I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2417 

To amend the Federal Power Act to protect the bulk-power system and 

electric infrastructure critical to the defense and well-being of the United 

States against natural and manmade electromagnetic pulse (‘‘EMP’’) 

threats and vulnerabilities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 18, 2013 

Mr. FRANKS of Arizona (for himself, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. POSEY, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. BROUN of Georgia, Mr. PITTS, Mr. 

PITTENGER, Mr. LAMALFA, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. STEWART, 

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. JORDAN, Mr. PERRY, Mr. GOSAR, 

Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. FORTENBERRY, and 

Mr. KLINE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 

the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Power Act to protect the bulk-power 

system and electric infrastructure critical to the defense 

and well-being of the United States against natural and 

manmade electromagnetic pulse (‘‘EMP’’) threats and 

vulnerabilities. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Secure High-voltage 

3 Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage Act’’ 

4 or the ‘‘SHIELD Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 The Congress makes the following findings: 

7 (1) According to the Report of the Commission 

8 to Assess the Threat to the United States from 

9 Electromagnetic Pulse Attack (in this Act referred 

10 to as the ‘‘EMP Commission Report’’), the society 

11 and economy of the United States are ‘‘critically de12 pendent upon the availability of electricity.’’. 

13 (2) According to the EMP Commission Report, 

14 ‘‘continued electrical supply is necessary for sus15 taining water supplies, production and distribution 

16 of food, fuel, communications, and everything else 

17 that is part of our economy’’. 

18 (3) According to the EMP Commission Report, 

19 ‘‘contemporary U.S. society is not structured, nor 

20 does it have the means, to provide for the needs of 

21 nearly 300 million Americans without electricity.’’. 

22 (4) According to the EMP Commission Report, 

23 due to the existing electrical system operating at or 

24 near its physical capacity, ‘‘a relatively modest upset 

25 to the system can cause functional collapse.’’. 


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1 (5) According to the EMP Commission Report, 

2 electromagnetic pulse (in this Act referred to as 

3 ‘‘EMP’’) is a threat to the overall electrical power 

4 system. 

5 (6) According to the EMP Commission Report, 

6 EMP occurs both naturally, such as geomagnetic 

7 storms, and via manmade devices. 

8 (7) According to the EMP Commission Report, 

9 while the electric infrastructure ‘‘has a degree of du10 rability against . . . the failure of one or a small 

11 number of [electric] components,’’ the current strat12 egy for recovery leaves the United States ill-prepared 

13 to respond effectively to an EMP attack that would 

14 potentially result in damage to vast numbers of com15 ponents nearly simultaneously over an unprece16 dented geographic scale. 

17 (8) According to the EMP Commission Report, 

18 EMP ‘‘may couple ultimately unmanageable currents 

19 and voltages into an electrical system routinely oper20 ated with little margin and cause the collapse of 

21 large portions of the electrical system.’’. 

22 (9) According to the EMP Commission Report, 

23 a collapse of large portions of the electrical system 

24 will result in significant periods of power-outage and 


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1 ‘‘restoration from collapse or loss of significant por2 tions of the system [will be] exceedingly difficult.’’. 

3 (10) According to the EMP Commission Re4 port, ‘‘should the electrical power system be lost for 

5 any substantial period of time . . . the consequences 

6 are likely to be catastrophic to civilian society.’’. 

7 (11) According to the EMP Commission Re8 port, ‘‘the Commission is deeply concerned that 

9 [negative] impacts [on the electric infrastructure] 

10 are certain in an EMP event unless practical steps 

11 are taken to provide protection for critical elements 

12 of the electric system.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE FEDERAL POWER ACT. 

14 (a) CRITICAL ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE SECU15 RITY.—Part II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 

16 et seq.) is amended by adding after section 215 the fol17 lowing new section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 215A. CRITICAL ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE SECU19 RITY. 

20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) BULK-POWER SYSTEM; ELECTRIC RELI22 ABILITY ORGANIZATION; REGIONAL ENTITY.—The 

23 terms ‘bulk-power system’, ‘Electric Reliability Or24 ganization’, and ‘regional entity’ have the meanings 


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1 given such terms in paragraphs (1), (2), and (7) of 

2 section 215(a), respectively. 

