,,ii #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #adcb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #bh1 #bjba,mr4 ,cornyn 7for himself and ,mr4 ,padilla7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,energy to establish an electric grid resilience grant program and an electric grid resilience research and development program4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,preventing ,outages ,with ,enhanced ,resilience and ,operations ,nationwide ,act of #bjba or the ,,power ,,on ,act of #bjba4 #b4 ,electric grid resilience grants 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,eligible entity ,the term eligible entity means-- 7,a7 an electric grid operator2 7,b7 an electricity generator2 7,c7 a transmission owner or operator2 7,d7 a distribution provider2 7,e7 a fuel supplier2 and 7,f7 any other relevant entity1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7#b7 ,extreme weather 7,a7 ,in general ,the term extreme weather means a weather phenomenon that-- 7i7 occurs outside of the historical frequency prior to #aiij2 or 7ii7 is unexpected1 unusual1 severe1 or unseasonal4 7,b7 ,inclusions ,the term extreme weather includes-- 7i7 a tornado2 7ii7 a thunderstorm2 7iii7 an ice storm2 7iv7 a heat wave2 7v7 flooding2 7vi7 drought2 7vii7 high winds2 and 7viii7 mudslides4 7#c7 ,indian ,tribe ,the term ,indian ,tribe has the meaning given the term in section #d of the ,indian ,self-,determination and ,education ,assistance ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #ecjd74 7#d7 ,resilience event ,the term resilience event means an event in which1 due to extreme weather1 a wildfire1 or any other natural disaster1 operations of the electric grid are disrupted1 preventively shut off1 or cannot operate safely4 7#e7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,energy4 7#f7 ,state ,the term ,state means-- 7,a7 a ,state2 7,b7 the ,district of ,columbia2 and 7,c7 any territory of the ,united ,states4 7b7 ,establishment 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall establish an electric grid resilience program under which the ,secretary shall provide grants to ,states and ,indian ,tribes to award grants to eligible entities to carry out projects that enhance the physical resilience of the electric grid4 7#b7 ,annual application 7,a7 ,in general ,to be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection for a fiscal year1 a ,state or ,indian ,tribe shall submit to the ,secretary an application for that fiscal year that describes the criteria and methods that will be used by the ,state or ,indian ,tribe to award electric grid resilience grants to eligible entities4 7,b7 ,requirement ,the ,secretary shall use amounts appropriated under subsection 7f7 for a fiscal year to provide grants under this subsection only to ,states and ,indian ,tribes that have submitted an application under subparagraph 7,a7 for that fiscal year4 7#c7 ,distribution of funds 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall provide grants to ,states and ,indian ,tribes under this subsection based on a formula determined by the ,secretary1 in accordance with subparagraph 7,b74 7,b7 ,requirement ,the formula referred to in subparagraph 7,a7 shall be based on the following factors3 7i7 ,the total population of the ,state or ,indian ,tribe4 7ii7 ,the probability of resilience events in the ,state or on the land of the ,indian ,tribe during the previous #aj years1 as determined based on the number of federally declared disasters or emergencies in the ,state or on the land of the ,indian ,tribe1 as applicable1 including-- 7,i7 disasters for which ,fire ,management ,assistance ,grants are provided under section #dbj of the ,robert ,t4 ,stafford ,disaster ,relief and ,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #eahg72 7,,ii7 major disasters declared by the ,president under section #dja of that ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #eagj72 7,,iii7 emergencies declared by the ,president under section #eja of that ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #eaia72 and 7,,iv7 any other federally declared disaster or emergency in the ,state or on the land of the ,indian ,tribe4 7iii7 ,the number and severity1 measured by population and economic impacts1 of resilience events experienced by the ,state or ,indian ,tribe on or after ,january #a1 #bjaa4 7iv7 ,the total amount1 on a per capita basis1 of public and private expenditures during the previous #aj years to carry out mitigation efforts to reduce the likelihood and consequences of resilience events in the ,state or on the land of the ,indian ,tribe1 with ,states or ,indian ,tribes with higher per capita expenditures receiving additional weight or consideration as compared to ,states or ,indian ,tribes with lower per capita expenditures4 7#d7 ,annual update of data used in distribution of funds ,beginning #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall annually update-- 7,a7 all data relating to the factors described in paragraph 7#c77;,b72 and 7,b7 all other data used in distributing grants to ,states and ,indian ,tribes under this subsection4 7#e7 ,matching funds ,a ,state or ,indian ,tribe that receives a grant under this subsection shall be required to match not less than #ae percent of the amount of the grant4 7#f7 ,plan required ,the ,secretary shall ensure that each grant provided to a ,state or ,indian ,tribe under this subsection will-- 7,a7 be allocated in accordance with a published ,state or ,indian ,tribe plan that-- 