gate a rule or issue an order requiring the imple-
mentation, by any owner, user, or operator of the 
bulk-power system in the United States, of such 
measures as are necessary to protect the bulk-power 
system against the vulnerabilities identified in the 
June 21, 2007, communication to certain ‘Electricity 
Sector Owners and Operators’ from the North 
American Electric Reliability Corporation, acting in 
its capacity as the Electricity Sector Information 
and Analysis Center. 
‘‘(3) RESCISSION.—The Commission shall ap-
prove a reliability standard developed under section 
215 that addresses a grid security vulnerability that 
is the subject of a rule or order under paragraph (1) 
or (2), unless the Commission determines that such 
reliability standard does not adequately protect 
against such vulnerability or otherwise does not sat-
isfy the requirements of section 215. Upon such ap-
proval, the Commission shall rescind the rule pro-
mulgated or order issued under paragraph (1) or (2) 
addressing such vulnerability, effective upon the ef-
fective date of the newly approved reliability stand-
ard. 
‘‘(4) LARGE
TRANSFORMER
AVAILABILITY.— 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
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of this section, the Commission shall, after notice 
and an opportunity for comment and after consulta-
tion with the Secretary and other appropriate Fed-
eral agencies, issue an order directing the Electric 
Reliability Organization to submit to the Commis-
sion for approval under section 215, not later than 
1 year after the issuance of such order, reliability 
standards addressing availability of large trans-
formers. Such standards shall require entities that 
own or operate large transformers to ensure, individ-
ually or jointly, adequate availability of large trans-
formers to promptly restore the reliable operation of 
the bulk-power system in the event that any such 
transformer is destroyed or disabled as a result of 
a reasonably foreseeable physical or other attack or 
geomagnetic storm event. The Commission’s order 
shall specify the nature and magnitude of the rea-
sonably foreseeable attacks or events that shall pro-
vide the basis for such standards. Such standards 
shall— 
‘‘(A) provide entities subject to the stand-
ards with the option of meeting such standards 
individually or jointly; and 
‘‘(B) appropriately balance the risks asso-
ciated with a reasonably foreseeable attack or 
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event, including any regional variation in such 
risks, and the costs of ensuring adequate avail-
ability of spare transformers. 
‘‘(d) CRITICAL DEFENSE FACILITIES.— 
‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this section, the 
President shall designate, in a written directive or 
determination provided to the Commission, facilities 
located in the United States (including the terri-
tories) that are— 
‘‘(A) critical to the defense of the United 
States; and 
‘‘(B) vulnerable to a disruption of the sup-
ply of electric energy provided to such facility 
by an external provider. 
The number of facilities designated by such directive 
or determination shall not exceed 100. The Presi-
dent may periodically revise the list of designated fa-
cilities through a subsequent written directive or de-
termination provided to the Commission, provided 
that the total number of designated facilities at any 
time shall not exceed 100. 
‘‘(2) COMMISSION AUTHORITY.—If the Commis-
sion identifies a defense critical electric infrastruc-
ture vulnerability that the Commission, in consulta-
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tion with owners and operators of any facility or fa-
cilities designated by the President pursuant to 
paragraph (1), determines has not adequately been 
addressed through measures undertaken by owners 
or operators of defense critical electric infrastruc-
ture, the Commission shall, after notice and an op-
portunity for comment and after consultation with 
the Secretary and other appropriate Federal agen-
cies, promulgate a rule or issue an order requiring 
implementation, by any owner or operator of defense 
critical electric infrastructure, of measures to protect 
the defense critical electric infrastructure against 
such vulnerability. The Commission shall exempt 
from any such rule or order any specific defense 
critical electric infrastructure that the Commission 
determines already has been adequately protected 
against the identified vulnerability. The Commission 
shall make any such determination in consultation 
with the owner or operator of the facility designated 
by the President pursuant to paragraph (1) that re-
lies upon such defense critical electric infrastructure. 
‘‘(3) COST RECOVERY.—An owner or operator 
of defense critical electric infrastructure shall be re-
quired to take measures under paragraph (2) only to 
the extent that the owners or operators of a facility 
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or facilities designated by the President pursuant to 
paragraph (1) that rely upon such infrastructure 
agree to bear the full incremental costs of compli-
ance with a rule promulgated or order issued under 
paragraph (2). 
‘‘(e) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF 
PROTECTED
INFORMATION.—Protected 
informa-
tion— 
‘‘(A) shall be exempt from disclosure under 
section 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code; 
and 
‘‘(B) shall not be made available pursuant 
to any State, local, or tribal law requiring dis-
closure of information or records. 
‘‘(2) INFORMATION SHARING.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Consistent with the 
Controlled Unclassified Information framework 
established by the President, the Commission 
shall promulgate such regulations and issue 
such orders as necessary to designate protected 
information and to prohibit the unauthorized 
disclosure of such protected information. 
‘‘(B) SHARING OF PROTECTED INFORMA-
TION.—The regulations promulgated and orders 
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issued pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall pro-
vide standards for and facilitate the appropriate 
sharing of protected information with, between, 
and by Federal, State, local, and tribal authori-
ties, the Electric Reliability Organization, re-
gional entities, and owners, operators, and 
users of the bulk-power system in the United 
States and of defense critical electric infrastruc-
ture. In promulgating such regulations and 
issuing such orders, the Commission shall take 
account of the role of State commissions in re-
viewing the prudence and cost of investments 
within their respective jurisdictions. The Com-
mission shall consult with appropriate Canadian 
and Mexican authorities to develop protocols for 
the sharing of protected information with, be-
tween, and by appropriate Canadian and Mexi-
can authorities and owners, operators, and 
users of the bulk-power system outside the 
United States. 
