S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4590
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 10, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
   cations
 
 AN ACT in relation to establishing the New York state grid modernization
   commission
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. New York state grid modernization  commission.  (a)  Within
 one  hundred eighty days of the effective date of this act, the New York
 state grid modernization commission shall be established.
   (b) The New York state grid modernization commission shall consist of:
 (i) the chief executive officer of the department of public  service  or
 their  chosen designee, (ii) the commissioner of environmental conserva-
 tion or their chosen designee, (iii) the commissioner of economic devel-
 opment or their chosen designee, (iv) the commissioner of transportation
 or their chosen designee, (v) the commissioner of labor or their  chosen
 designee, (vi) the commissioner of the division of homeland security and
 emergency  services  or their chosen designee, (vii) the commissioner of
 agriculture and markets or their chosen designee, (viii) the commission-
 er of health or their chosen designee, (ix) the secretary  of  state  or
 their  chosen  designee,  (x) the president of the power of authority or
 their chosen designee, (xi) the president of the New York  state  energy
 research  and  development  authority or their chosen designee and (xii)
 two representatives  appointed  by  the  governor,  two  representatives
 appointed  by  the  temporary  president of the senate and two represen-
 tatives appointed by the speaker of the assembly as well as  one  repre-
 sentative  appointed by the minority leader of the senate and one repre-
 sentative appointed by the  minority  leader  of  the  assembly.    Such
 members shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of subdivi-
 sion (c) of this section.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01626-01-5
 S. 4590                             2
              

 
   (c)  The  grid  modernization  commission  shall  include members from
 communities of color, low-income communities,  and  communities  bearing
 disproportionate  pollution  and  climate  change  burdens,  or shall be
 representatives of community-based organizations with experience  and  a
 history  of  advocacy on environmental justice issues, and shall include
 at least two representatives from New York city communities, two  repre-
 sentatives  from rural communities, and two representatives from upstate
 New York urban communities.  Such representatives shall have  experience
 in  one  or  more  of the following fields: economics, engineering, law,
 utility regulation, consumer advocacy, or environmental management.
   (d) Members of the grid modernization commission shall  serve  without
 compensation,  but  shall  be  reimbursed  for  the necessary and actual
 expenses incurred in the performance of duties as members of the commis-
 sion.
   (e) The grid modernization commission shall meet biannually.
   § 2. (a) The grid modernization commission shall, in consultation with
 the department of public service, conduct a study of research,  develop-
 ment, and demonstrations of electric grid modernization that address the
 principal challenges identified in the New York Independent System Oper-
 ator's  2021-2040  System  & Resource Outlook and any subsequent twenty-
 year comprehensive reliability plans. The study  shall  identify  tools,
 resources,  and  deployment  models that may enable improved performance
 through the adoption of emerging,  commercially  available  or  advanced
 grid technologies or solutions, including but not limited to:
   (i) micro-grids;
   (ii) distributed energy resources;
   (iii) energy storage;
   (iv) electric vehicles;
   (v) electric vehicle charging infrastructure;
   (vi) integrated information and communications systems;
   (vii) transactive energy systems;
   (viii) advanced demand management systems;
   (ix)  the  role of the speed of interconnection to the distribution or
 bulk system in enabling a robust future electric grid;
   (x) the role of state and local regulatory authorities in  enabling  a
 robust future electric grid to ensure that:
   (A) electric utilities remain financially viable;
   (B) electric utilities make the needed investments that ensure a reli-
 able, secure, and resilient grid; and
   (C)  costs  incurred  to transform to an integrated grid are allocated
 and recovered responsibly, efficiently, and equitably; and
   (xi) any other technologies, solutions, or strategies that the commis-
 sion deems important to modernizing the grid.
   (b) The grid modernization commission shall solicit input from  stake-
 holders, including but not limited to:
   (i) local governments;
   (ii) municipal utilities;
   (iii) utility companies;
   (iv) rural electric cooperatives;
   (v) labor unions;
   (vi) ratepayers;
   (vii) trade associations;
   (viii) generators;
   (ix) community organizations; and
   (x) transmission owners.
 S. 4590                             3

   (c)  The  grid modernization commission shall hold at least one public
 hearing in the preparation of the study and may base study  findings  on
 existing literature.
   (d) Any expenses associated with the reimbursement of the grid modern-
 ization  commission  members shall be borne by the New York state energy
 research and development authority.
   (e) No later than eighteen months after the  effective  date  of  this
 act, the grid modernization commission shall issue a report on the find-
 ings  of  its  study  to  the state energy planning board containing any
 recommendations appropriate for consideration in the development of  the
 state  energy  plan.  The  grid  modernization commission shall issue an
 annual report following the submission of  its  initial  report  to  the
 state  energy  planning  board with any necessary updates.  Such reports
 shall be posted on the authority's website and be issued to  the  tempo-
 rary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly.
   §  3.  The grid modernization commission shall make recommendations to
 the New York state energy research and development authority  of  grants
 that  the  authority  may make to carry out eligible projects related to
 the modernization of the electric grid, including but not limited to the
 application of technologies to improve observability, advanced controls,
 and prediction of system performance on the distribution system.
   § 4. In the development of the state energy  plan,  the  state  energy
 planning  board shall consult with the grid modernization commission and
 consider the reasonableness, efficacy and expense of  including  in  the
 state  energy  plan the recommendations contained in the grid moderniza-
 tion commission's report issued pursuant to this act.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.