Relates to establishing the New York state grid modernization commission; provides the commission shall conduct a study of research, development and demonstrations of electric grid modernization and shall issue such report to the state energy planning board for consideration in the state energy plan.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A6253
SPONSOR: Barrett
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public service law and the energy law, in relation
to establishing the New York state grid modernization commission
 
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:
Establishes the New York State Grid Modernization Commission.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Amends the Public Service Law by adding a new section 66-u.
This section will establish the New York State Grid Modernization
Commission and provides that the Commission shall conduct a study of
research, development, and demonstration of electric grid modernization
that addresses the principal challenges identified in the New York Inde-
pendent System Operator's 2021-2040 System & Resource Outlook and shall
identify tools, resources, and deployment models that may enable
improved performance of the grid; provides that the Grid Modernization
Commission shall establish a grant program to carry out eligible
projects related to the modernization of the electric grid in collab-
oration with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authori-
ty, with a goal of 45% of the overall benefits of spending on the
program directed towards disadvantaged communities; and provides that
the Grid Modernization Commission shall establish and facilitate a
collaborative process to develop model grid architecture and a set of
future scenarios for the electric grid to examine the impacts of differ-
ent combinations of resources on the electric grid.
Section 2. Amends section 6-104 of the Energy Law by adding a new subdi-
vision 6 which provides that in the development of the draft energy
plan,the State Energy Planning Board must consult with the Grid Modern-
ization Commission and its grid modernization report.
Section 3. Effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill establishes a statewide Grid Modernization Commission that is
authorized to conduct studies to modernize the electric grid and to
facilitate a collaborative process to develop grid models to help ensure
a reliable, resilient, affordable, safe, and secure electric grid of the
future. The Grid Modernization Commission must also establish a grant
program to carry out projects related to the modernization of the elec-
tric grid. The primary goals of the Commission will be to identify crit-
ical state transmission needs and conduct annual studies to support the
buildout of high-voltage transmission facilities that meet those needs.
The New York Independent System Operator's 2021-2040 System & Resource
Outlook recommends that our grid must "provide sustained on-demand power
and system stability that is essential to meeting state climate policy
objectives while maintaining reliability." The technologies to achieve
this in its entirety are not commercially viable today, according to the
study. Meeting all of our CLCPA goals, while remaining reliable through-
out, will require adaptive solutions and further investments in research
and development efforts. Together this will result in the identification
of the most efficient and cost-effective technologies and in the devel-
opment and eventual adoption of newly commercially viable resources.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6253
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 3, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BARRETT -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Energy
AN ACT to amend the public service law and the energy law, in relation
to establishing the New York state grid modernization commission
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section
2 66-u to read as follows:
3 § 66-u. New York state grid modernization commission. 1. Within one
4 hundred eighty days of the effective date of this section, the New York
5 state grid modernization commission shall be established. The chair of
6 the commission, the commissioner of environmental conservation, the
7 commissioner of economic development, the commissioner of transporta-
8 tion, the commissioner of labor, the commissioner of the division of
9 homeland security and emergency services, the commissioner of agricul-
10 ture and markets, the commissioner of health, the secretary of state and
11 the president of the New York state energy research and development
12 authority shall each appoint two members to serve on the grid moderniza-
13 tion commission. The governor, temporary president of the senate and
14 speaker of the assembly shall each appoint one additional representative
15 to serve on the grid modernization commission. The grid modernization
16 commission shall consist of members from communities of color, low-in-
17 come communities, and communities bearing disproportionate pollution and
18 climate change burdens, or shall be representatives of community-based
19 organizations with experience and a history of advocacy on environmental
20 justice issues, and shall include at least two representatives from New
21 York city communities, two representatives from rural communities, and
22 two representatives from upstate New York urban communities. Members of
23 the grid modernization commission shall serve without compensation.
