I 

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. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Empowering Electric 

5 Grid Reliability Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TASK FORCE STUDY AND REPORT. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.—Not later 

3 than 3 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

4 the Secretary of Energy shall establish a task force— 

5 (1) to conduct a study on supply chains for es6 sential components of local electric distribution 

7 grids, as identified by the Secretary of Energy, in8 cluding substation transformers and equipment and 

9 downline facilities that deliver retail electric energy 

10 to homes and businesses; and 

11 (2) to submit to the appropriate congressional 

12 committees a report on such study, in accordance 

13 with this section. 

14 (b) STUDY AND REPORT.— 

15 (1) STUDY.—The task force shall conduct a 

16 study that— 

17 (A) identifies, with respect to each supply 

18 chain for an essential component of a local elec19 tric distribution grid, the goods and materials 

20 that are essential to such supply chain; 

21 (B) identifies the manufacturing or other 

22 capabilities necessary to produce the goods and 

23 materials identified under subparagraph (A), 

24 including emerging capabilities; 

25 (C) identifies, with respect to each supply 

26 chain for an essential component of a local elecVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Aug 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5067.IH H5067

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1 tric distribution grid, the defense, intelligence, 

2 cyber, homeland security, health, climate, envi3 ronmental, natural, market, economic, geo4 political, human-rights, or forced-labor risks or 

5 other contingencies that may disrupt, strain, 

6 compromise, or eliminate such supply chain and 

7 that are sufficiently likely to arise so as to re8 quire reasonable preparation for their occur9 rence, including risks— 

10 (i) posed by the reliance of such sup11 ply chain on digital products that may be 

12 vulnerable to failures or exploitation; and 

13 (ii) resulting from the elimination of, 

14 or failure to develop domestically, the ca15 pabilities identified under subparagraph 

16 (B); 

17 (D) reviews the resilience and capacity of 

18 domestic supply chains for essential components 

19 of local electric distribution grids, and the in20 dustrial and agricultural base of the United 

21 States, to support national and economic secu22 rity and emergency preparedness in the event 

23 any of the contingencies identified under sub24 paragraph (C) occurs, including identification 

25 and review of— 


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1 (i) the resilience and capacity of the 

2 manufacturing or other needed capabilities 

3 of the United States, including the ability 

4 to modernize to meet future needs; 

5 (ii) gaps in domestic manufacturing 

6 capabilities, including nonexistent, extinct, 

7 threatened, or single-point-of-failure capa8 bilities; 

9 (iii) any supply chain for an essential 

10 component of a local electric distribution 

11 grid with a single point of failure, single or 

12 dual suppliers, or limited resilience, espe13 cially for subcontractors (as defined under 

14 section 44.101 of title 48, Code of Federal 

15 Regulations); 

16 (iv) the location of key manufacturing 

17 and production assets, with any significant 

18 risks identified under subparagraph (C) 

19 posed by the assets’ physical location; 

20 (v) any exclusive or dominant supply 

21 of goods and materials identified under 

22 subparagraph (A) by or through nations 

23 that are, or are likely to become, un24 friendly or unstable; 


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1 (vi) the availability of substitutes or 

2 alternative sources for goods and materials 

3 identified under subparagraph (A); 

4 (vii) current domestic education and 

5 manufacturing workforce skills for each 

6 supply chain for an essential component of 

7 a local electric distribution grid, and iden8 tified gaps, opportunities, and potential 

9 best practices in meeting the future work10 force needs for such supply chain; 

11 (viii) the need for research and devel12 opment capacity to sustain leadership in 

13 the development of goods and materials 

14 identified under subparagraph (A); and 

15 (ix) the role of transportation systems 

16 in supporting existing supply chains for es17 sential components of local electric dis18 tribution grids and risks associated with 

19 those transportation systems; 

20 (E) examines allied and partner actions re21 garding supply chains for essential components 

22 of local electric distribution grids, including 

23 with respect to the goods and materials identi24 fied under subparagraph (A), and possible ave25 nues for international engagement; and 


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1 (F) identifies a prioritization of the goods 

2 and materials identified under subparagraph 

3 (A) for the purpose of identifying policy rec4 ommendations that is based on— 

5 (i) statutory or regulatory require6 ments; 

7 (ii) importance to national security, 

8 emergency preparedness, and strength9 ening the resilience of supply chains for es10 sential components of local electric dis11 tribution grids; and 

12 (iii) the review conducted pursuant to 

13 subparagraph (D). 

14 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 3 months after 

15 the task force is established, the task force shall 

16 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

17 a report on the study conducted under paragraph 

18 (1) that includes— 

19 (A) specific policy recommendations for en20 suring resilient supply chains for essential com21 ponents of local electric distribution grids, in22 cluding recommendations for— 

23 (i) sustainably reshoring such supply 

24 chains and developing domestic supplies 

25 for such supply chains; 


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1 (ii) cooperating with allies and part2 ners to identify alternative supplies for 

3 such supply chains, including for goods 

4 and materials identified in the study under 

5 paragraph (1)(A); 

6 (iii) building redundancy into domes7 tic supply chains for essential components 

8 of local electric distribution grids; 

9 (iv) ensuring and enlarging stockpiles 

10 of goods and materials identified in the 

11 study under paragraph (1)(A); 

12 (v) developing workforce capabilities 

13 for producing essential components of local 

14 electric distribution grids, including goods 

15 and materials identified in the study under 

16 paragraph (1)(A); 

17 (vi) expanding research and develop18 ment with respect to such supply chains; 

19 and 

20 (vii) addressing risks due to 

21 vulnerabilities in digital products relied on 

22 by any such supply chain; 

23 (B) any recommendations for executive, 

24 legislative, regulatory, and policy changes and 

25 any other actions to— 


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1 (i) strengthen the capabilities identi2 fied in the study under paragraph (1)(B); 

3 and 

4 (ii) prevent, avoid, or prepare for any 

5 of the contingencies identified in the study 

6 under paragraph (1)(C); and 

7 (C) any recommendations for improving 

8 Government-wide efforts to strengthen supply 

9 chains for essential components of local electric 

10 distribution grids, including proposals for co11 ordinating Government actions. 

12 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT14 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com15 mittees’’ means— 

16 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

17 and Transportation of the Senate; 

18 (B) the Committee on Environment and 

19 Public Works of the Senate; 

20 (C) the Committee on Health, Education, 

21 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 

22 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com23 merce of the House of Representatives; and 

24 (E) the Committee on Education and the 

25 Workforce of the House of Representatives. 


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1 (2) SUPPLY CHAIN.—The term ‘‘supply chain’’ 

2 includes, with respect to minerals, the exploration, 

3 mining, concentration, separation, alloying, recy4 cling, and reprocessing of minerals. 

5 (3) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘task force’’ 

6 means the task force established under subsection 

7 (a). 

Æ 


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