Senate Bill S8628A

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8628--A
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 22, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
   cations  --  committee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
   amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN ACT to authorize and direct the public service commission to  conduct
   a study on the deployment of energy interconnection processes into the
   electrical grid
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Study. The public  service  commission  is  authorized  and
 directed  to  conduct a study on the regulatory barriers, if any, to the
 rapid deployment of energy interconnection processes in the  state  that
 shall include, but not be limited to:
   (a)  Potential changes to the interconnection process to rapidly bring
 new renewable energy resources onto the  electrical  grid  to  meet  the
 state's  renewable energy goals set out under the climate leadership and
 community protection act, as amended;
   (b) The state's ability  to  comply  with  goals  established  in  the
 climate  leadership  and  community  protection  act,  as  amended, with
 current energy interconnection process timelines, including  the  effect
 of  recent  reforms  by the New York Independent System Operator and any
 additional anticipated reforms;
   (c) The experience of other interconnection systems using "Connect and
 Manage" or other alternative connection agreements in terms of the speed
 of resource deployments and electrical grid reliability;
   (d) The extent to which the studies  and  network  upgrades  currently
 required for Energy Resource Interconnection Service projects in the New
 York  Independent  System  Operator go beyond the minimal set of studies
 and network upgrades needed to safely operate  the  system  with  a  new
 resource, in comparison to the United Kingdom's Enabling Works approach;
   (e)  Whether it is possible to identify more efficient system upgrades
 in the context of the New York Independent System Operator comprehensive
 system  planning  process  rather  than  certain  studies  and  upgrades
 currently in the energy interconnection process;
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD14526-03-4
 S. 8628--A                          2
 
   (f)  Whether  projects  that  initially  join  the  system with Energy
 Resource Interconnection Service status can be elevated to  the  Network
 Resource  Interconnection  Service  status  upon  completion of relevant
 network upgrades, to determine if there is a mechanism by which  genera-
 tors  could  be  allocated  part  of  the cost of such upgrades, if such
 upgrades are completed via the  comprehensive  system  planning  process
 rather than the energy interconnection process;
   (g)  Improvements  to the interconnection process for qualified energy
 storage systems as defined by subdivision 1 of section 74 of the  public
 service law; and
   (h)  Whether  any changes identified in this study at the transmission
 level would also improve processes at the distribution level.
   § 2. Report. No later than one year after the effective date  of  this
 act,  the  public  service  commission shall submit to the governor, the
 speaker of the assembly and the temporary president  of  the  senate,  a
 report  assessing  its  findings  under  the study conducted pursuant to
 section one of this act, and any recommendations to  rapidly  bring  new
 renewable  energy resources onto the electrical grid to meet the state's
 renewable energy goals set out under the climate leadership and communi-
 ty protection act, as amended.
   § 3. Definitions. For the purposes of this act,  the  following  terms
 shall have the following meanings:
   (a)  "Energy interconnection process" means the process of integrating
 new sources of renewable energy resources, as defined by  section  1-103
 of the energy law, into the electrical grid.
   (b)  "Electrical  grid" means the network of electric plants and other
 electric generating facilities and  equipment,  and  electricity  trans-
 mission and distribution systems in the state.
   (c)  "Renewable  energy  resources"  shall  have  the  same meaning as
 defined by section 1-103 of the energy law.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.