Sec. 6. National Laboratory modeling and evaluation program
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The Secretary, acting through 1 or more National Laboratories, in consultation with the Commission and the Electric Reliability Organization, shall establish a program to model and evaluate the performance of the electric grid. In carrying out the program established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall develop 1 or more probabilistic models for transmission planning, resource adequacy modeling, and integrated resource planning that— reflect the specific needs, resources, and attributes of a given power grid region or service area; ensure consistent methods based on best practices; include consideration of uncertainties relating to— transmission systems and infrastructure; the impact of weather (such as the impact of temperature on transmission facilities, including line ratings); congestion and thermal overload; and the costs of new or modified transmission infrastructure, including reconductoring with advanced transmission conductors and the deployment of grid-enhancing technologies; and include consideration of other relevant transmission uncertainties, including those which may be unique to a given power grid region or service area, as determined by the Secretary in consultation with the Commission.
The Secretary shall ensure that the models developed pursuant to the program established under subsection
(a)may be used, at a minimum— to simulate and quantify desired metrics, taking into consideration the relevant uncertainties described in paragraphs
(3)and
(4)of subsection (b), which may be used to assist in transmission planning and the determination of the optimal resource portfolio for the applicable power grid region or service area, including— loss of load expectation; expected unserved energy; effective load carrying capability (also known as capacity value ); planning reserve margin; electricity transmission losses; congestion; and cost; to identify the parameters and processes considered under subsection
(b)that— have the most impact on the magnitude or uncertainty of the applicable simulated metrics; and can be further characterized or optimized to improve the modeling and determination of the optimal resource portfolio and transmission system for the applicable power grid region or service area; and to identify areas where the deployment of advanced transmission technologies, such as advanced transmission conductors or grid-enhancing technologies, may improve electric grid performance. In carrying out the program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall establish regional collaboratives between the National Laboratories and institutions of higher education. The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, prioritize establishing regional collaboratives under paragraph
(1)that— are between regional institutions of higher education and National Laboratories that are owned and operated by the Federal Government; include institutions of higher education with existing demonstration capability, such as field-scale systems of not less than 100 kilovolt-amperes or laboratory capabilities of not less than 10 kilovolt-amperes, to support technology validation, utility adoption, industry engagement, and workforce development; demonstrate rural grid planning models (including transmission and distribution co-simulation and digital twin capabilities); or utilize existing active data sharing and joint modeling programs between institutions of higher education and participating utilities at a statewide scale.