‘‘(3) SUBMISSION
OF
INFORMATION
TO
CON-
GRESS.—Nothing in this section shall permit or au-
thorize the withholding of information from Con-
gress, any committee or subcommittee thereof, or 
the Comptroller General. 
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‘‘(4) DISCLOSURE OF NON-PROTECTED INFOR-
MATION.—In implementing this section, the Com-
mission shall protect from disclosure only the min-
imum amount of information necessary to protect 
the reliability of the bulk-power system and of de-
fense critical electric infrastructure. The Commission 
shall segregate protected information within docu-
ments and electronic communications, wherever fea-
sible, to facilitate disclosure of information that is 
not designated as protected information. 
‘‘(5) DURATION
OF
DESIGNATION.—Informa-
tion may not be designated as protected information 
for longer than 5 years, unless specifically redesig-
nated by the Commission. 
‘‘(6) REMOVAL OF DESIGNATION.—The Com-
mission may remove the designation of protected in-
formation, in whole or in part, from a document or 
electronic communication if the unauthorized disclo-
sure of such information could no longer be used to 
impair the reliability of the bulk-power system or of 
defense critical electric infrastructure. 
‘‘(7) JUDICIAL
REVIEW
OF
DESIGNATIONS.— 
Notwithstanding subsection (f) of this section or sec-
tion 313, a person or entity may seek judicial review 
of a determination by the Commission concerning 
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the designation of protected information under this 
subsection exclusively in the district court of the 
United States in the district in which the complain-
ant resides, or has his principal place of business, or 
in the District of Columbia. In such a case the court 
shall determine the matter de novo, and may exam-
ine the contents of documents or electronic commu-
nications designated as protected information in 
camera to determine whether such documents or any 
part thereof were improperly designated as protected 
information. The burden is on the Commission to 
sustain its designation. 
‘‘(f) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—The Commission shall act 
expeditiously to resolve all applications for rehearing of 
orders issued pursuant to this section that are filed under 
section 313(a). Any party seeking judicial review pursuant 
to section 313 of an order issued under this section may 
obtain such review only in the United States Court of Ap-
peals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 
‘‘(g) PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE TO INDUSTRY IN 
MEETING GRID SECURITY PROTECTION NEEDS.— 
‘‘(1) EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES.—The Sec-
retary shall establish a program, in consultation with 
other appropriate Federal agencies, to develop tech-
nical expertise in the protection of systems for the 
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generation, transmission, and distribution of electric 
energy against geomagnetic storms or malicious acts 
using electronic communications or electromagnetic 
pulse that would pose a substantial risk of disrup-
tion to the operation of those electronic devices or 
communications networks, including hardware, soft-
ware, and data, that are essential to the reliability 
of such systems. Such program shall include the 
identification and development of appropriate tech-
nical and electronic resources, including hardware, 
software, and system equipment. 
‘‘(2) SHARING
EXPERTISE.—As appropriate, 
the Secretary shall offer to share technical expertise 
developed under the program under paragraph (1), 
through consultation and assistance, with owners, 
operators, or users of systems for the generation, 
transmission, or distribution of electric energy lo-
cated in the United States and with State commis-
sions. In offering such support, the Secretary shall 
assign higher priority to systems serving facilities 
designated by the President pursuant to subsection 
(d)(1) and other critical-infrastructure facilities, 
which the Secretary shall identify in consultation 
with the Commission and other appropriate Federal 
agencies. 
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‘‘(3) SECURITY CLEARANCES AND COMMUNICA-
TION.—The Secretary shall facilitate and, to the ex-
tent practicable, expedite the acquisition of adequate 
security clearances by key personnel of any entity 
subject to the requirements of this section to enable 
optimum communication with Federal agencies re-
garding 
grid 
security 
threats, 
grid 
security 
vulnerabilities, and defense critical electric infra-
structure vulnerabilities. The Secretary, the Com-
mission, and other appropriate Federal agencies 
shall, to the extent practicable and consistent with 
their obligations to protect classified and protected 
information, share timely actionable information re-
garding 
grid 
security 
threats, 
grid 
security 
vulnerabilities, and defense critical electric infra-
structure vulnerabilities with appropriate key per-
sonnel of owners, operators, and users of the bulk- 
power system and of defense critical electric infra-
structure. 
‘‘(h) CERTAIN FEDERAL ENTITIES.—For the 11-year 
period commencing on the date of enactment of this sec-
tion, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Bonneville 
Power Administration shall be exempt from any require-
ment under subsection (b) or (c) (except for any require-
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ment addressing a malicious act using electronic commu-
nication).’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) JURISDICTION.—Section 201(b)(2) of the 
Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824(b)(2)) is amend-
ed by inserting ‘‘215A,’’ after ‘‘215,’’ each place it 
appears. 
(2) PUBLIC
UTILITY.—Section 201(e) of the 
Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824(e)) is amended 
by inserting ‘‘215A,’’ after ‘‘215,’’. 
Æ 
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