[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9335 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9335
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a clearinghouse for
advanced transmission technology, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 18, 2026
Mr. Goldman of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a clearinghouse for
advanced transmission technology, 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 ``Advanced Transmission Technology to
Reduce Rates Act''.
SEC. 2. ADVANCED TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGY.
(a) Clearinghouse; Technical Assistance.--Section 1223 of the
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16422) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(c) Clearinghouse; Technical Assistance.--
``(1) Clearinghouse for advanced transmission technology.--
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
subsection, the Secretary shall establish and maintain a
publicly available clearinghouse that includes--
``(A) a list of projects, and activities, carried
out or funded by the Department relating to advanced
transmission technology;
``(B) a list of authorities relating to financial
assistance available for the deployment of advanced
transmission technology;
``(C) analyses of the effects of deploying advanced
transmission technology on the efficient transmission
of electricity, including analyses of any--
``(i) expanded transmission capacity;
``(ii) reduction of transmission
congestion;
``(iii) optimized use of transmission
infrastructure;
``(iv) improvement to the visibility of the
electric grid and automation of key processes
relating to the transmission of electricity;
and
``(v) such effects due to the projects and
activities described in subparagraph (A);
``(D) analyses of any costs and benefits accrued to
electric utilities and ratepayers due to the deployment
of advanced transmission technology; and
``(E) analyses of how geography or weather affect
the cost-effective deployment and utilization of
advanced transmission technologies.
``(2) Technical assistance.--
``(A) Electric utilities.--Upon the request of an
electric utility, the Secretary may provide technical
assistance to the electric utility for the purpose of
using the clearinghouse established under paragraph (1)
and accessing financial assistance identified under
subparagraph (B) of such paragraph.
``(B) Transmission organizations.--Upon the request
of a transmission organization, the Secretary may
provide technical assistance to the transmission
organization for the purpose of including advanced
transmission technologies in the transmission planning
practices of the transmission organization.
``(C) State regulatory authorities.--Upon the
request of a State regulatory authority, the Secretary
may provide technical assistance to the State
regulatory authority for the purpose of developing a
regulatory framework for advanced transmission
technologies in the applicable State and carrying out a
cost-benefit analysis of the deployment and utilization
of advanced transmission technologies in the applicable
State.
``(3) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Electric utility.--The term `electric
utility' has the meaning given such term in section 3
of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796).
``(B) Transmission organization.--The term
`transmission organization' has the meaning given such
term in section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act (16
U.S.C. 824o(a)).
``(C) State regulatory authority.--The term `State
regulatory authority' has the meaning given such term
in section 3 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies
Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2602).
``(4) Savings.--Nothing in this subsection provides
authority for the Secretary or the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission to require an electric utility to use any advanced
transmission technology.''.
(b) State Energy Conservation Plans.--Section 362(d) of the Energy
Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6322(d)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (17), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (18), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(19) programs to facilitate the deployment of advanced
transmission technology (as such term is defined in section
1223 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16422)).''.
(c) Exemption of Actions Relating to Advanced Transmission
Technology From NEPA.--
(1) Exemption.--A covered action may not be considered a
major Federal action under section 102(2)(C) of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).
(2) Covered action defined.--In this section, the term
``covered action'' means the provision of funding by the
Secretary, including a loan or a grant, for the deployment of
advanced transmission technology (as such term is defined in
section 1223(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C.
16422(a))).
SEC. 3. BEST PRACTICES FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall establish, within the Office
of Electricity and in consultation with electric utilities, the
electric reliability organization, and transmission organizations, best
practices that electric utilities may use to reduce the risk of
wildfire ignition from the bulk-power system.
(b) Required Inclusions.--The best practices established pursuant
to subsection (a) shall include practices for--
(1) vegetation management and removal of forest-hazardous
fuels along transmission lines;
(2) improved engineering approaches to reduce the risk of
wildfire ignition from the bulk-power system; and
(3) safer operational practices to reduce the risk of
wildfire ignition from the bulk-power system.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Bulk-power system.--The term ``bulk-power system'' has
the meaning given such term in section 215(a) of the Federal
Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)).
(2) Electric reliability organization.--The term ``electric
reliability organization'' has the meaning given such term in
section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)).
(3) Electric utility.--The term ``electric utility'' has
the meaning given such term in section 3 of the Federal Power
Act (16 U.S.C. 796).
(4) Transmission organization.--The term ``transmission
organization'' has the meaning given such term in section
215(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)).
(d) Savings.--Nothing in this section provides authority for the
Secretary or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to require an
electric utility to use any best practice established pursuant to
subsection (a).
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