21st Century Power Grid Act
Latest action (9 Dec 2015): Introduced
What this bill does
H.R. 4206, the 21st Century Power Grid Act, would direct the Secretary of Energy to create a financial assistance program supporting demonstration projects aimed at modernizing the electric grid. Funded projects would need to improve grid performance, efficiency, and reliability while expanding options for customer-owned energy resources, and would need to demonstrate secure integration of resources such as distributed generation, energy storage, electric vehicles, microgrids, and demand-response technologies, along with interoperable communications systems. Each project would also require a cybersecurity plan and a privacy impact assessment based on Department of Energy privacy guidelines.
The bill would primarily affect entities involved in electric grid operations and research, including utilities (investor-owned, publicly owned, and rural cooperatives), technology providers, regional transmission organizations, independent system operators, universities, National Laboratories, state or local governments, Indian tribes, and federal power marketing administrations. Eligible projects would require partnerships of at least two such entities, with specific participation requirements.
The bill was introduced on December 9, 2015, by Rep. John Sarbanes with two cosponsors, and referred to the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and on Science, Space, and Technology. It did not receive a vote and did not advance further in the 114th Congress; no additional action has been recorded.
Plain-English summary generated by Bill100 AI from the official record. Always verify against the source below.
Official summary
21st Century Power Grid Act
This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a financial assistance program to carry out eligible projects related to the modernization of the electric grid, including the application of technologies to improve observability, advanced controls, and prediction of system performance on the distribution system and related transmission system inter-dependencies.
To be eligible for financial assistance, a project shall: (1) be designed to improve the performance and efficiency of the future electric grid, while ensuring the continued provision of safe, secure, reliable, and affordable power, and provide new options for customer-owned resources; and (2) demonstrate secure integration and management of energy resources and secure integration and interoperability of communications and information technologies.
An eligible project shall include the participation of a partnership consisting of two or more entities that: (1) may include any institution of higher education, a National Laboratory, a representative of a state or local government, a representative of an Indian tribe, or a federal power marketing administration; and (2) shall include an investor-owned electric utility, a publicly owned utility, a technology provider, a rural electric cooperative, a regional transmission organization, or an independent system operator.
Each eligible project shall include: (1) the development of a cybersecurity plan written in accordance with guidelines developed by DOE; and (2) a privacy impact assessment that evaluates the project against the five core concepts in DOE's Voluntary Code of Conduct, commonly known as the DataGuard Energy Data Privacy Program, or the most recent revisions to DOE's privacy program.
Common questions
- What does H.R. 4206 do?
- H.R. 4206, the 21st Century Power Grid Act, would direct the Secretary of Energy to create a financial assistance program supporting demonstration projects aimed at modernizing the electric grid. Funded projects would need to improve grid performance, efficiency, and reliability while expanding options for customer-owned energy resources, and would need to demonstrate secure integration of resources such as distributed generation, energy storage, electric vehicles, microgrids, and demand-response technologies, along with interoperable communications systems. Each project would also require a cybersecurity plan and a privacy impact assessment based on Department of Energy privacy guidelines. The bill would primarily affect entities involved in electric grid operations and research, including utilities (investor-owned, publicly owned, and rural cooperatives), technology providers, regional transmission organizations, independent system operators, universities, National Laboratories, state or local governments, Indian tribes, and federal power marketing administrations. Eligible projects would require partnerships of at least two such entities, with specific participation requirements. The bill was introduced on December 9, 2015, by Rep. John Sarbanes with two cosponsors, and referred to the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and on Science, Space, and Technology. It did not receive a vote and did not advance further in the 114th Congress; no additional action has been recorded.
- Has H.R. 4206 become law?
- Not yet. As of 9 Dec 2015, H.R. 4206 is introduced.
- Who sponsored H.R. 4206?
- H.R. 4206 was sponsored by Rep. John Sarbanes [D-MD3, 2007-2024] (Democrat-MD), with 2 cosponsors.
- What's the latest action on H.R. 4206?
- Introduced (9 Dec 2015).
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