shall 
 comply with requirements established by the Commission;
 ``

    (2) determining a minimum transfer capability between 
 each transmission planning region and its immediately adjacent 
 transmission planning region in order to--
 ``
        (A) ensure that each transmission planning region 
 has sufficient electric transfer capability with 
 immediately adjacent transmission planning regions to 
 ensure reliability during impacts associated with 
 weather events, physical events, or cyberattacks to the 
 transmission planning region; and
 ``
        (B) optimize achievement of the transmission 
 benefits;
 ``

    (3) identifying, selecting, and allocating costs for 
 individual interregional transmission projects needed to 
 achieve each minimum transfer capability identified pursuant to 
 paragraph

    (2) ; and
 ``

    (4) preventing the disclosure of information pertaining 
 to cyberattacks that may compromise the security of the 
 electricity system.
 ``

    (b) Filing a Plan.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
 enactment of this section, and at least every 5 years 
 thereafter, the transmission planning entities for each pair of 
 immediately adjacent transmission planning regions shall file 
 with the Commission, and receive approval for, a plan that, in 
 accordance with the regulations issued under subsection

    (a) --
 ``
        (A) evaluates and selects interregional 
 transmission projects based on consideration of the 
 transmission benefits; and
 ``
        (B) achieves minimum interregional transfer 
 capability.
 ``

    (2) Duty of commission.--The Commission shall approve or 
 deny a plan filed pursuant to paragraph

    (1) in consideration of 
 the factors described in subsection

    (a)

    (2) .
 ``
            (c) Report.--Not later than 48 months after the date on which the 
regulations are issued pursuant to subsection

    (a) , and annually 
thereafter, the Commission shall publish in the Federal Register a 
report on the results of implementing this section.
 ``
            (d) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:
 ``

    (1) Greenhouse gas.--The term `greenhouse gas' includes 
 each of the following:
 ``
        (A) Carbon dioxide.
 ``
        (B) Methane.
 ``
            (C) Nitrous oxide.
 ``
            (D) Sulfur hexafluoride.
 ``
        (E) Any hydrofluorocarbon.
 ``
        (F) Any perfluorocarbon.
 ``
        (G) Nitrogen trifluoride.
 ``
        (H) Any fully fluorinated linear, branched, or 
 cyclic--
 ``
            (i) alkane;
 ``
            (ii) ether;
 ``
            (iii) tertiary amine; or
 ``
            (iv) amino ether.
 ``
            (I) Any perfluoropolyether.
 ``
        (J) Any hydrofluoropolyether.
 ``
        (K) Any other fluorocarbon, except for a 
 fluorocarbon with a vapor pressure of less than 1 mm of 
 Hg absolute at 25 degrees Celsius.
 ``

    (2) Transmission benefit.--The term `transmission 
 benefit' means a broad range of economic, operational, safety, 
 security, resilience, public policy, environmental, and other 
 reasonably anticipated benefit of constructing, modifying, or 
 operating a transmission facility, including any benefit 
 realized when real-time energy prices and operational 
 conditions differ from those anticipated in the 48-hour ahead 
 or day-ahead time frame. Such benefits include--
 ``
        (A) improved reliability;
 ``
        (B) improved resilience;
 ``
            (C) improved safety;
 ``
            (D) reduced congestion;
 ``
        (E) reduced power losses;
 ``
        (F) greater carrying capacity;
 ``
        (G) reduced operating reserve requirements;
 ``
        (H) improved access to lower-cost electricity 
 generation;
 ``
            (I) improved access to electricity generating 
 facilities with no direct emissions of greenhouse 
 gases;
 ``
        (J) improved public health from the closure of 
 electricity generation facilities that emit harmful 
 pollution;
 ``
        (K) increased competition and market liquidity in 
 electricity markets;
 ``
            (L) improved energy resilience and reliability of 
 Department of Defense installations;
 ``
            (M) optimizing use of existing transmission 
 assets, including any existing rights of way;
 ``
        (N) other transmission costs avoided by the 
 proposed transmission solution; and
 ``
        (O) other potential benefits of increasing the 
 interconnectedness of the electric grid.
 ``

    (3) Transmission planning entity.--The term `transmission 
 planning entity' means an entity responsible for planning for 
 the deployment of electric transmission for a given 
 transmission planning region.
 ``

    (4) Transmission planning region.--The term `transmission 
 planning region' means a geographic area that the Commission 
 finds sufficient to satisfy its requirements for the scope of 
 regional transmission planning, as established in or in 
 compliance with the following orders issued by the Commission:
 ``
        (A) `Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation by 
 Transmission Owning and Operating Public Utilities' 
 published in the Federal Register on October 12, 2012 
 (77 Fed. Reg. 64890); and
 ``
        (B) `Building for the Future Through Electric 
 Regional Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation' 
 published in the Federal Register on October 24, 2012 
 (77 Fed. Reg. 64890).''.
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