IIB 
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 Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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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 subpara-
graphs: 
‘‘(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, 
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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 devel-
opment 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 assist-
ance provided under this subsection.’’. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 2602(b)(7) of the En-
ergy Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3502(b)(7)) is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 
through 2016’’ and inserting ‘‘$30,000,000 for each of fis-
cal years 2021 through 2025’’. 
SEC. 3. REPORT ON ELECTRICITY ACCESS AND RELI-
ABILITY. 
(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. 
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(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 devel-
opment and conduct of the assessment under subsection 
(a). Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations shall have the 
opportunity to review and make recommendations regard-
ing 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; 
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(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 utili-
ties or electric utility assets to participate in or ben-
efit from regional electricity markets; 
(7) a description of the barriers to providing ac-
cess 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 mem-
ber’’ means a person who is an enrolled member of 
a federally recognized Tribe or village. 
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(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 rec-
ognized Tribe or village. 
Passed the House of Representatives December 9, 
2020. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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