Bill Text: NY A06253 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relates to establishing the New York state grid modernization commission; provides the commission shall conduct a study of research, development and demonstrations of electric grid modernization and shall issue such report to the state energy planning board for consideration in the state energy plan.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - ordered to third reading cal.177 [A06253 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A06253-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6253

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      April 3, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. BARRETT -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Energy

        AN ACT to amend the public service law and the energy law,  in  relation
          to establishing the New York state grid modernization commission

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a  new  section
     2  66-u to read as follows:
     3    §  66-u.  New  York state grid modernization commission. 1. Within one
     4  hundred eighty days of the effective date of this section, the New  York
     5  state  grid  modernization commission shall be established. The chair of
     6  the commission, the  commissioner  of  environmental  conservation,  the
     7  commissioner  of  economic  development, the commissioner of transporta-
     8  tion, the commissioner of labor, the commissioner  of  the  division  of
     9  homeland  security  and emergency services, the commissioner of agricul-
    10  ture and markets, the commissioner of health, the secretary of state and
    11  the president of the New York  state  energy  research  and  development
    12  authority shall each appoint two members to serve on the grid moderniza-
    13  tion  commission.  The  governor,  temporary president of the senate and
    14  speaker of the assembly shall each appoint one additional representative
    15  to serve on the grid modernization commission.  The  grid  modernization
    16  commission  shall  consist of members from communities of color, low-in-
    17  come communities, and communities bearing disproportionate pollution and
    18  climate change burdens, or shall be representatives  of  community-based
    19  organizations with experience and a history of advocacy on environmental
    20  justice  issues, and shall include at least two representatives from New
    21  York city communities, two representatives from rural  communities,  and
    22  two  representatives from upstate New York urban communities. Members of
    23  the grid modernization commission shall serve without compensation.
    24    2. (a) The grid modernization commission  shall  conduct  a  study  of
    25  research, development, and demonstrations of electric grid modernization

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05756-01-3
        A. 6253                             2

     1  that  address  the principal challenges identified in the New York Inde-
     2  pendent System Operator's 2021-2040 System & Resource Outlook. The  grid
     3  modernization  commission's  study  shall identify tools, resources, and
     4  deployment  models  that  may  enable  improved  performance through the
     5  adoption of emerging, commercially available or advanced grid  technolo-
     6  gies or solutions, including:
     7    (i) micro-grids;
     8    (ii) distributed energy resources;
     9    (iii) energy storage;
    10    (iv) electric vehicles;
    11    (v) electric vehicle charging infrastructure;
    12    (vi) integrated information and communications systems;
    13    (vii) transactive energy systems;
    14    (viii) advanced demand management systems; and
    15    (ix)  the role of state and local regulatory authorities in enabling a
    16  robust future electric grid to ensure that:
    17    (A) electric utilities remain financially viable;
    18    (B) electric utilities make the needed investments that ensure a reli-
    19  able, secure, and resilient grid; and
    20    (C) costs incurred to transform to an integrated  grid  are  allocated
    21  and recovered responsibly, efficiently, and equitably.
    22    (b)  The  grid  modernization commission may solicit input from stake-
    23  holder interests, including but not limited to:
    24    (i) local governments;
    25    (ii) municipal utilities;
    26    (iii) utility companies;
    27    (iv) rural electric cooperatives;
    28    (v) labor unions;
    29    (vi) ratepayers;
    30    (vii) trade associations;
    31    (viii) generators; and
    32    (ix) community organizations.
    33    (c) The grid modernization commission shall hold at least  one  public
    34  hearing and may base study findings on existing literature.
    35    (d)  Any  reasonable costs associated with the functioning of the grid
    36  modernization commission shall be borne by the  New  York  state  energy
    37  research and development authority.
    38    (e)  No  later  than  eighteen months after the effective date of this
    39  section, the grid modernization commission shall issue a report  on  the
    40  findings  of its study to the state energy planning board containing any
    41  recommendations appropriate for consideration in the development of  the
    42  state  energy  plan.  The  grid  modernization commission shall issue an
    43  annual report following the submission of  its  initial  report  to  the
    44  state energy planning board with any necessary updates.
    45    3.  (a)  The  grid  modernization  commission  shall establish a grant
    46  program to carry out eligible projects related to the  modernization  of
    47  the  electric grid, including the application of technologies to improve
    48  observability, advanced controls, and prediction of  system  performance
    49  on the distribution system.
    50    (b) A project eligible for a grant under this subdivision shall:
    51    (i)  be  designed  to  improve  the  performance and efficiency of the
    52  future electric grid, while ensuring the continued  provision  of  safe,
    53  secure, reliable, and affordable power;
    54    (ii) demonstrate:
    55    (A) secure integration and management of two or more energy resources,
    56  including  distributed  energy  generation,  combined  heat  and  power,
        A. 6253                             3

     1  micro-grids,  energy  storage,  electric  vehicles,  energy  efficiency,
     2  demand response, and intelligent loads; and
     3    (B)  secure  integration  and  interoperability  of communications and
     4  information technologies; and
     5    (iii) be subject to the compliance funding program requirements of the
     6  federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
     7    (c) The New York state energy research and  development  authority  is
     8  authorized  to make loans for the cost of carrying out eligible projects
     9  and to enter public-private partnerships to co-develop projects. The New
    10  York state energy research and development  authority  shall  invest  or
    11  direct  available and relevant resources in a manner designed to achieve
    12  a goal for disadvantaged communities to receive  forty-five  percent  of
    13  overall  benefits  of spending on the program, including but not limited
    14  to any workforce development, efficiency upgrades, micro-grid reduction,
    15  or distributed resources resulting from such spending; provided,  howev-
    16  er,  that  disadvantaged  communities  shall  receive no less than forty
    17  percent of the overall benefits of spending.
    18    4. (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the grid  modern-
    19  ization  commission shall establish and facilitate a collaborative proc-
    20  ess to develop model grid architecture and a set of future scenarios for
    21  the electric grid to examine the impacts of  different  combinations  of
    22  resources   (including   different   quantities  of  distributed  energy
    23  resources and large-scale, central generation) on the electric grid.
    24    (b) The grid architecture and scenarios developed under paragraph  (a)
    25  of  this  subdivision shall account for differences in market structure,
    26  including an examination of the potential for  stranded  costs  in  each
    27  type of market structure.
    28    (c)  Based  on the findings of grid architecture developed under para-
    29  graph (a) of this subdivision, the grid modernization commission shall:
    30    (i) determine whether any additional policies are necessary to  ensure
    31  the  interoperability  of  grid  systems  and  associated communications
    32  networks; and
    33    (ii) make recommendations for such additional standards or policies.
    34    § 2. Section 6-104 of the energy law is amended by adding a new subdi-
    35  vision 6 to read as follows:
    36    6. In the development of  the  state  energy  plan,  the  board  shall
    37  consult  with the grid modernization commission and consider the reason-
    38  ableness, efficacy and expense of including in the state energy plan the
    39  recommendations contained in the grid modernization commission's  report
    40  issued pursuant to section sixty-six-u of the public service law.
    41    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.