Flexible Grid Infrastructure Act of 2017

Flexible Grid Infrastructure Act of 2017

This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Department of Energy (DOE) to address the flexibility, reliability, resilience, affordability, efficiency, and security of the electric grid. Specifically, FERC and DOE must: (1) access the technical and economic potential of distributed energy resources, and (2) establish an online clearinghouse of data relating to distributed energy resources. A distributed energy resource means an electric device that can produce or consume energy that is located on the grid distribution system or on the customer side of the electric grid (e.g., solar roofs).

DOE must also:

• provide technical assistance, an action plan, tools, and information relating to the deployment of distributed energy resources and grid-scale energy storage;
• research and develop the electrification of transportation, heating, and other technologies;
• develop model standards to assist states, electric cooperatives, and publicly owned electric utilities in the voluntary updating of standards for resource and energy assurance planning, ensuring distribution-grid reliability from natural disasters, and improving security;
• evaluate whether new performance standards and testing procedures are needed to ensure the resilience of electrical equipment to security threats or natural disasters;
• develop guidelines for calculating the costs and benefits of investments in resilience and security solutions for the electric grid;
• provide related workforce training; and
• establish the Flexible Grid Challenge 2022, a grant program that helps states enhance the peak load management and flexibility of the electric grid.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov