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.