3 ‘‘(2) DEFENSE CRITICAL ELECTRIC INFRA4 STRUCTURE.—The term ‘defense critical electric in5 frastructure’ means any infrastructure located in the 

6 United States (including the territories) used for the 

7 generation, transmission, or distribution of electric 

8 energy that— 

9 ‘‘(A) is not part of the bulk-power system; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) serves a facility designated by the 

12 President pursuant to subsection (d)(1), but is 

13 not owned or operated by the owner or operator 

14 of such facility. 

15 ‘‘(3) DEFENSE CRITICAL ELECTRIC INFRA16 STRUCTURE VULNERABILITY.—The term ‘defense 

17 critical electric infrastructure vulnerability’ means a 

18 weakness in defense critical electric infrastructure 

19 that, in the event of a malicious act using an electro20 magnetic pulse, would pose a substantial risk of dis21 ruption of those electrical or electronic devices or 

22 communications networks, including hardware, soft23 ware, and data, that are essential to the reliability 

24 of defense critical electric infrastructure. 


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1 ‘‘(4) ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE.—The term 

2 ‘electromagnetic pulse’ means 1 or more pulses of 

3 electromagnetic energy generated or emitted by a de4 vice capable of disabling, disrupting, or destroying 

5 electronic equipment by means of such a pulse. 

6 ‘‘(5) GEOMAGNETIC STORM.—The term ‘geo7 magnetic storm’ means a temporary disturbance of 

8 the Earth’s magnetic field resulting from solar activ9 ity. 

10 ‘‘(6) GRID SECURITY THREAT.—The term ‘grid 

11 security threat’ means a substantial likelihood of— 

12 ‘‘(A) a malicious act using an electro13 magnetic pulse, or a geomagnetic storm event, 

14 that could disrupt the operation of those elec15 trical or electronic devices or communications 

16 networks, including hardware, software, and 

17 data, that are essential to the reliability of the 

18 bulk-power system or of defense critical electric 

19 infrastructure; and 

20 ‘‘(B) disruption of the operation of such 

21 devices or networks, with significant adverse ef22 fects on the reliability of the bulk-power system 

23 or of defense critical electric infrastructure, as 

24 a result of such act or event. 


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1 ‘‘(7) GRID SECURITY VULNERABILITY.—The 

2 term ‘grid security vulnerability’ means a weakness 

3 that, in the event of a malicious act using an electro4 magnetic pulse, would pose a substantial risk of dis5 ruption to the operation of those electrical or elec6 tronic devices or communications networks, includ7 ing hardware, software, and data, that are essential 

8 to the reliability of the bulk-power system. 

9 ‘‘(8) LARGE TRANSFORMER.—The term ‘large 

10 transformer’ means an electric transformer that is 

11 part of the bulk-power system. 

12 ‘‘(9) PROTECTED INFORMATION.—The term 

13 ‘protected information’ means information, other 

14 than classified national security information, des15 ignated as protected information by the Commission 

16 under subsection (e)(2)— 

17 ‘‘(A) that was developed or submitted in 

18 connection with the implementation of this sec19 tion; 

20 ‘‘(B) that specifically discusses grid secu21 rity threats, grid security vulnerabilities, de22 fense critical electric infrastructure vulner23 abilities, or plans, procedures, or measures to 

24 address such threats or vulnerabilities; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the unauthorized disclosure of which 

2 could be used in a malicious manner to impair 

3 the reliability of the bulk-power system or of 

4 defense critical electric infrastructure. 

5 ‘‘(10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

6 means the Secretary of Energy. 

7 ‘‘(11) SECURITY.—The definition of ‘security’ 

8 in section 3(16) shall not apply to the provisions in 

9 this section. 

10 ‘‘(b) EMERGENCY RESPONSE MEASURES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO ADDRESS GRID SECURITY

12 THREATS.—Whenever the President issues and pro13 vides to the Commission (either directly or through 

14 the Secretary) a written directive or determination 

15 identifying an imminent grid security threat, the 

16 Commission may, with or without notice, hearing, or 

17 report, issue such orders for emergency measures as 

18 are necessary in its judgment to protect the reli19 ability of the bulk-power system or of defense critical 

20 electric infrastructure against such threat. As soon 

21 as practicable, but not later than 180 days after the 

22 date of enactment of this section, the Commission 

23 shall, after notice and opportunity for comment, es24 tablish rules of procedure that ensure that such au25 thority can be exercised expeditiously. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF CONGRESS.—Whenever 

2 the President issues and provides to the Commission 

3 (either directly or through the Secretary) a written 

4 directive or determination under paragraph (1), the 

5 President (or the Secretary, as the case may be) 

6 shall promptly notify congressional committees of 

7 relevant jurisdiction, including the Committee on 

8 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representa9 tives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re10 sources of the Senate, of the contents of, and jus11 tification for, such directive or determination. 