7i7 is adopted by the ,state or ,indian ,tribe after notice and a public hearing2 and 7ii7 describes the proposed funding distributions and recipients of the electric grid resilience grants to be provided by the ,state or ,indian ,tribe2 and 7,b7 be allocated1 pursuant to the applicable ,state or ,indian ,tribe plan1 to eligible entities for projects within the ,state or on the land of the ,indian ,tribe1 as applicable4 7#g7 ,administrative expenses 7,a7 ,in general ,of any amounts made available to the ,secretary to carry out the program established under paragraph 7#a7 for a fiscal year1 the ,secretary may use not more than #aj percent for the administrative expenses of carrying out that program4 7,b7 ,grant amounts ,not more than #aj percent of the amount of a grant provided by the ,secretary to a ,state or ,indian ,tribe under this subsection may be used for administrative expenses4 7c7 ,use of grants 7#a7 ,in general ,a grant awarded to an eligible entity under the electric grid resilience program established under subsection 7b77#a7 may be used for activities1 technologies1 equipment1 and hardening measures to enable the electric grid to better withstand the effects of extreme weather1 a wildfire1 or any other natural disaster1 including-- 7,a7 weatherization technologies and equipment2 7,b7 fire-resistant technologies and fire prevention systems2 7,c7 monitoring technologies2 7,d7 the undergrounding of electrical equipment2 7,e7 utility pole management2 7,f7 the relocation of power lines2 7,g7 vegetation and fuel-load management2 7,h7 the use or construction of distributed energy resources for enhancing system adaptive capacity during extreme weather events1 including-- 7i7 microgrids2 and 7ii7 battery-storage subcomponents2 7,i7 adaptive protection technologies2 and 7,j7 advanced modeling technologies4 7#b7 ,prohibited uses 7,a7 ,in general ,a grant awarded to an eligible entity under the electric grid resilience program established under subsection 7b77#a7 may not be used for-- 7i7 construction of a new-- 7,i7 electric generating facility2 or 7,,ii7 large-scale battery-storage facility that is not used for enhancing system adaptive capacity during extreme weather events2 or 7ii7 cybersecurity4 7,b7 ,certain investments eligible for recovery 7i7 ,in general ,an eligible entity may not seek cost recovery for the portion of the cost of any system1 technology1 or equipment that is funded through a grant awarded under the electric grid resilience program established under subsection 7b77#a74 7ii7 ,savings provision ,nothing in this subparagraph prohibits an eligible entity from recovering through traditional or incentive-based ratemaking any portion of an investment in a system1 technology1 or equipment that is not funded by a grant awarded under the electric grid resilience program established under subsection 7b77#a74 7d7 ,evaluation of funded projects ,the ,secretary shall carry out periodic evaluations of-- 7#a7 the electric grid resilience program established under subsection 7b77#a72 and 7#b7 the projects carried out by eligible entities receiving grants under that program4 7e7 ,annual report to ,congress 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report describing the electric grid resilience program established under subsection 7b77#a71 including the results of the periodic evaluations carried out under subsection 7d74 7#b7 ,requirements ,the report under paragraph 7#a7 shall include information and data provided by each ,state or ,indian ,tribe receiving a grant from the ,secretary under subsection 7b7 on-- 7,a7 the costs of the projects for which grants are awarded to eligible entities by ,states or ,indian ,tribes under that subsection2 and 7,b7 the types of activities1 technologies1 equipment1 and hardening measures funded by those grants4 7f7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to the ,secretary to carry out this section #ajj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbb through #bjbf4 #c4 ,electric grid resilience research and development 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,energy 7referred to in this section as the ,secretary7 shall establish a research1 development1 demonstration1 and commercial application program to enhance resilience and strengthen emergency response and management of the electric grid4 7b7 ,grants ,under the program established under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall award competitive grants to eligible entities described in subsection 7c7 to conduct research1 development1 demonstration1 and commercial application activities to improve the resilience of the electric grid by developing technologies and capabilities to withstand and address the current and projected impact on electric grid infrastructure of-- 7#a7 extreme weather 7as defined in section #b7;a772 7#b7 wildfires2 and 7#c7 other natural disasters4 7c7 ,eligible entities ,an entity eligible to receive a grant under subsection 7b7 is-- 7#a7 an institution of higher education1 including a historically ,black college or university and a minority-serving institution2 7#b7 a nonprofit organization2 7#c7 a ,national ,laboratory2 7#d7 a unit of ,state1 local1 or ,tribal government2 7#e7 an electric utility or electric cooperative2 7#f7 a retail service provider of electricity2 7#g7 a private commercial entity2 7#h7 a partnership or consortium of #b or more entities described in any of paragraphs 7#a7 through 7#g72 and 7#i7 any other entity the ,secretary determines to be appropriate4