Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Empowering RTO Stakeholders Act of 2022”.
Empowering RTO Stakeholders Act of 2022
A BILL
To direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a rule enhancing Regional Transmission Organization and Independent System Operator independence and responsiveness, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 RTO and ISO independence
Technical Conference— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall convene a technical conference to consider Regional Transmission Organization and Independent System Operator independence, and the responsiveness of RTOs and ISOs to their customers and stakeholders, including the effectiveness of stakeholder policies and procedures adopted in compliance with Order 719, issued by the Commission on October 17, 2008, and published in the Federal Register on October 28, 2008, as the final rule entitled “Wholesale Competition in Regions with Organized Electricity Markets” (73 Fed. Reg. 64099).
Participation— The technical conference shall be led by members of the Commission, and the Commission shall invite participation from representatives of each RTO and ISO, owners and operators of transmission facilities, owners and operators of electric generation facilities, owners and operators of distributed energy generation systems, end-use customers, electric power marketers, publicly owned electric utilities, consumer advocates, environmental justice advocates, environmental groups, State commissions, and such other stakeholders as the Commission determines appropriate.
Topics— In conducting the technical conference, the Commission shall seek to identify policies and practices that maintain RTO and ISO independence, and enhance the responsiveness of RTOs and ISOs to their customers and other stakeholders, taking into consideration—
the benefits of greater transparency in RTO and ISO stakeholder processes, including access by stakeholders to relevant data and written background materials;
barriers to participation in such stakeholder processes for new market participants and other non-incumbent stakeholders;
the need for periodic, independent review of RTO and ISO stakeholder policies and procedures;
power imbalances between incumbent and non-incumbent stakeholders, including whether current RTO and ISO membership rules, sectoral designations, and voting procedures allow for adequate representation of all stakeholder views;
whether and how RTOs and ISOs should take State public policy objectives into consideration as part of such stakeholder processes;
whether existing RTO and ISO decision-making processes are sufficiently independent from the control of any market participant or class of participants;
the role of the Office of Public Participation in facilitating greater stakeholder participation in RTOs and ISOs; and
such other subjects as the Commission considers appropriate.
Public comment— The Commission shall provide an opportunity for public comment on the technical conference.
Rulemaking— Not later than 12 months after the conclusion of the technical conference, the Commission shall issue a final rule adopting such policies and procedures as the Commission determines necessary to maintain the independence of RTOs and ISOs, and to enhance the transparency and responsiveness of RTOs and ISOs to their customers and other stakeholders.
Definitions— In this section:
Commission— The term Commission means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Federal Power Act definitions— The terms electric utility, Independent System Operator, ISO, Regional Transmission Organization, RTO, and State commission have the meanings given such terms in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796).