12 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION.—Before issuing an order 

13 for emergency measures under paragraph (1), the 

14 Commission shall, to the extent practicable in light 

15 of the nature of the grid security threat and the ur16 gency of the need for such emergency measures, con17 sult with the Secretary, other appropriate Federal 

18 agencies, appropriate governmental authorities in 

19 Canada and Mexico, the Electric Reliability Organi20 zation, and entities described in paragraph (4). 

21 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.—An order for emergency 

22 measures under this subsection may apply to— 

23 ‘‘(A) a regional entity; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) any owner, user, or operator of the 

2 bulk-power system or of defense critical electric 

3 infrastructure within the United States. 

4 ‘‘(5) DISCONTINUANCE.—The Commission shall 

5 issue an order discontinuing any emergency meas6 ures ordered under this subsection, effective not 

7 later than 30 days after the earliest of the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) The date upon which the President 

9 issues and provides to the Commission (either 

10 directly or through the Secretary) a written di11 rective or determination that the grid security 

12 threat identified under paragraph (1) no longer 

13 exists. 

14 ‘‘(B) The date upon which the Commission 

15 issues a written determination that the emer16 gency measures are no longer needed to address 

17 the grid security threat identified under para18 graph (1), including by means of Commission 

19 approval of a reliability standard under section 

20 215 that the Commission determines adequately 

21 addresses such threat. 

22 ‘‘(C) The date that is 1 year after the 

23 issuance of an order under paragraph (1). 

24 ‘‘(6) COST RECOVERY.—If the Commission de25 termines that owners, operators, or users of the 


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1 bulk-power system or of defense critical electric in2 frastructure have incurred substantial costs to com3 ply with an order under this subsection or subsection 

4 (c) and that such costs were prudently incurred and 

5 cannot reasonably be recovered through regulated 

6 rates or market prices for the electric energy or 

7 services sold by such owners, operators, or users, the 

8 Commission shall, after notice and an opportunity 

9 for comment, establish a mechanism that permits 

10 such owners, operators, or users to recover such 

11 costs. 

12 ‘‘(c) MEASURES TO ADDRESS GRID SECURITY

13 VULNERABILITIES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION AUTHORITY.— 

15 ‘‘(A) RELIABILITY STANDARDS.—If the 

16 Commission, in consultation with appropriate 

17 Federal agencies, identifies a grid security vul18 nerability that the Commission determines has 

19 not adequately been addressed through a reli20 ability standard developed and approved under 

21 section 215, the Commission shall, after notice 

22 and opportunity for comment and after con23 sultation with the Secretary, other appropriate 

24 Federal agencies, and appropriate governmental 

25 authorities in Canada and Mexico, issue an 


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1 order directing the Electric Reliability Organi2 zation to submit to the Commission for ap3 proval under section 215, not later than 30 

4 days after the issuance of such order, a reli5 ability standard requiring implementation, by 

6 any owner, operator, or user of the bulk-power 

7 system in the United States, of measures to 

8 protect the bulk-power system against such vul9 nerability. Any such standard shall include a 

10 protection plan, including automated hardware11 based solutions. The Commission shall approve 

12 a reliability standard submitted pursuant to 

13 this subparagraph, unless the Commission de14 termines that such reliability standard does not 

15 adequately protect against such vulnerability or 

16 otherwise does not satisfy the requirements of 

17 section 215. 

