Preventing Power Outages Act

Full Title:
Preventing Power Outages Act

Summary#

This bill updates a program created in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that gives grants to prevent power outages and improve electric grid resilience. It adds definitions for three reliability metrics—Customer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI), System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), and System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI)—using the IEEE 1366 standard (or a successor). The bill requires that, when calculating these metrics, all outages longer than 5 minutes be counted, including outages on Major Event Days.

The bill directs the Secretary and States or Indian Tribes to give special consideration in grant decisions to eligible entities that have had lower reliability during the previous 5 years, as shown by higher SAIDI, SAIFI, or CAIDI scores. It also adds a rule that grant applicants cannot be required to address more than one type of activity or technology, and that an application cannot receive priority solely because it covers multiple types of activities. Finally, the bill extends the program period from the prior 2022–2026 window to 2027–2031 and specifies that funds remain available until expended.

What it means for you#

  • If you are an electric utility or other eligible entity seeking these grants, your past 5 years of SAIDI, SAIFI, and CAIDI scores may affect your chance of receiving funding. Entities with higher (worse) scores may get extra weight in grant decisions.
  • If you are a State or Indian Tribe that distributes these funds, you must consider those same reliability scores when deciding which local entities get grants.
  • If you apply for a grant, you cannot be forced to include more than one type of activity or technology in your application, and you should not get extra credit only because your application includes multiple types of measures.
  • The program is extended so grants can be made through 2031 and the funds will remain available until spent.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on dollar amounts or total costs is included in the bill text. The bill does change the program dates from 2022–2026 to 2027–2031 and makes funds remain available until expended, but it does not state funding levels or new authorized amounts.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.