Empowering Electric Grid Reliability Act
This bill directs the Department of Energy to establish a task force to study and report on supply chains for essential components of local electric distribution grids, including substation transformers, equipment, and facilities that deliver retail electric energy to homes and businesses.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5067 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5067
To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a task force to study
and report on supply chains for local electric distribution grids in
the United States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 27, 2023
Mr. Wittman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a task force to study
and report on supply chains for local electric distribution grids in
the United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Empowering Electric Grid Reliability
Act''.
SEC. 2. TASK FORCE STUDY AND REPORT.
(a) Establishment of Task Force.--Not later than 3 months after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall establish
a task force--
(1) to conduct a study on supply chains for essential
components of local electric distribution grids, as identified
by the Secretary of Energy, including substation transformers
and equipment and downline facilities that deliver retail
electric energy to homes and businesses; and
(2) to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report on such study, in accordance with this section.
(b) Study and Report.--
(1) Study.--The task force shall conduct a study that--
(A) identifies, with respect to each supply chain
for an essential component of a local electric
distribution grid, the goods and materials that are
essential to such supply chain;
(B) identifies the manufacturing or other
capabilities necessary to produce the goods and
materials identified under subparagraph (A), including
emerging capabilities;
(C) identifies, with respect to each supply chain
for an essential component of a local electric
distribution grid, the defense, intelligence, cyber,
homeland security, health, climate, environmental,
natural, market, economic, geopolitical, human-rights,
or forced-labor risks or other contingencies that may
disrupt, strain, compromise, or eliminate such supply
chain and that are sufficiently likely to arise so as
to require reasonable preparation for their occurrence,
including risks--
(i) posed by the reliance of such supply
chain on digital products that may be
vulnerable to failures or exploitation; and
(ii) resulting from the elimination of, or
failure to develop domestically, the
capabilities identified under subparagraph (B);
(D) reviews the resilience and capacity of domestic
supply chains for essential components of local
electric distribution grids, and the industrial and
agricultural base of the United States, to support
national and economic security and emergency
preparedness in the event any of the contingencies
identified under subparagraph (C) occurs, including
identification and review of--
(i) the resilience and capacity of the
manufacturing or other needed capabilities of
the United States, including the ability to
modernize to meet future needs;
(ii) gaps in domestic manufacturing
capabilities, including nonexistent, extinct,
threatened, or single-point-of-failure
capabilities;
(iii) any supply chain for an essential
component of a local electric distribution grid
with a single point of failure, single or dual
suppliers, or limited resilience, especially
for subcontractors (as defined under section
44.101 of title 48, Code of Federal
Regulations);
(iv) the location of key manufacturing and
production assets, with any significant risks
identified under subparagraph (C) posed by the
assets' physical location;
(v) any exclusive or dominant supply of
goods and materials identified under
subparagraph (A) by or through nations that
are, or are likely to become, unfriendly or
unstable;
(vi) the availability of substitutes or
alternative sources for goods and materials
identified under subparagraph (A);
(vii) current domestic education and
manufacturing workforce skills for each supply
chain for an essential component of a local
electric distribution grid, and identified
gaps, opportunities, and potential best
practices in meeting the future workforce needs
for such supply chain;
(viii) the need for research and
development capacity to sustain leadership in
the development of goods and materials
identified under subparagraph (A); and
(ix) the role of transportation systems in
supporting existing supply chains for essential
components of local electric distribution grids
and risks associated with those transportation
systems;
(E) examines allied and partner actions regarding
supply chains for essential components of local
electric distribution grids, including with respect to
the goods and materials identified under subparagraph
(A), and possible avenues for international engagement;
and
(F) identifies a prioritization of the goods and
materials identified under subparagraph (A) for the
purpose of identifying policy recommendations that is
based on--
(i) statutory or regulatory requirements;
(ii) importance to national security,
emergency preparedness, and strengthening the
resilience of supply chains for essential
components of local electric distribution
grids; and
(iii) the review conducted pursuant to
subparagraph (D).
(2) Report.--Not later than 3 months after the task force
is established, the task force shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on the study conducted under
paragraph (1) that includes--
(A) specific policy recommendations for ensuring
resilient supply chains for essential components of
local electric distribution grids, including
recommendations for--
(i) sustainably reshoring such supply
chains and developing domestic supplies for
such supply chains;
(ii) cooperating with allies and partners
to identify alternative supplies for such
supply chains, including for goods and
materials identified in the study under
paragraph (1)(A);
(iii) building redundancy into domestic
supply chains for essential components of local
electric distribution grids;
(iv) ensuring and enlarging stockpiles of
goods and materials identified in the study
under paragraph (1)(A);
(v) developing workforce capabilities for
producing essential components of local
electric distribution grids, including goods
and materials identified in the study under
paragraph (1)(A);
(vi) expanding research and development
with respect to such supply chains; and
(vii) addressing risks due to
vulnerabilities in digital products relied on
by any such supply chain;
(B) any recommendations for executive, legislative,
regulatory, and policy changes and any other actions
to--
(i) strengthen the capabilities identified
in the study under paragraph (1)(B); and
(ii) prevent, avoid, or prepare for any of
the contingencies identified in the study under
paragraph (1)(C); and
(C) any recommendations for improving Government-
wide efforts to strengthen supply chains for essential
components of local electric distribution grids,
including proposals for coordinating Government
actions.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Environment and Public Works
of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives; and
(E) the Committee on Education and the Workforce of
the House of Representatives.
(2) Supply chain.--The term ``supply chain'' includes, with
respect to minerals, the exploration, mining, concentration,
separation, alloying, recycling, and reprocessing of minerals.
(3) Task force.--The term ``task force'' means the task
force established under subsection (a).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security.
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