Definitions

In this Act: (1) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy. (2) Commission The term Commission means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (3) Covered transmission owner The term covered transmission owner means any entity, other than an Independent System Operator, Regional Transmission Organization, or transmission planning entity, that— (A) owns, operates, or controls transmission facilities that are part of, or connected to the bulk-power system; (B) provides, or is capable of providing, transmission service for the movement of electric energy, whether in interstate or intrastate commerce; and (C) if the entity owns, operates, or controls transmission facilities that are not part of, or connected to, the bulk-power system, the total transmission capacity under peak demand conditions of all transmission facilities owned, operated, or controlled by the entity is 100 megawatts or greater. (4) Federal Power Act terms (A) Bulk-power system; ERO The terms bulk-power system and Electric Reliability Organization have the meanings given those terms in section 215 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o). (B) ISO; RTO; transmitting utility The terms Independent System Operator, ISO, Regional Transmission Organization, RTO, and transmitting utility have the meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796). (5) Grid-enhancing technology The term grid-enhancing technology means any technology the Commission determines materially improves transfer capacity or interconnection efficiency, or reduces technical losses, without relying on traditional wires-based transmission expansion, which shall include— (A) dynamic line rating systems; (B) advanced power flow control devices; (C) topology optimization tools and software-based reconfiguration technologies; (D) real-time monitoring and sensing equipment that improves line utilization or visibility; and (E) transformer upgrades, advanced transmission technologies, or reactive power equipment. (6) Interregional interconnection The term interregional interconnection means a transmission facility or interconnection project that enables the transfer of electric energy between two or more transmission planning regions, including connections between any of the Western Interconnection, the Eastern Interconnection, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. (7) Reporting entity The term reporting entity means an entity required to submit a scorecard under this Act. (8) Scorecard The term scorecard means a report required to be submitted by a covered transmission owner, Independent System Operator, Regional Transmission Organization, or transmission planning entity pursuant to section 3. (9) Seam The term seam means a boundary or interface between neighboring transmission systems or grid operators. (10) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy. (11) Transmission planning entity The term transmission planning entity means an entity, other than a RTO or an ISO, that is responsible for planning for the deployment of electric transmission for a transmission planning region. (12) Transmission planning region The term transmission planning region means a geographic area determined by the Commission to satisfy the requirements for the scope of regional transmission planning, as established in or in compliance with the following orders issued by the Commission: (A) Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation by Transmission Owning and Operating Public Utilities published in the Federal Register on October 24, 2012 (77 Fed. Reg. 64890). (B) Building for the Future Through Electric Regional Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation published in the Federal Register on June 11, 2024 (89 Fed. Reg. 49280).