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H.R. 7266 · House bill · 119th Congress
This bill reauthorizes through FY2030 a program that provides cybersecurity-related assistance and funding to rural electric cooperatives and municipal or small, investor-owned electric utilities. The bill also revises methods of awarding support and expands protections for information shared under the program.
This program, known as the Rural and Municipal Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program, is administered by the Department of Energy (DOE). Current law requires DOE to provide technical assistance and funding under the program on a competitive basis; under the bill, assistance and funding may be provided on a competitive or noncompetitive basis.
Current law also requires DOE to prioritize providing technical assistance and funding to certain entities, including entities that own defense critical electric infrastructure. The bill specifies that DOE must also prioritize entities that operate such infrastructure. (Defense critical electric infrastructure is electric infrastructure that (1) is located in the contiguous United States, and (2) serves a designated critical defense facility but is not owned or operated by the owner or operator of the critical facility.)
Finally, the bill expands an existing protection against disclosure to cover all information shared under the program by or with the federal government or a state, tribal, or local government. This provision protects against disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act and other state, tribal, or local disclosure laws.
This Act may be cited as the “Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act”.
Section 40124 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C. 18723) is amended to read as follows:
“40124. Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program.—
(a) Definitions.— In this section:
(1) Advanced cybersecurity technology.— The term advanced cybersecurity technology means any technology, operational capability, or service, including computer hardware, software, or a related asset, that enhances the security posture of electric utilities through improvements in the ability to protect against, detect, respond to, or recover from a cybersecurity threat.
(2) Bulk-power system.— The term bulk-power system has the meaning given the term in section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act.
(3) Cybersecurity threat.— The term cybersecurity threat has the meaning given the term in section 2200 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
(4) Defense critical electric infrastructure.— The term defense critical electric infrastructure has the meaning given the term in section 215A(a) of the Federal Power Act.
(5) Eligible entity.— The term eligible entity means—
(A) a rural electric cooperative;
(B) an electric utility owned by a political subdivision of a State, such as a municipally owned electric utility;
(C) an electric utility owned by any agency, authority, corporation, or instrumentality of 1 or more political subdivisions of a State;
(D) a not-for-profit entity that is in a partnership with not fewer than 6 entities described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C); and
(E) an investor-owned electric utility that sells less than 4,000,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year.
(6) Program.— The term Program means the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program established under subsection (b).
(b) Establishment.— The Secretary shall maintain a program, to be known as the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program, to provide technical assistance and award funding, including grants, cooperative agreements, and prizes, to eligible entities to protect against, detect, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity threats.
(c) Objectives.— The objectives of the Program shall be—
(1) to deploy advanced cybersecurity technologies for electric utility systems; and
(2) to increase the participation of eligible entities in cybersecurity threat information sharing programs.
(d) Awards.—
(1) In general.— In carrying out the Program, the Secretary—
(A) shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, provide technical assistance, and award funding, including grants, cooperative agreements, and prizes, to eligible entities on a competitive or noncompetitive basis;
(B) shall develop criteria for providing such technical assistance and awarding such funding;
(C) may enter into agreements that can facilitate the objectives described in subsection (c) with eligible entities to provide technical assistance or award funding, including grants, cooperative agreements, and prizes; and
(D) shall establish a process to ensure, to the extent practicable, that all eligible entities are informed about opportunities to receive technical assistance or funding, including grants, cooperative agreements, and prizes.
(2) Priority for funding and technical assistance.— In providing technical assistance and awarding funding, including grants, cooperative agreements, and prizes, under the Program, the Secretary shall give priority to an eligible entity that, as determined by the Secretary—
(A) has limited cybersecurity resources;
(B) owns assets critical to the reliability of the bulk-power system; or
(C) owns or operates defense critical electric infrastructure.
(e) Protection of information.— Information shared by or with the Federal Government or a State, Tribal, or local government under the Program shall be deemed voluntarily shared information and exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom of Information Act), or any provision of any State, Tribal, or local freedom of information law, open government law, open meetings law, open records law, sunshine law, or similar law requiring the disclosure of information or records.
(f) Authorization of appropriations.— There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $250,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.”.