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[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5541 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5541

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 10, 2020

  Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
   To amend the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to reauthorize programs to 
assist consenting Indian Tribes in meeting energy education, planning, 
             and management needs, 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 ``Tribal Power Act''.

SEC. 2. INDIAN ENERGY.

    (a) Definition of Indian Land.--Section 2601(2) of the Energy 
Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking ``and'';
            (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``land.'' and 
        inserting ``land;''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following subparagraphs:
                    ``(D) any land located in a census tract in which 
                the majority of residents are Natives (as defined in 
                section 3(b) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 
                (43 U.S.C. 1602(b))); and
                    ``(E) any land located in a census tract in which 
                the majority of residents are persons who are enrolled 
                members of a federally recognized Tribe or village.''.
    (b) Reduction of Cost Share.--Section 2602(b)(5) of the Energy 
Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3502(b)(5)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following subparagraphs:
            ``(D) The Secretary of Energy may reduce any applicable 
        cost share required of an Indian tribe, intertribal 
        organization, or tribal energy development organization in 
        order to receive a grant under this subsection to not less than 
        10 percent if the Indian tribe, intertribal organization, or 
        tribal energy development organization meets criteria developed 
        by the Secretary of Energy, including financial need.
            ``(E) Section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
        U.S.C. 16352) shall not apply to assistance provided under this 
        subsection.''.
    (c) Authorization.--Section 2602(b)(7) of the Energy Policy Act of 
1992 (25 U.S.C. 3502(b)(7)) is amended by striking ``$20,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2006 through 2016'' and inserting ``$30,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025''.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON ELECTRICITY ACCESS AND RELIABILITY.

    (a) Assessment.--The Secretary of Energy shall conduct an 
assessment of the status of access to electricity by households 
residing in Tribal communities or on Indian land, and the reliability 
of electric service available to households residing in Tribal 
communities or on Indian land, as compared to the status of access to 
and reliability of electricity within neighboring States or within the 
State in which Indian land is located.
    (b) Consultation.--The Secretary of Energy shall consult with 
Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, the North American Electricity 
Reliability Corporation, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
in the development and conduct of the assessment under subsection (a). 
Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations shall have the opportunity to 
review and make recommendations regarding the development of the 
assessment and the findings of the assessment, prior to the submission 
of the report under subsection (c).
    (c) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Energy 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 results 
of the assessment conducted under subsection (a), which shall include--
            (1) a description of generation, transmission, and 
        distribution assets available to provide electricity to 
        households residing in Tribal communities or on Indian land;
            (2) a survey of the retail and wholesale prices of 
        electricity available to households residing in Tribal 
        communities or on Indian land;
            (3) a description of participation of Tribal members in the 
        electric utility workforce, including the workforce for 
        construction and maintenance of renewable energy resources and 
        distributed energy resources;
            (4) the percentage of households residing in Tribal 
        communities or on Indian land that do not have access to 
        electricity;
            (5) the potential of distributed energy resources to 
        provide electricity to households residing in Tribal 
        communities or on Indian land;
            (6) the potential for tribally-owned electric utilities or 
        electric utility assets to participate in or benefit from 
        regional electricity markets;
            (7) a description of the barriers to providing access to 
        electric service to households residing in Tribal communities 
        or on Indian land; and
            (8) recommendations to improve access to and reliability of 
        electric service for households residing in Tribal communities 
        or on Indian land.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Tribal member.--The term ``Tribal member'' means a 
        person who is an enrolled member of a federally recognized 
        Tribe or village.
            (2) Tribal community.--The term ``Tribal community'' means 
        a community in a United States census tract in which the 
        majority of residents are persons who are enrolled members of a 
        federally recognized Tribe or village.

            Passed the House of Representatives December 9, 2020.

            Attest:

                                             CHERYL L. JOHNSON,

                                                                 Clerk.
```