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United States Code (Last Updated: May 24, 2014) |
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Title 42. THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE |
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Chapter 152. ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND SECURITY |
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SubChapter IX. SMART GRID |
§ 17384. Smart grid technology research, development, and demonstration
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(a) Power grid digital information technology The Secretary, in consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other appropriate agencies, electric utilities, the States, and other stakeholders, shall carry out a program— (1) to develop advanced techniques for measuring peak load reductions and energy-efficiency savings from smart metering, demand response, distributed generation, and electricity storage systems; (2) to investigate means for demand response, distributed generation, and storage to provide ancillary services; (3) to conduct research to advance the use of wide-area measurement and control networks, including data mining, visualization, advanced computing, and secure and dependable communications in a highly-distributed environment; (4) to test new reliability technologies, including those concerning communications network capabilities, in a grid control room environment against a representative set of local outage and wide area blackout scenarios; (5) to identify communications network capacity needed to implement advanced technologies. the Secretary shall provide financial support to smart grid demonstration projects in urban, suburban, tribal, and rural areas, including areas where electric system assets are controlled by nonprofit entities and areas where electric system assets are controlled by investor-owned utilities. (B) Cooperation A demonstration project under subparagraph (A) shall be carried out in cooperation with the electric utility that owns the grid facilities in the electricity control area in which the demonstration project is carried out.
(C) Federal share of cost of technology investments The Secretary shall provide to an electric utility described in subparagraph (B) or to other parties financial assistance for use in paying an amount equal to not more than 50 percent of the cost of qualifying advanced grid technology investments made by the electric utility or other party to carry out a demonstration project.
(D) Ineligibility for grants No person or entity participating in any demonstration project conducted under this subsection shall be eligible for grants under section 17386 of this title for otherwise qualifying investments made as part of that demonstration project.
(E) Availability of data The Secretary shall establish and maintain a smart grid information clearinghouse in a timely manner which will make data from smart grid demonstration projects and other sources available to the public. As a condition of receiving financial assistance under this subsection, a utility or other participant in a smart grid demonstration project shall provide such information as the Secretary may require to become available through the smart grid information clearinghouse in the form and within the timeframes as directed by the Secretary. The Secretary shall assure that business proprietary information and individual customer information is not included in the information made available through the clearinghouse.
(F) Open protocols and standards The Secretary shall require as a condition of receiving funding under this subsection that demonstration projects utilize open protocols and standards (including Internet-based protocols and standards) if available and appropriate.
(c) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated— (1) to carry out subsection (a), such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012; and (2) to carry out subsection (b), such sums as may be necessary.
Amendments
2009—Subsec. (b)(3)(A). Pub. L. 111–5, § 405(1), amended subpar. (A) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “In carrying out the initiative, the Secretary shall carry out smart grid demonstration projects in up to 5 electricity control areas, including rural areas and at least 1 area in which the majority of generation and transmission assets are controlled by a tax-exempt entity.”
Subsec. (b)(3)(C). Pub. L. 111–5, § 405(2), amended subpar. (C) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The Secretary shall provide to an electric utility described in subparagraph (B) financial assistance for use in paying an amount equal to not more than 50 percent of the cost of qualifying advanced grid technology investments made by the electric utility to carry out a demonstration project.”
Subsec. (b)(3)(E), (F). Pub. L. 111–5, § 405(3), added subpars. (E) and (F).
Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 111–5, § 405(4), amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (2) read as follows: “to carry out subsection (b), $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.”