,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dcch ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #aj1 #bjbe,ms4 ,leger ,fernandez 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,casten1 ,ms4 ,castor of ,florida1 and ,ms4 ,ross7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology ,a ,,bill ,to develop weather tools for electricity system planning and operational modeling1 expand research on extreme weather event scenarios for energy utility companies and regulators1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,weather-,safe ,energy ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,establishment of ,weather-,safe ,energy ,platform and support for electricity system planning and operational modeling 7a7 ,initial report on meteorological and extreme weather event data ,not later than #f months after the date of the enactment of this section1 the ,secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report containing the following3 7#a7 ,a summary of current efforts in federally funded research and development centers to develop the use of meteorological1 hydrological1 and extreme weather event data for energy system modeling4 7#b7 ,a description of the specific actions that the ,secretary shall take to carry out subsection 7b74 7b7 ,weather-,safe ,energy ,platform digital tool 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall develop and maintain an open-access digital tool1 to be known as the ,weather-,safe ,energy ,platform 7in this section1 referred to as the ,platform71 to provide high-resolution data of meteorological and hydrological variables suitable for electricity system planning and operational models4 7#b7 ,availability of ,platform ,the ,secretary shall make available the ,platform not later than #b years after the date of the enactment of this section4 7#c7 ,contents of ,platform ,the ,platform shall include the following1 with respect to the ,united ,states3 7,a7 ,meteorological and hydrological variables derived from state-of-the-science atmospheric models used in international model intercomparison projects1 regional forecasting datasets1 and reanalysis data1 as determined appropriate by the ,secretary1 at spatiotemporal resolutions suitable for electricity system planning and operational modeling4 7,b7 ,information that maintains spatiotemporal correlation of the meteorological and hydrological variables to ensure a realistic and reliable representation of conditions that may contribute to cascading failures of electricity systems4 7,c7 ,historical data and projections of meteorological and hydrological variables across short-1 medium-1 and long-term timelines1 developed using methods that ensure consistency with standard practices for evaluating electricity system planning and operational decisions4 7,d7 ,sufficient information to provide for ensemble model scenarios that support narrative- or storytelling-based approaches to modeling current and future conditions and effects on electricity systems4 7,e7 ,up-to-date information provided by ongoing relevant research projects4 7#d7 ,stakeholder input ,the ,secretary shall include input from stakeholders determined appropriate by the ,secretary1 including utility companies1 municipalities1 independent system operators1 regional transmission operators1 ,federal and ,state regulators1 and academic experts1 to ensure the ,platform meets the data needs of such stakeholders in the energy modeling activities of the stakeholders4 7#e7 ,fit-for-purpose data strategy ,the ,secretary shall develop and implement a strategy to carry out the following3 7,a7 ,evaluate whether the data in the ,platform are appropriate for specific electricity system planning and operation applications4 7,b7 ,ensure that each dataset in the ,platform includes1 or is accompanied by1 clear and standardized metadata that includes information on best-practice use cases such as trend detection1 uncertainty analysis1 and the study of extreme event intensification4 7,c7 ,establish and implement procedures to regularly review and update datasets and the metadata of the datasets to account for and reflect advances in science and the evolving needs of stakeholders4 7c7 ,research and modeling into extreme weather event scenarios 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall take such actions1 as determined appropriate by the ,secretary1 to support research projects to enhance the understanding and modeling of the changes to extreme weather events that affect the planning and operations of electricity systems4 7#b7 ,grants for increased research ,the ,secretary shall make funds available1 through grants made on a competitive basis1 contracts1 and cooperative agreements1 to federally funded research and development centers1 institutions of higher education1 and other eligible independent research institutions 7as determined by the ,secretary7 to carry out the research projects and modeling referred to in paragraph 7#a74 7#c7 ,integration of research findings into the ,platform ,the ,secretary shall integrate into the ,platform such findings from the research projects and modeling referred to in paragraph 7#a7 to assist energy utility companies and regulators with respect to planning for1 and responding to1 changes in extreme weather events4 7d7 ,technical assistance 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall provide training resources and technical assistance to utility companies1 grid operators1 municipalities1 ,state regulators1 and other interested stakeholders4 7#b7 ,goals ,in carrying out paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall carry out the following3 7,a7 ,offer workshops1 training sessions1 and distribute educational materials to stakeholders to improve understanding of how meteorological and hydrological variables and extreme weather events affect electricity system planning and operations4 7,b7 ,provide technical assistance with respect to the following3 7i7 ,utilizing the tools and resources available through the ,platform4 7ii7 ,integrating scenario data into electricity system planning and operational models4 7,c7 ,facilitate collaboration and the exchange of knowledge among stakeholders to identify best practices for electricity system planning and operations with respect to changes in meteorological and hydrological variables and changes in extreme weather events4 7e7 ,reports to ,congress ,not later than #e years after the date of the enactment of this section1 and on a periodic basis thereafter not less frequently than every #c years1 the ,secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report containing descriptions of the following3 7#a7 ,the funds used to carry out this section1 including grants made pursuant to subsection 7c74 7#b7 ,the outcomes achieved through such grants4 7#c7 ,the development and deployment of the ,platform4 7#d7 ,the advancements in the research carried out pursuant to subsection 7b74 7#e7 ,the extent to which utility companies1 grid operators1 and ,federal and ,state regulators have utilized the ,platform4 7#f7 ,the activities and effects of the training resources and technical assistance provided under subsection 7d74 7f7 ,implementation ,the ,secretary shall carry out-- 7#a7 subsections 7a7 and 7c7 through the ,office of ,electricity of the ,department of ,energy1 in consultation with such agency heads as determined appropriate by the ,secretary2 and 7#b7 subsections 7b7 and 7d7 through research and development centers funded by the ,secretary4 7g7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means the following3 7,a7 ,the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce of the ,house of ,representatives4 7,b7 ,the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources of the ,senate4 7#b7 ,ensemble model ,the term ensemble model means a collection of multiple simulations used to estimate uncertainty in projections of meteorological phenomena1 including extreme weather events1 that provides a range of possible outcomes with respect to such phenomena4 7#c7 ,extreme weather event ,the term extreme weather event means severe and abnormal earth system phenomena that can significantly affect the operations of electricity systems1 including hurricanes1 coastal or inland flooding1 wildfires1 snowpack or permafrost thaw1 and extreme droughts4 7#d7 ,institution of higher education ,the term institution of higher education has the meaning given that term in section #aja of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja74 7#e7 ,meteorological and hydrological variables ,the term meteorological and hydrological variables includes temperature1 humidity1 wind speed1 solar radiation1 precipitation1 streamflow1 and other atmospheric and water-related measurements4 7#f7 ,open-access digital tool ,the term open-access digital tool means a computational resource1 including software1 datasets1 and modeling frameworks1 that is designed to support energy system resilience planning and operational decision-making that is publicly available without restrictions to access1 use1 or distribution4 7#g7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,energy4 7#h7 ,spatiotemporal correlation ,the term spatiotemporal correlation means the statistical relationship between variables across both space and time that ensures consistency in modeling the effect of extreme weather events on energy systems4 7#i7 ,spatiotemporal resolution ,the term spatiotemporal resolution means the level of detail in which data elements are represented across space and time that is appropriate for energy system modeling and analysis4 7#aj7 ,state-of-the-science ,the term state-of-the-science means the most advanced and validated knowledge1 methods1 or technologies available in scientific research and applications related to meteorology1 hydrology1 extreme weather events1 and energy system modeling4 7#aa7 ,united ,states ,the term ,united ,states means each of the several ,states of the ,united ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 and the territories and possessions of the ,united ,states4