24 2. (a) The grid modernization commission shall conduct a study of
25 research, development, and demonstrations of electric grid modernization
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05756-01-3
A. 6253 2
1 that address the principal challenges identified in the New York Inde-
2 pendent System Operator's 2021-2040 System & Resource Outlook. The grid
3 modernization commission's study shall identify tools, resources, and
4 deployment models that may enable improved performance through the
5 adoption of emerging, commercially available or advanced grid technolo-
6 gies or solutions, including:
7 (i) micro-grids;
8 (ii) distributed energy resources;
9 (iii) energy storage;
10 (iv) electric vehicles;
11 (v) electric vehicle charging infrastructure;
12 (vi) integrated information and communications systems;
13 (vii) transactive energy systems;
14 (viii) advanced demand management systems; and
15 (ix) the role of state and local regulatory authorities in enabling a
16 robust future electric grid to ensure that:
17 (A) electric utilities remain financially viable;
18 (B) electric utilities make the needed investments that ensure a reli-
19 able, secure, and resilient grid; and
20 (C) costs incurred to transform to an integrated grid are allocated
21 and recovered responsibly, efficiently, and equitably.
22 (b) The grid modernization commission may solicit input from stake-
23 holder interests, including but not limited to:
24 (i) local governments;
25 (ii) municipal utilities;
26 (iii) utility companies;
27 (iv) rural electric cooperatives;
28 (v) labor unions;
29 (vi) ratepayers;
30 (vii) trade associations;
31 (viii) generators; and
32 (ix) community organizations.
33 (c) The grid modernization commission shall hold at least one public
34 hearing and may base study findings on existing literature.
35 (d) Any reasonable costs associated with the functioning of the grid
36 modernization commission shall be borne by the New York state energy
37 research and development authority.
38 (e) No later than eighteen months after the effective date of this
39 section, the grid modernization commission shall issue a report on the
40 findings of its study to the state energy planning board containing any
41 recommendations appropriate for consideration in the development of the
42 state energy plan. The grid modernization commission shall issue an
43 annual report following the submission of its initial report to the
44 state energy planning board with any necessary updates.
45 3. (a) The grid modernization commission shall establish a grant
46 program to carry out eligible projects related to the modernization of
47 the electric grid, including the application of technologies to improve
48 observability, advanced controls, and prediction of system performance
49 on the distribution system.
50 (b) A project eligible for a grant under this subdivision shall:
51 (i) be designed to improve the performance and efficiency of the
52 future electric grid, while ensuring the continued provision of safe,
53 secure, reliable, and affordable power;
54 (ii) demonstrate:
55 (A) secure integration and management of two or more energy resources,
56 including distributed energy generation, combined heat and power,
A. 6253 3
1 micro-grids, energy storage, electric vehicles, energy efficiency,
2 demand response, and intelligent loads; and
3 (B) secure integration and interoperability of communications and
4 information technologies; and
5 (iii) be subject to the compliance funding program requirements of the
6 federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
7 (c) The New York state energy research and development authority is
8 authorized to make loans for the cost of carrying out eligible projects
9 and to enter public-private partnerships to co-develop projects. The New
10 York state energy research and development authority shall invest or
11 direct available and relevant resources in a manner designed to achieve
12 a goal for disadvantaged communities to receive forty-five percent of
13 overall benefits of spending on the program, including but not limited
14 to any workforce development, efficiency upgrades, micro-grid reduction,
15 or distributed resources resulting from such spending; provided, howev-
16 er, that disadvantaged communities shall receive no less than forty
17 percent of the overall benefits of spending.
18 4. (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the grid modern-
19 ization commission shall establish and facilitate a collaborative proc-
20 ess to develop model grid architecture and a set of future scenarios for
21 the electric grid to examine the impacts of different combinations of
22 resources (including different quantities of distributed energy
23 resources and large-scale, central generation) on the electric grid.
24 (b) The grid architecture and scenarios developed under paragraph (a)
25 of this subdivision shall account for differences in market structure,
26 including an examination of the potential for stranded costs in each
27 type of market structure.
28 (c) Based on the findings of grid architecture developed under para-
29 graph (a) of this subdivision, the grid modernization commission shall:
30 (i) determine whether any additional policies are necessary to ensure
31 the interoperability of grid systems and associated communications
32 networks; and
33 (ii) make recommendations for such additional standards or policies.
34 § 2. Section 6-104 of the energy law is amended by adding a new subdi-
35 vision 6 to read as follows:
36 6. In the development of the state energy plan, the board shall
37 consult with the grid modernization commission and consider the reason-
38 ableness, efficacy and expense of including in the state energy plan the
39 recommendations contained in the grid modernization commission's report
40 issued pursuant to section sixty-six-u of the public service law.
41 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.