Sec. 1201. Energy Security and Infrastructure Modernization Fund
1,506 words·~7 min read·
/bill/114/hr/8/rh/section-1201A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
There is hereby established in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the Energy Security and Infrastructure Modernization Fund (referred to in this section as the Fund ), consisting of— collections deposited in the Fund under subsection (c); and amounts otherwise appropriated to the Fund. The purpose of the Fund is— to provide for the construction, maintenance, repair, and replacement of Strategic Petroleum Reserve facilities; and for carrying out non-Strategic Petroleum Reserve projects needed to enhance the energy security of the United States by increasing the resilience, reliability, safety, and security of energy supply, transmission, storage, or distribution infrastructure.
Notwithstanding section 161 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6241 ), to the extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts, the Secretary of Energy shall draw down and sell crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in amounts as authorized under subsection (e), except as provided in paragraphs
(2)and (3). Amounts received for a sale under this subsection shall be deposited into the Fund during the fiscal year in which the sale occurs. Such amounts shall remain available in the Fund without fiscal year limitation. The Secretary shall not draw down and sell crude oil under this subsection in amounts that would limit the authority to sell petroleum products under section 161(h) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6241(h) ) in the full amount authorized by that subsection. The Secretary shall not draw down and sell crude oil under this subsection at a price lower than the average price paid for oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Amounts in the Fund may be used for, or may be credited as offsetting collections for amounts used for, carrying out the programs described in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), to the extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts. Congress finds the following: The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is one of the Nation’s most valuable energy security assets. The age and condition of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve have diminished its value as a Federal energy security asset. Global oil markets and the location and amount of United States oil production and refining capacity have dramatically changed in the 40 years since the establishment of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Maximizing the energy security value of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve requires a modernized infrastructure that meets the drawdown and distribution needs of changed domestic and international oil and refining market conditions. Congress reaffirms the continuing strategic importance and need for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as found and declared in section 151 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6231 ). The Secretary of Energy shall establish a Strategic Petroleum Reserve modernization program to protect the United States economy from the impacts of emergency petroleum product supply disruptions. The program shall include— operational improvements to extend the useful life of surface and subsurface infrastructure; maintenance of cavern storage integrity; and addition of infrastructure and facilities to maximize the drawdown and incremental distribution capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The Secretary of Energy shall establish a grant program to provide financial assistance to States to offset the incremental rate increases paid by eligible households resulting from the implementation of State-approved infrastructure replacement, repair, and maintenance programs designed to accelerate the necessary replacement, repair, or maintenance of natural gas distribution systems. Awards may be provided under this paragraph to offset rate increases described in subsection
(a)occurring on or after July 1, 2015. The Secretary shall collaborate with States to prioritize the distribution of grants made under this paragraph. At a minimum, the Secretary shall consider prioritizing the distribution of grants to States which have— authorized or adopted enhanced infrastructure replacement programs or innovative rate recovery mechanisms, such as infrastructure cost trackers and riders, infrastructure base rate surcharges, deferred regulatory asset programs, and earnings stability mechanisms; and a viable means for delivering financial assistance to eligible households. In this paragraph, the term eligible household means a household that is eligible to receive payments under section 8624(b)(2) of title 42, United States Code. The Secretary shall establish a competitive grant program to provide grants to States, units of local government, and Indian tribe economic development entities to enhance energy security through measures for electricity delivery infrastructure hardening and enhanced resilience and reliability. The Secretary may make grants on a competitive basis to enable broader use of resiliency-related technologies, upgrades, and institutional measures and practices designed to— improve the resilience, reliability, and security of electricity delivery infrastructure; improve preparedness and restoration time to mitigate power disturbances resulting from physical and cyber attacks, electromagnetic pulse attacks, geomagnetic disturbances, seismic events, and