42 USC CHAPTER 162, SUBCHAPTER IV: ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION

From Title 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARECHAPTER 162—ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE

SUBCHAPTER IV—ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION

§18771. Definitions

In this subchapter:

(1) Administrator

The term "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration.

(2) Annual Critical Minerals Outlook

The term "Annual Critical Minerals Outlook" means the Annual Critical Minerals Outlook prepared under section 1606(j)(1)(B) of title 30.

(3) Critical mineral

The term "critical mineral" has the meaning given the term in section 1606(a) of title 30.

(4) Household energy burden

The term "household energy burden" means the quotient obtained by dividing—

(A) the residential energy expenditures (as defined in section 440.3 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on November 15, 2021)) of the applicable household; by

(B) the annual income of that household.

(5) Household with a high energy burden

The term "household with a high energy burden" has the meaning given the term in section 440.3 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on November 15, 2021).

(6) Large manufacturing facility

The term "large manufacturing facility" means a manufacturing facility that—

(A) annually consumes more than 35,000 megawatt-hours of electricity; or

(B) has a peak power demand of more than 10 megawatts.

(7) Load-serving entity

The term "load-serving entity" has the meaning given the term in section 824q(a) of title 16.

(8) Miscellaneous electric load

The term "miscellaneous electric load" means electricity that—

(A) is used by an appliance or device—

(i) within a building; or

(ii) to serve a building; and

(B) is not used for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, water heating, or refrigeration.

(9) Regional Transmission Organization

The term "Regional Transmission Organization" has the meaning given the term in section 796 of title 16.

(10) Rural area

The term "rural area" has the meaning given the term in section 918c(a) of title 7.

(Pub. L. 117–58, div. D, title IV, §40411, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1038.)

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Wage Rate Requirements

For provisions relating to rates of wages to be paid to laborers and mechanics on projects for construction, alteration, or repair work funded under div. D or an amendment by div. D of Pub. L. 117–58, including authority of Secretary of Labor, see section 18851 of this title.

§18772. Data collection in the electricity sector

(a) Dashboard

(1) Establishment

(A) In general

Not later than 90 days after November 15, 2021, the Administrator shall establish an online database to track the operation of the bulk power system in the contiguous 48 States (referred to in this section as the "Dashboard").

(B) Improvement of existing dashboard

The Dashboard may be established through the improvement, in accordance with this subsection, of an existing dashboard of the Energy Information Administration, such as—

(i) the U.S. Electric System Operating Data dashboard; or

(ii) the Hourly Electric Grid Monitor.

(2) Expansion

(A) In general

Not later than 1 year after November 15, 2021, the Administrator shall expand the Dashboard to include, to the maximum extent practicable, hourly operating data collected from the electricity balancing authorities that operate the bulk power system in all of the several States, each territory of the United States, and the District of Columbia.

(B) Types of data

The hourly operating data collected under subparagraph (A) may include data relating to—

(i) total electricity demand;

(ii) electricity demand by subregion;

(iii) short-term electricity demand forecasts;

(iv) total electricity generation;

(v) net electricity generation by fuel type, including renewables;

(vi) electricity stored and discharged;

(vii) total net electricity interchange;

(viii) electricity interchange with directly interconnected balancing authorities; and

(ix) where available, the estimated marginal greenhouse gas emissions per megawatt hour of electricity generated—

(I) within the metered boundaries of each balancing authority; and

(II) for each pricing node.

(b) Mix of energy sources

(1) In general

Not later than 1 year after November 15, 2021, the Administrator shall establish, in accordance with section 18777 of this title and this subsection and to the extent the Administrator determines to be appropriate, a system to harmonize the operating data on electricity generation collected under subsection (a) with—

(A) measurements of greenhouse gas and other pollutant emissions collected by the Environmental Protection Agency;

(B) other data collected by the Environmental Protection Agency or other relevant Federal agencies, as the Administrator determines to be appropriate; and

(2) Outcomes

The system established under paragraph (1) shall result in an integrated dataset that includes, for any given time—

(A) the net generation of electricity by megawatt hour within the metered boundaries of each balancing authority; and

(B) where available, the average and marginal greenhouse gas emissions by megawatt hour of electricity generated within the metered boundaries of each balancing authority.

(3) Real-time data dissemination

To the maximum extent practicable, the system established under paragraph (1) shall disseminate data—

(A) on a real-time basis; and

(B) through an application programming interface that is publicly accessible.

(4) Complementary efforts

The system established under paragraph (1) shall complement any existing data dissemination efforts of the Administrator that make use of electricity generation data, such as electricity demand by subregion and electricity interchange with directly interconnected balancing authorities.

(c) Observed characteristics of bulk power system resource integration

(1) In general

Not later than 1 year after November 15, 2021, the Administrator shall establish a system to provide to the public timely data on the integration of energy resources into the bulk power system and the electric distribution grids in the United States, and the observed effects of that integration.