18 ‘‘(B) MEASURES TO ADDRESS GRID SECU19 RITY VULNERABILITIES.—If the Commission, 

20 after notice and opportunity for comment and 

21 after consultation with the Secretary, other ap22 propriate Federal agencies, and appropriate 

23 governmental authorities in Canada and Mex24 ico, determines that the reliability standard 

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1 tion to address a grid security vulnerability 

2 identified under subparagraph (A) does not 

3 adequately protect the bulk-power system 

4 against such vulnerability, the Commission shall 

5 promulgate a rule or issue an order requiring 

6 implementation, by any owner, operator, or user 

7 of the bulk-power system in the United States, 

8 of measures to protect the bulk-power system 

9 against such vulnerability. Any such rule or 

10 order shall include a protection plan, including 

11 automated hardware-based solutions. Before 

12 promulgating a rule or issuing an order under 

13 this subparagraph, the Commission shall, to the 

14 extent practicable in light of the urgency of the 

15 need for action to address the grid security vul16 nerability, request and consider recommenda17 tions from the Electric Reliability Organization 

18 regarding such rule or order. The Commission 

19 may establish an appropriate deadline for the 

20 submission of such recommendations. 

21 ‘‘(2) RESCISSION.—The Commission shall ap22 prove a reliability standard developed under section 

23 215 that addresses a grid security vulnerability that 

24 is the subject of a rule or order under paragraph 

25 (1)(B), unless the Commission determines that such 


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1 reliability standard does not adequately protect 

2 against such vulnerability or otherwise does not sat3 isfy the requirements of section 215. Upon such ap4 proval, the Commission shall rescind the rule pro5 mulgated or order issued under paragraph (1)(B) 

6 addressing such vulnerability, effective upon the ef7 fective date of the newly approved reliability stand8 ard. 

9 ‘‘(3) GEOMAGNETIC STORMS AND ELECTRO10 MAGNETIC PULSE.—Not later than 6 months after 

11 the date of enactment of this section, the Commis12 sion shall, after notice and an opportunity for com13 ment and after consultation with the Secretary and 

14 other appropriate Federal agencies, issue an order 

15 directing the Electric Reliability Organization to 

16 submit to the Commission for approval under section 

17 215, not later than 6 months after the issuance of 

18 such order, reliability standards adequate to protect 

19 the bulk-power system from any reasonably foresee20 able geomagnetic storm or electromagnetic pulse 

21 event. The Commission’s order shall specify the na22 ture and magnitude of the reasonably foreseeable 

23 events against which such standards must protect. 

24 Such standards shall appropriately balance the risks 

25 to the bulk-power system associated with such 


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1 events, including any regional variation in such 

2 risks, the costs of mitigating such risks, and the pri3 orities and timing associated with implementation. If 

4 the Commission determines that the reliability 

5 standards submitted by the Electric Reliability Or6 ganization pursuant to this paragraph are inad7 equate, the Commission shall promulgate a rule or 

8 issue an order adequate to protect the bulk-power 

9 system from geomagnetic storms or electromagnetic 

10 pulse as required under paragraph (1)(B). 

11 ‘‘(4) LARGE TRANSFORMER AVAILABILITY.— 

12 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

13 of this section, the Commission shall, after notice 

14 and an opportunity for comment and after consulta15 tion with the Secretary and other appropriate Fed16 eral agencies, issue an order directing the Electric 

17 Reliability Organization to submit to the Commis18 sion for approval under section 215, not later than 

19 1 year after the issuance of such order, reliability 

20 standards addressing availability of large trans21 formers. Such standards shall require entities that 

22 own or operate large transformers to ensure, individ23 ually or jointly, adequate availability of large trans24 formers to promptly restore the reliable operation of 

25 the bulk-power system in the event that any such 


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1 transformer is destroyed or disabled as a result of 

2 a geomagnetic storm event or electromagnetic pulse 

3 event. The Commission’s order shall specify the na4 ture and magnitude of the reasonably foreseeable 

5 events that shall provide the basis for such stand6 ards. Such standards shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) provide entities subject to the stand8 ards with the option of meeting such standards 

9 individually or jointly; and 

10 ‘‘(B) appropriately balance the risks asso11 ciated with a reasonably foreseeable event, in12 cluding any regional variation in such risks, and 

13 the costs of ensuring adequate availability of 

14 spare transformers. 

