Bill Summary
This piece of legislation, titled the "Consumer Access to Grid Information Act of 2020", directs the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to establish a grant program for research and development of cellular phone applications related to monitoring power grids. This grant program will be open to eligible entities, such as independent system operators, and the funds can be used for activities such as receiving grid system alerts, monitoring grid capacity, and tracking energy prices. The bill also includes definitions for terms such as "applicable power grid" and "clean energy source" to clarify its scope.
Possible Impacts
1. This legislation could potentially affect consumers by providing them with greater access to information about the power grid, allowing them to monitor power usage and prices in their region.
2. The grant program established by this legislation could benefit eligible entities, such as independent system operators, by providing funding for research and development of cellular phone applications.
3. The Assistant Secretary of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy may be impacted by this legislation, as they are tasked with overseeing and implementing the grant program and conducting necessary outreach.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5649 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5649
To direct the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy to establish a grant program to fund research and
development with respect to certain cellular phone applications, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 16, 2020
Ms. Porter (for herself, Ms. Stevens, and Mr. Tonko) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space,
and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy to establish a grant program to fund research and
development with respect to certain cellular phone applications, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Consumer Access to Grid Information
Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR CELLULAR PHONE APPLICATIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall establish a grant
program under which the Assistant Secretary shall award grants to
eligible entities to carry out an eligible project described in
subsection (b).
(b) Eligible Project.--An eligible entity receiving a grant under
subsection (a) may use grant funds for research and development
activities with respect to the creation of a cellular phone application
that allows the public to monitor an applicable power grid, including
providing a user with the ability to--
(1) receive grid system alerts;
(2) view the status of the grid, including--
(A) current demand for power;
(B) the forecasted peak demand for power; and
(C) trends in demand for power;
(3) monitor power grid capacity;
(4) visualize, through a chart or graph--
(A) the types of energy sources that are serving
the grid, including clean energy sources and other
energy sources, as applicable;
(B) the percentage of power that is being provided
to the grid from each such energy source;
(C) the power supply in response to demand on the
grid, with a display of the different types of energy
sources being used to meet demand; and
(D) the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from
energy use with respect to the grid, including a
breakdown showing the percentage of emissions coming
from any energy sources creating such emissions; and
(5) monitor energy prices in each region served by an
independent system operator.
(c) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this
section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Assistant Secretary an
application in such form, at such time, and containing such information
as the Assistant Secretary determines necessary.
(d) Outreach.--The Assistant Secretary shall conduct such outreach
as the Assistant Secretary determines is necessary to ensure that
eligible entities are aware of the existence of the grant program
established under this section.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Applicable power grid; grid.--The terms ``applicable
power grid'' and ``grid'' mean a power grid overseen by an
eligible entity.
(2) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary''
means the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the Department of Energy.
(3) Cellular phone application.--The term ``cellular phone
application'' means a software application that enables the
performance of specific tasks that may be run on a computer, a
mobile device, the internet, or any other electronic device.
(4) Clean energy source.--The term ``clean energy source''
means a fuel, electrical, or energy source that significantly
limits or avoids greenhouse gas emissions, as determined by the
Secretary.
(5) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means an
independent system operator, regional transmission
organization, or other transmission system operator.
(6) Independent system operator.--The term ``independent
system operator'' has the meaning given such term in section 3
of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796).
(7) Load.--The term ``load'' means the total amount of
electrical power that is demanded by users of the grid.
(8) Regional transmission organization.--The term
``regional transmission organization'' has the meaning given
such term in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C.
796).
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