The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would be required to establish a shared savings incentive for grid-enhancing technologies, or GETs, to provide additional capacity to existing transmission under bills introduced Wednesday in the House and Senate.
The Advancing GETs Act would allow a developer to be paid for the cost of a GETs project, plus some of the cost-savings generated by it, Rep. Cathy Castor, D-Fla., one of the bills’ sponsors, said in a press release. The rest of the savings would go to ratepayers, she said.
Other sponsors are Reps. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., and Scott Peters, D-Calif. The Senate is sponsored by Sens. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Angus King, I-Maine.
The legislation also requires transmission owners to report congestion costs to FERC and for the agency to analyze and make the data available to the public. If enacted, the Department of Energy would give technical assistance for GETs projects.
GETs — such as dynamic line ratings, advanced power flow controls and topology optimization — can help bring clean energy projects online more quickly, according to the bills’ sponsors.
“The Advancing GETs Act will motivate grid operators and developers to bring new projects online that expand transmission capacity by guaranteeing returns for these targeted, cost-saving investments,” Welch said. “This legislation will be crucial to boosting capacity transmission and helping the United States achieve its clean energy electricity goals.”
The legislation is supported by the American Council on Renewable Energy, the Clean Energy Buyers Association, the Electricity Consumers Resource Council, Rewiring America, RMI, Sierra Club, Solar Energy Industries Association and the WATT Coalition.