15 ‘‘(d) CRITICAL DEFENSE FACILITIES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 180 days 

17 after the date of enactment of this section, the 

18 President shall designate, in a written directive or 

19 determination provided to the Commission, facilities 

20 located in the United States (including the terri21 tories) that are— 

22 ‘‘(A) critical to the defense of the United 

23 States; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) vulnerable to a disruption of the sup2 ply of electric energy provided to such facility 

3 by an external provider. 

4 The number of facilities designated by such directive 

5 or determination shall not exceed 100. The Presi6 dent may periodically revise the list of designated fa7 cilities through a subsequent written directive or de8 termination provided to the Commission, provided 

9 that the total number of designated facilities at any 

10 time shall not exceed 100. 

11 ‘‘(2) COMMISSION AUTHORITY.—If the Commis12 sion identifies a defense critical electric infrastruc13 ture vulnerability that the Commission, in consulta14 tion with owners and operators of any facility or fa15 cilities designated by the President pursuant to 

16 paragraph (1), determines has not adequately been 

17 addressed through measures undertaken by owners 

18 or operators of defense critical electric infrastruc19 ture, the Commission shall, after notice and an op20 portunity for comment and after consultation with 

21 the Secretary and other appropriate Federal agen22 cies, promulgate a rule or issue an order requiring 

23 implementation, by any owner or operator of defense 

24 critical electric infrastructure, of measures to protect 

25 the defense critical electric infrastructure against 


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1 such vulnerability. The Commission shall exempt 

2 from any such rule or order any specific defense 

3 critical electric infrastructure that the Commission 

4 determines already has been adequately protected 

5 against the identified vulnerability. The Commission 

6 shall make any such determination in consultation 

7 with the owner or operator of the facility designated 

8 by the President pursuant to paragraph (1) that re9 lies upon such defense critical electric infrastructure. 

10 ‘‘(3) COST RECOVERY.—An owner or operator 

11 of defense critical electric infrastructure shall be re12 quired to take measures under paragraph (2) only to 

13 the extent that the owners or operators of a facility 

14 or facilities designated by the President pursuant to 

15 paragraph (1) that rely upon such infrastructure 

16 agree to bear the full incremental costs of compli17 ance with a rule promulgated or order issued under 

18 paragraph (2). 

19 ‘‘(e) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF

21 PROTECTED INFORMATION.—Protected information 

22 shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) be exempt from disclosure under sec24 tion 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) not be made available pursuant to 

2 any State, local, or tribal law requiring disclo3 sure of information or records. 

4 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION SHARING.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the 

6 Controlled Unclassified Information framework 

7 established by the President, the Commission 

8 shall promulgate such regulations and issue 

9 such orders as necessary to designate protected 

10 information and to prohibit the unauthorized 

11 disclosure of such protected information. 

12 ‘‘(B) SHARING OF PROTECTED INFORMA13 TION.—The regulations promulgated and orders 

14 issued pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall pro15 vide standards for and facilitate the appropriate 

16 sharing of protected information with, between, 

17 and by Federal, State, local, and tribal authori18 ties, the Electric Reliability Organization, re19 gional entities, and owners, operators, and 

20 users of the bulk-power system in the United 

21 States and of defense critical electric infrastruc22 ture. In promulgating such regulations and 

23 issuing such orders, the Commission shall take 

24 account of the role of State commissions in re25 viewing the prudence and cost of investments 


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1 within their respective jurisdictions. The Com2 mission shall consult with appropriate Canadian 

3 and Mexican authorities to develop protocols for 

4 the sharing of protected information with, be5 tween, and by appropriate Canadian and Mexi6 can authorities and owners, operators, and 

7 users of the bulk-power system outside the 

8 United States. 

9 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION TO CON10 GRESS.—Nothing in this section shall permit or au11 thorize the withholding of information from Con12 gress, any committee or subcommittee thereof, or 

13 the Comptroller General. 

14 ‘‘(4) DISCLOSURE OF NONPROTECTED INFOR15 MATION.—In implementing this section, the Com16 mission shall protect from disclosure only the min17 imum amount of information necessary to protect 

18 the reliability of the bulk-power system and of de19 fense critical electric infrastructure. The Commission 

20 shall segregate protected information within docu21 ments and electronic communications, wherever fea22 sible, to facilitate disclosure of information that is 

23 not designated as protected information. 

24 ‘‘(5) DURATION OF DESIGNATION.—Informa25 tion may not be designated as protected information 


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1 for longer than 5 years, unless specifically redesig2 nated by the Commission. 