(2) Requirements

In carrying out paragraph (1), the Administrator shall seek to improve the temporal and spatial resolution of data relating to how grid operations are changing, such as through—

(A) thermal generator cycling to accommodate intermittent generation;

(B) generation unit self-scheduling practices;

(D) utility-scale storage;

(E) load response;

(F) aggregations of distributed energy resources at the distribution system level;

(G) power interchange between directly connected balancing authorities;

(H) expanding Regional Transmission Organization balancing authorities;

(I) improvements in real-time—

(i) accuracy of locational marginal prices; and

(ii) signals to flexible demand; and

(J) disruptions to grid operations, including disruptions caused by cyber sources, physical sources, extreme weather events, or other sources.

(d) Distribution system operations

(1) In general

Not later than 1 year after November 15, 2021, the Administrator shall establish a system to provide to the public timely data on the operations of load-serving entities in the electricity grids of the United States.

(2) Requirements

(A) In general

In carrying out paragraph (1), the Administrator shall—

(i) not less frequently than annually, provide data on—

(I) the delivered generation resource mix for each load-serving entity; and

(II) the distributed energy resources operating within each service area of a load-serving entity;

(ii) harmonize the data on delivered generation resource mix described in clause (i)(I) with measurements of greenhouse gas emissions collected by the Environmental Protection Agency;

(iii) to the maximum extent practicable, disseminate the data described in clause (i)(I) and the harmonized data described in clause (ii) on a real-time basis; and

(iv) provide historical data, beginning with the earliest calendar year practicable, but not later than calendar year 2020, on the delivered generation resource mix described in clause (i)(I).

(B) Data on the delivered generation resource mix

In collecting the data described in subparagraph (A)(i)(I), the Administrator shall—

(i) use existing voluntary industry methodologies, including reporting protocols, databases, and emissions and energy use tracking software that provide consistent, timely, and accessible carbon emissions intensity rates for delivered electricity;

(ii) consider that generation and transmission entities may provide data on behalf of load-serving entities;

(iii) to the extent that the Administrator determines necessary, and in a manner designed to protect confidential information, require each load-serving entity to submit additional information as needed to determine the delivered generation resource mix of the load-serving entity, including financial or contractual agreements for power and generation resource type attributes with respect to power owned by or retired by the load-serving entity; and

(iv) for any portion of the generation resource mix of a load-serving entity that is otherwise unaccounted for, develop a methodology to assign to the load-serving entity a share of the otherwise unaccounted for resource mix of the relevant balancing authority.

(Pub. L. 117–58, div. D, title IV, §40412, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1039.)

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Wage Rate Requirements

§18773. Expansion of energy consumption surveys

(a) In general

Not later than 2 years after November 15, 2021, the Administrator shall implement measures to expand the Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey, the Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey, and the Residential Energy Consumption Survey to include data on energy end use in order to facilitate the identification of—

(1) opportunities to improve energy efficiency and energy productivity;

(2) changing patterns of energy use; and

(3) opportunities to better understand and manage miscellaneous electric loads.

(b) Requirements

(1) In general

In carrying out subsection (a), the Administrator shall—

(A) increase the scope and frequency of data collection on energy end uses and services;

(B) use new data collection methods and tools in order to obtain more comprehensive data and reduce the burden on survey respondents, including by—

(i) accessing other existing data sources; and

(ii) if feasible, developing online and real-time reporting systems;

(i) the reliability and security of the energy supply; and

(ii) local areas with households with a high energy burden; and

(D) improve the presentation of data, including by—

(i) enabling the presentation of data in an interactive cartographic format on a national, regional, State, and local level with the functionality of viewing various economic, energy, and demographic measures on an individual basis or in combination; and

(ii) incorporating the results of the data collection, methods, and tools described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) into existing and new digital distribution methods.

(2) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey

With respect to the Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey, the Administrator shall—

(A) implement measures to provide more detailed representations of data by region;

(B) for large manufacturing facilities, break out process heat use by required process temperatures in order to facilitate the identification of opportunities for cost reductions and energy efficiency or energy productivity improvements;

(i) energy source-switching capabilities, especially with respect to thermal processes and the efficiency of thermal processes;

(ii) the use of electricity, biofuels, hydrogen, or other alternative fuels to produce process heat; and

(iii) the use of demand response; and

(D) identify current and potential future industrial clusters in which multiple firms and facilities in a defined geographic area share the costs and benefits of infrastructure for clean manufacturing, such as—

(i) hydrogen generation, production, transport, use, and storage infrastructure; and

(ii) carbon dioxide capture, transport, use, and storage infrastructure.

(3) Residential Energy Consumption Survey

With respect to the Residential Energy Consumption Survey, the Administrator shall—

(A) implement measures to provide more detailed representations of data by—

(i) geographic area, including by State (for each State);

(ii) building type, including multi-family buildings;

(iii) household income;

(iv) location in a rural area; and

(v) other demographic characteristics, as determined by the Administrator; and

(B) report measures of—

(i) household electrical service capacity;

(ii) access to utility demand-side management programs and bill credits;

(iii) characteristics of the energy mix used to generate electricity in different regions; and

(iv) the household energy burden for households—

(I) in different geographic areas;

(II) by electricity, heating, and other end-uses; and

(III) with different demographic characteristics that correlate with increased household energy burden, including—

(aa) having a low household income;

(bb) being a minority household;

(cc) residing in manufactured or multifamily housing;

(dd) being in a fixed or retirement income household;

(ee) residing in rental housing; and

(ff) other factors, as determined by the Administrator.

