--- kind: "section" citation: "42 U.S.C. § 16215" title: "42" title_heading: "The Public Health and Welfare" number: "16215" heading: "Electric transmission and distribution programs" release: "119-102" date: "2026-07-12" url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/42/16215" units: - "Chapter 149 — National Energy Policy and Programs" - "Subchapter IX — Research and Development" - "Part B — Distributed Energy and Electric Energy Systems" --- # §16215. Electric transmission and distribution programs - (a) **Program—** The [Secretary](/usc/42/15801.md?p=4) shall establish a comprehensive research, development, and demonstration program to ensure the reliability, efficiency, and environmental integrity of electrical transmission and distribution systems, which shall include— - (1) advanced energy delivery technologies, energy storage technologies, materials, and systems, giving priority to new transmission technologies, including composite conductor materials and other technologies that enhance reliability, operational flexibility, or power-carrying capability; - (2) advanced grid reliability and efficiency technology development; - (3) technologies contributing to significant load reductions; - (4) advanced metering, load management, and control technologies; - (5) technologies to enhance existing grid components; - (6) the development and use of high-temperature superconductors to— - (A) enhance the reliability, operational flexibility, or power-carrying capability of electric transmission or distribution systems; or - (B) increase the efficiency of electric energy generation, transmission, distribution, or storage systems; - (7) integration of power systems, including systems to deliver high-quality electric power, electric power reliability, and combined heat and power; - (8) supply of electricity to the power grid by small scale, distributed and residential-based power generators; - (9) the development and use of advanced grid design, operation, and planning tools; - (10) the development of cost-effective technologies that enable two-way information and power flow between distributed energy resources and the electric grid; - (11) the development of technologies and concepts that enable interoperability between distributed energy resources and other behind-the-meter devices and the electric grid; - (12) any other infrastructure technologies, as appropriate; and - (13) technology transfer and education. - (b) **Program plan—** - (1) **In general—** Not later than 1 year after August 8, 2005, the [Secretary](/usc/42/15801.md?p=4), in consultation with other appropriate Federal [agencies](/usc/42/8262.md?p=1), shall prepare and submit to Congress a 5-year program plan to guide activities under this section. - (2) **Consultation—** In preparing the program plan, the [Secretary](/usc/42/15801.md?p=4) shall consult with— - (A) utilities; - (B) energy service providers; - (C) manufacturers; - (D) institutions of higher education; - (E) other appropriate [State](/usc/42/15951.md?p=b-2) and local [agencies](/usc/42/8262.md?p=1); - (F) environmental organizations; - (G) professional and technical societies; and - (H) any other [persons](/usc/42/16451.md?p=12) the [Secretary](/usc/42/15801.md?p=4) considers appropriate. - (c) **Implementation—** The [Secretary](/usc/42/15801.md?p=4) shall consider implementing the program under this section using a [consortium](/usc/42/17061.md?p=4) of participants from industry, institutions of higher education, and [National Laboratories](/usc/42/15801.md?p=3). - (d) **Report—** Not later than 2 years after the submission of the plan under [subsection (b)](#b), the [Secretary](/usc/42/15801.md?p=4) shall submit to Congress a report— - (1) describing the progress made under this section; and - (2) identifying any additional resources needed to continue the development and commercial application of transmission and distribution of infrastructure technologies. - (e) **Power delivery research initiative—** - (1) **In general—** The [Secretary](/usc/42/15801.md?p=4) shall establish a research, development, and demonstration initiative specifically focused on power delivery using components incorporating high temperature superconductivity. - (2) **Goals—** The goals of the Initiative shall be— - (A) to establish world-class facilities to develop high temperature superconductivity power applications in partnership with manufacturers and utilities; - (B) to provide technical leadership for establishing reliability for high temperature superconductivity power applications, including suitable modeling and analysis; - (C) to facilitate the commercial transition toward direct current power transmission, storage, and use for high power systems using high temperature superconductivity; and - (D) to facilitate the integration of very low impedance high temperature superconducting wires and cables in existing electric networks to improve system performance, power flow control, and reliability. - (3) **Inclusions—** The Initiative shall include— - (A) feasibility analysis, planning, research, and design to construct demonstrations of superconducting links in high power, direct current, and controllable alternating current transmission systems; - (B) public-private partnerships to demonstrate deployment of high temperature superconducting cable into testbeds simulating a realistic transmission grid and under varying transmission conditions, including actual grid insertions; and - (C) testbeds developed in cooperation with [National Laboratories](/usc/42/15801.md?p=3), industries, and institutions of higher education to— - (i) demonstrate those technologies; - (ii) prepare the technologies for commercial introduction; and - (iii) address cost or performance roadblocks to successful commercial use. - (f) **Transmission and distribution grid planning and operations initiative—** - (1) **In general—** The [Secretary](/usc/42/15801.md?p=4) shall establish a research, development, and demonstration initiative specifically focused on tools needed to plan, operate, and expand the transmission and distribution grids in the presence of competitive market mechanisms for energy, load demand, [customer](/usc/42/7275.md?p=5) response, and ancillary services. - (2) **Goals—** The goals of the Initiative shall be— - (A) - (i) to develop and use a geographically distributed center, consisting of institutions of higher education, and [National Laboratories](/usc/42/15801.md?p=3), with expertise and facilities to develop the underlying theory and software for power system application; and - (ii) to ensure commercial development in partnership with software vendors and utilities; - (B) to provide technical leadership in engineering and economic analysis for the reliability and efficiency of power systems planning and operations in the presence of competitive markets for electricity; - (C) to model, simulate, and experiment with new market mechanisms and operating [practices](/usc/42/17061.md?p=19) to understand and optimize those new methods before actual use; and - (D) to provide technical support and technology transfer to electric utilities and other participants in the domestic electric industry and marketplace. - (g) **High-voltage transmission lines—** As part of the program described in [subsection (a)](#a), the [Secretary](/usc/42/15801.md?p=4) shall award a grant to a [university](/usc/42/16182.md?p=6) research program to design and test, in consultation with the Tennessee Valley Authority, [state](/usc/42/15951.md?p=b-2)-of-the-art optimization techniques for power flow through existing high voltage transmission lines. ## Source credit (Pub. L. 109–58, title IX, § 925, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 865; Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title VIII, § 8004(a), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2583.) ## Notes ### Editorial Notes ### Amendments 2020—Subsec. (a)(10) to (13). Pub. L. 116–260 added pars. (10) and (11) and redesignated former pars. (10) and (11) as (12) and (13), respectively. ### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries ### Coordination of Efforts Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title VIII, § 8006, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2586, provided that: “In carrying out the amendments made by this title [enacting sections 16236, 17014, 17384a, 17387, and 17388 of this title and amending this section, section 17384 of this title and sections 3501 and 3502 of Title 25, Indians], the Secretary [probably means Secretary of Energy] shall coordinate with relevant entities to the maximum extent practicable, including— electric utilities; private sector entities; representatives of all sectors of the electric power industry; transmission organizations; transmission owners and operators; distribution organizations; distribution asset owners and operators; State, Tribal, local, and territorial governments and regulatory authorities; academic institutions; the National Laboratories; other Federal agencies; nonprofit organizations; the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; the North American Reliability Corporation; independent system operators; and programs and program offices at the Department.”