3 ‘‘(6) REMOVAL OF DESIGNATION.—The Com4 mission may remove the designation of protected in5 formation, in whole or in part, from a document or 

6 electronic communication if the unauthorized disclo7 sure of such information could no longer be used to 

8 impair the reliability of the bulk-power system or of 

9 defense critical electric infrastructure. 

10 ‘‘(7) JUDICIAL REVIEW OF DESIGNATIONS.— 

11 Notwithstanding subsection (f) of this section or sec12 tion 313, a person or entity may seek judicial review 

13 of a determination by the Commission concerning 

14 the designation of protected information under this 

15 subsection exclusively in the district court of the 

16 United States in the district in which the complain17 ant resides, or has his principal place of business, or 

18 in the District of Columbia. In such a case the court 

19 shall determine the matter de novo, and may exam20 ine the contents of documents or electronic commu21 nications designated as protected information in 

22 camera to determine whether such documents or any 

23 part thereof were improperly designated as protected 

24 information. The burden is on the Commission to 

25 sustain its designation. 


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1 ‘‘(f) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—The Commission shall act 

2 expeditiously to resolve all applications for rehearing of 

3 orders issued pursuant to this section that are filed under 

4 section 313(a). Any party seeking judicial review pursuant 

5 to section 313 of an order issued under this section may 

6 obtain such review only in the United States Court of Ap7 peals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 

8 ‘‘(g) PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE TO INDUSTRY IN

9 MEETING GRID SECURITY PROTECTION NEEDS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES.—The Sec11 retary shall establish a program, in consultation with 

12 other appropriate Federal agencies, to develop tech13 nical expertise in the protection of systems for the 

14 generation, transmission, and distribution of electric 

15 energy against geomagnetic storms or malicious acts 

16 using electromagnetic pulse that would pose a sub17 stantial risk of disruption to the operation of those 

18 electronic devices or communications networks, in19 cluding hardware, software, and data, that are es20 sential to the reliability of such systems. Such pro21 gram shall include the identification and develop22 ment of appropriate technical and electronic re23 sources, including hardware, software, and system 

24 equipment. 


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1 ‘‘(2) SHARING EXPERTISE.—As appropriate, 

2 the Secretary shall offer to share technical expertise 

3 developed under the program under paragraph (1), 

4 through consultation and assistance, with owners, 

5 operators, or users of systems for the generation, 

6 transmission, or distribution of electric energy lo7 cated in the United States and with State commis8 sions. In offering such support, the Secretary shall 

9 assign higher priority to systems serving facilities 

10 designated by the President pursuant to subsection 

11 (d)(1) and other critical-infrastructure facilities, 

12 which the Secretary shall identify in consultation 

13 with the Commission and other appropriate Federal 

14 agencies. 

15 ‘‘(3) SECURITY CLEARANCES AND COMMUNICA16 TION.—The Secretary shall facilitate and, to the ex17 tent practicable, expedite the acquisition of adequate 

18 security clearances by key personnel of any entity 

19 subject to the requirements of this section to enable 

20 optimum communication with Federal agencies re21 garding grid security threats, grid security 

22 vulnerabilities, and defense critical electric infra23 structure vulnerabilities. The Secretary, the Com24 mission, and other appropriate Federal agencies 

25 shall, to the extent practicable and consistent with 


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1 their obligations to protect classified and protected 

2 information, share timely actionable information re3 garding grid security threats, grid security 

4 vulnerabilities, and defense critical electric infra5 structure vulnerabilities with appropriate key per6 sonnel of owners, operators, and users of the bulk7 power system and of defense critical electric infra8 structure.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

10 (1) JURISDICTION.—Section 201(b)(2) of the 

11 Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824(b)(2)) is amend12 ed by inserting ‘‘215A,’’ after ‘‘215,’’ each place it 

13 appears. 

14 (2) PUBLIC UTILITY.—Section 201(e) of the 

15 Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824(e)) is amended 

16 by inserting ‘‘215A,’’ after ‘‘215,’’. 

17 SEC. 4. BUDGETARY COMPLIANCE. 

18 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

19 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

20 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

21 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

22 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

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1 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

2 vote on passage. 

Æ 


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