H.R. 9332: Load Forecasting Enhancement Act

This bill would direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to set up regional boards to study how electric utilities forecast future electricity demand, or “load.” The goal is to identify better ways to predict how much power people and businesses will need so electric systems can be planned and operated more reliably and affordably.

What FERC would have to do

• Within 90 days after the bill becomes law, FERC would create regions for studying electric load forecasting.
• FERC would establish one joint board for each region.
• Every state would have to be included in one of those regions.
• Each board would include one representative from each state utility commission in the region, plus one FERC member who would serve as chair.

What the regional boards would study

The boards would examine what methods and practices work best for forecasting electricity demand. Their work would include looking at:

• how forecasting affects electricity prices;
• how forecasting affects reliability and resilience of the power system;
• how data is collected and used in forecasting models;
• how transparent and accurate the forecasts are;
• how stakeholders are involved in the process;
• economic development trends that could change electricity demand;
• the best available tools and procedures for forecasting;
• requests for large amounts of power from industrial or commercial facilities, including whether those facilities have made financial commitments to the utility.

The boards would then identify best practices and send them to FERC.

Report to Congress

Within one year after enactment, FERC would have to publish and send Congress a report that includes:

• the best practices found by the boards; and
• recommendations for how electric utilities across states should use those practices more consistently.

The regional boards would end after FERC submits that report.

Effect on federal and state utility policy

The bill would also change existing federal energy policy rules so that load forecasting becomes an official topic under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). It would say that forecasting procedures should include the recommendations from FERC’s report.

State utility regulators would be required to begin considering this new load-forecasting standard within one year and finish their review within two years, unless their state has already taken certain similar actions before the bill’s enactment. Some states would be exempt from those review requirements if they had already implemented a comparable standard, held a proceeding on it, or recently voted on it.

State energy conservation plans

The bill would also add “procedures and programs to improve the accuracy, oversight, and transparency to stakeholders of the forecasting of electric loads” to the list of items that state energy conservation plans may include.

Relevant Companies

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