HR6176-119

What This Bill Does

The Electricity Transmission Scorecard Act creates a standardized reporting framework for owners of bulk-power transmission facilities and large transmission systems. FERC must require each covered transmission owner to publish and submit to the Secretary of Energy a biannual Transmission Investment, Accountability, and Performance Scorecard. The metrics cover ratepayer affordability, financing costs, investment prudency, cost recovery, investment effectiveness, capital-expenditure bias, reliability and availability, interconnection performance, congestion, capacity expansion, cost allocation, environmental outcomes, grid-enhancing technologies, non-wires alternatives, and other data needed to compare transmission performance. DOE, with FERC and the Energy Information Administration, must start a public searchable online portal within 12 months and make the scorecards and underlying data available within 18 months. FERC must hold public technical conferences at least every three years, convene a 17-member stakeholder advisory group including State utility commissions, covered owners, independent power producers, RTOs, ISOs, the Electric Reliability Organization, planning entities, ratepayer advocates, data experts, and academic or National Laboratory experts, and respond in writing within 60 days to advisory-group advice.

Who Benefits and How

Residential ratepayers benefit because affordability, congestion, reliability, and cost-recovery data become easier to compare across transmission owners. Commercial ratepayers benefit from public metrics that expose inefficient investment, high financing costs, and unnecessary reliability costs. Independent researchers benefit from searchable scorecards and underlying data for transmission performance analysis. Independent power producers benefit from better interconnection, congestion, cost-allocation, and capacity-expansion transparency. Grid-enhancing technology providers benefit because scorecards call out non-wires alternatives, dynamic line ratings, power-flow controls, topology optimization, and similar technologies.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Covered transmission owners must compile and publish biannual TIAPS reports with extensive financial, reliability, investment, interconnection, and environmental metrics. FERC staff must establish scorecard rules, run technical conferences, convene advisory groups, and respond to stakeholder advice. DOE staff must establish and maintain the searchable public portal for scorecards and underlying data. Energy Information Administration staff must collaborate on portal data design and accessibility. Transmission planning entities and market operators must participate in advisory processes and may need to align data practices with the scorecard framework.

Key Provisions

• Requires covered transmission owners to develop, publish, and submit biannual TIAPS scorecards.
• Requires scorecard metrics on affordability, financing, investment prudency, cost recovery, reliability, interconnection, congestion, capacity, technology, and environmental outcomes.
• Directs DOE, FERC, and EIA to create a searchable public online portal for scorecards and underlying data.
• Requires FERC technical conferences at least every three years to refine scorecard metrics.
• Establishes a 17-member stakeholder advisory group and requires FERC written responses to its advice.