§18712 Electric Grid Reliability and Resilience Research, Development, and Demonstration

Summary

Creates a competitive federal grant program called the "Program Upgrading Our Electric Grid and Ensuring Reliability and Resiliency." The program must be set up no later than 180 days after November 15, 2021. It gives federal money to eligible entities — meaning States; groups of 2 or more States; Indian Tribes; local governments; and public utility commissions — to test new ways to make transmission, storage, and distribution systems stronger and more reliable, including regional projects run by States with public and rural electric cooperatives that share costs. Applicants must tell the Secretary how they would use the funds, who would benefit, and for multi-State proposals how the project helps the region. The Secretary will pick winners by competition, apply the cost-share rules in section 16352, and may use up to $5,000,000,000 for fiscal years 2022 through 2026. Defines "rural or remote area" as a place with 10,000 people or fewer. The Secretary must carry out work to make energy in those areas more reliable, safe, available, and less harmful to the environment, and may give federal money (in consultation with the Interior Department) for things like making systems more cost-effective, siting or upgrading lines, cutting greenhouse gases, modernizing or adding generation, building microgrids, and boosting energy efficiency. Up to $1,000,000,000 is authorized for fiscal years 2022 through 2026. The Secretary must also, with DHS, FERC, NERC, and industry, develop shared tools, metrics, and data and plan an inventory and storage of easily moved high-voltage recovery transformers and other needed equipment. The Secretary must assess technical specs, storage locations and quantities, security and transport, design opportunities, and whether new rules or cost sharing are needed, review industry efforts, treat the collected information as protected critical electric infrastructure information, and send a report to Congress within 180 days after November 15, 2021.