severe weather and other environmental stressors; continue delivery of power to facilities critical to public health, safety, and welfare, including hospitals, assisted living facilities, and schools; continue delivery of power to electricity-dependent essential services, including fueling stations and pumps, wastewater and sewage treatment facilities, gas pipeline infrastructure, communications systems, transportation services and systems, and services provided by emergency first responders; and enhance regional grid resilience and the resilience of electricity-dependent regional infrastructure. Resiliency-related technologies, upgrades, and measures with respect to which grants may be made under this paragraph include— hardening, or other enhanced protection, of utility poles, wiring, cabling, and other distribution components, facilities, or structures; advanced grid technologies capable of isolating or repairing problems remotely, such as advanced metering infrastructure, high-tech sensors, grid monitoring and control systems, and remote reconfiguration and redundancy systems; cybersecurity products and components; distributed generation, including back-up generation to power critical facilities and essential services, and related integration components, such as advanced inverter technology; microgrid systems, including hybrid microgrid systems for isolated communities; combined heat and power; waste heat resources; non-grid-scale energy storage technologies; wiring, cabling, and other distribution components, including submersible distribution components, and enclosures; electronically controlled reclosers and similar technologies for power restoration, including emergency mobile substations, as defined in section 1105 of the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015 ; advanced energy analytics technology, such as Internet-based and cloud-based computing solutions and subscription licensing models; measures that enhance resilience through planning, preparation, response, and recovery activities; operational capabilities to enhance resilience through rapid response recovery; and measures to ensure availability of key critical components through contracts, cooperative agreements, stockpiling and prepositioning, or other measures. Specific projects or programs established, or to be established, pursuant to awards provided under this paragraph shall be implemented through the States by public and publicly regulated entities on a cost-shared basis. In carrying out projects or programs established, or to be established, pursuant to awards provided under this paragraph, award recipients shall cooperate, as applicable, with— State public utility commissions; State energy offices; electric infrastructure owners and operators; and other entities responsible for maintaining electric reliability. To the extent practicable, award recipients shall utilize the most current data, metrics, and frameworks related to— electricity delivery infrastructure hardening and enhancing resilience and reliability; and current and future threats, including physical and cyber attacks, electromagnetic pulse, geomagnetic disturbances, seismic events, and severe weather and other environmental stressors. Award recipients shall demonstrate to the Secretary with measurable and verifiable data how the deployment of resiliency-related technologies, upgrades, and technologies achieve improvements in the resiliency and recovery of electricity delivery infrastructure and related services, including a comparison of data collected before and after deployment. Metrics for demonstrating improvements in resiliency and recovery may include— power quality during power disturbances when delivered power does not meet power quality requirements of the customer; duration of customer interruptions; number of customers impacted; cost impacts, including business and other economic losses; impacts on electricity-dependent essential services and critical facilities; and societal impacts. Award recipients shall demonstrate to the Secretary how projects or programs established, or to be established, pursuant to awards provided under this paragraph further applicable State and local energy assurance plans. The Secretary may not make a grant under this paragraph unless the applicant agrees to make available non-Federal contributions (which may include in-kind contributions) in an amount not less than 50 percent of the Federal contribution. There are authorized to be appropriated (and drawdowns and sales under subsection
(c)in an equal amount are authorized)— for carrying out subsection (d)(2), $500,000,000 for the period encompassing fiscal years 2017 through 2020; for carrying out subsection (d)(3), $100,000,000 for the period encompassing fiscal years 2017 through 2020, of which not more than 5 percent may be used for administrative expenses; and for carrying out subsection (d)(4), $250,000,000 for the period encompassing fiscal years 2017 through 2020, of which not more than 5 percent may be used for administrative expenses. The Secretary of Energy shall prepare and submit in the Department’s annual budget request to Congress— an itemization of the amounts of funds necessary to carry out subsection (d); and a designation of any activities thereunder for which a multiyear budget authority would be appropriate. The authority of the Secretary to drawdown and sell crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve under this section shall expire at the end of fiscal year 2020.
Connectionstraces to 2
Traces to 2 documents
Citation graph
cites case law
Cites 2Cited by 0 across 0 sources