(Pub. L. 117–58, div. D, title IV, §40413, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1042.)

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Wage Rate Requirements

§18774. Data collection on electric vehicle integration with the electricity grids

(a) In general

Not later than 1 year after November 15, 2021, the Administrator shall develop and implement measures to expand data collection with respect to electric vehicle integration with the electricity grids.

(b) Sources of data

The sources of the data collected pursuant to subsection (a) may include—

(1) host-owned or charging-network-owned electric vehicle charging stations;

(2) aggregators of charging-network electricity demand;

(3) electric utilities offering managed-charging programs;

(4) individual, corporate, or public owners of electric vehicles; and

(5) balancing authority analyses of—

(A) transformer loading congestion; and

(B) distribution-system congestion.

(c) Consultation and coordination

In carrying out subsection (a), the Administrator may consult and enter into agreements with other institutions having relevant data and data collection capabilities, such as—

(1) the Secretary of Transportation;

(2) the Secretary;

(3) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;

(4) States or State agencies; and

(5) private entities.

(Pub. L. 117–58, div. D, title IV, §40414, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1043.)

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Wage Rate Requirements

§18775. Plan for the modeling and forecasting of demand for minerals used in the energy sector

(a) Plan

(1) In general

Not later than 180 days after November 15, 2021, the Administrator, in coordination with the Director of the United States Geological Survey, shall develop a plan for the modeling and forecasting of demand for energy technologies, including for energy production, transmission, or storage purposes, that use minerals that are or could be designated as critical minerals.

(2) Inclusions

The plan developed under paragraph (1) shall identify—

(A) the type and quantity of minerals consumed, delineated by energy technology;

(B) existing markets for manufactured energy-producing, energy-transmission, and energy-storing equipment; and

(C) emerging or potential markets for new energy-producing, energy-transmission, and energy-storing technologies entering commercialization.

(b) Metrics

The plan developed under subsection (a)(1) shall produce forecasts of energy technology demand—

(1) over the 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods beginning on the date on which development of the plan is completed;

(2) by economic sector; and

(3) according to any other parameters that the Administrator, in collaboration with the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United States Geological Survey, determines are needed for the Annual Critical Minerals Outlook.

(c) Collaboration

The Administrator shall develop the plan under subsection (a)(1) in consultation with—

(1) the Secretary with respect to the possible trajectories of emerging energy-producing and energy-storing technologies; and

(2) the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United States Geological Survey—

(A) to ensure coordination;

(B) to avoid duplicative effort; and

(C) to align the analysis of demand with data and analysis of where the minerals are produced, refined, and subsequently processed into materials and parts that are used to build energy technologies.

(Pub. L. 117–58, div. D, title IV, §40415, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1044.)

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Wage Rate Requirements

§18776. Expansion of international energy data

(a) In general

Not later than 1 year after November 15, 2021, the Administrator shall implement measures to expand and improve the international energy data resources of the Energy Information Administration in order to understand—

(1) the production and use of energy in various countries;

(2) changing patterns of energy use internationally;

(3) the relative costs and environmental impacts of energy production and use internationally; and

(4) plans for or construction of major energy facilities or infrastructure.

(b) Requirements

In carrying out subsection (a), the Administrator shall—

(1) work with, and leverage the data resources of, the International Energy Agency;

(2) include detail on energy consumption by fuel, economic sector, and end use within countries for which data are available;

(3) collect relevant measures of energy use, including—

(A) cost; and

(B) emissions intensity; and

(4) provide tools that allow for straightforward country-to-country comparisons of energy production and consumption across economic sectors and end uses.

(Pub. L. 117–58, div. D, title IV, §40416, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1045.)

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Wage Rate Requirements

§18777. Harmonization of efforts and data

Not later than 1 year after November 15, 2021, the Administrator shall establish a system to harmonize, to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with data integrity—

(1) the data collection efforts of the Administrator, including any data collection required under this subchapter, with the data collection efforts of—

(A) the Environmental Protection Agency, as the Administrator determines to be appropriate;

(B) other relevant Federal agencies, as the Administrator determines to be appropriate; and

(2) the data collected under this subchapter, including the operating data on electricity generation collected under section 18772(a) of this title, with data collected by the entities described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1), including any measurements of greenhouse gas and other pollutant emissions collected by the Environmental Protection Agency, as the Administrator determines to be appropriate; and

(3) the efforts of the Administrator to identify and report relevant impacts, opportunities, and patterns with respect to energy use, including the identification of community-level economic and environmental impacts required under section 18773(b)(1)(C) of this title, with the efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency and other relevant Federal agencies, as determined by the Administrator, to identify similar impacts, opportunities, and patterns.

(Pub. L. 117–58, div. D, title IV, §40419, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1047.)