Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Securing Community Upgrades for a Resilient Grid Act” or the “SECURE Grid Act”.
Securing Community Upgrades for a Resilient Grid Act
A BILL
To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to require States to include supporting the physical security, cybersecurity, and resilience of local distribution systems in State energy security plans, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Consideration of the security of local distribution systems in State energy security plans
Section 366 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6326) is amended—
in subsection (a)—
by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and
by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
“(2) Local distribution system—The term local distribution system means any energy infrastructure owned and operated by an electric utility at a voltage of 100 kilovolts or less.”
in subsection (b)(2), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting “, and suppliers of equipment for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity to,” after “owners and operators of”;
in subsection (c)—
by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
“(3) address potential hazards to each energy sector or system, including—
“(A) physical threats and vulnerabilities, including—
“(i) weather-related threats and vulnerabilities;
“(ii) physical attacks on local distribution systems and the bulk-power system; and
“(iii) supply chain risks for equipment for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity; and
“(B) cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities, including threats to, and vulnerabilities of, local distribution systems that may impact the bulk-power system;”
by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following:
“(5) provide a risk mitigation approach to enhance reliability and end-use resilience, including methods of responding to, mitigating, and recovering from potential hazards described in paragraph (3); and”
in subsection (d)(3)—
in subparagraph (A), by striking “and” at the end;
by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C); and
by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
“(B) supplying equipment for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity; and”
in subsection (e)—
in paragraph (2), by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and indenting appropriately;
by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indenting appropriately;
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) (as so designated), by striking “A State is not eligible” and inserting the following:
“(1) Submission required—A State is not eligible”
by adding at the end the following:
“(2) State determination—A submission under paragraph (1) is not required to be approved by the Secretary.”
in subsection (f), by striking “may” and inserting “shall”;
in subsection (h), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting “, local distribution system,” after “electric utility”; and
by striking subsection (i) and inserting the following:
“(i) Sunset—This section shall expire on September 30, 2031.”
Sec. 3 GAO report
Definition of State energy security plan— In this section, the term State energy security plan has the meaning given the term in section 366(a) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6326(a)).
Report— Not later than September 30, 2030, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on the efficacy of State energy security plans that includes—
an evaluation of whether and how State energy security plans have improved the ability of States—
to identify, assess, and mitigate risks to energy infrastructure and supply chains; and
to plan for, respond to, and recover from events that disrupt energy supply;
recommendations for—
improving the ability of States described in paragraph (1); and
actions the Secretary of Energy may take to improve coordination with States with respect to identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks to energy infrastructure and supply chains and planning for, responding to, and recovering from events that disrupt energy supply;
information on Federal financial assistance made available to States under part D of title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.) that was used to implement State energy security plans;
information on activities carried out by States using that financial assistance;
an analysis of the efficacy of the implementation of section 366 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6326) (as amended by this Act); and
information on State use of assistance provided under section 366(f) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6326(f)) (as amended by this Act), including any revisions of State energy security plans made by States resulting from assistance provided under that section.
Protected information— The report required under subsection (b) shall be submitted in a form that may be made available to the public, except that any information protected from disclosure under section 366(h) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6326(h)) shall be included in the report in an annex that shall not be publicly disclosed, consistent with that section.