II 
Calendar No. 559 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 359 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 30 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 29), 2020 
Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 
AN ACT 
To provide for certain programs and developments in the 
Department of Energy concerning the cybersecurity and 
vulnerabilities of, and physical threats to, the electric 
grid, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Enhancing Grid Secu-
rity through Public-Private Partnerships Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PROGRAM TO PROMOTE AND ADVANCE PHYSICAL 
SECURITY AND CYBERSECURITY OF ELEC-
TRIC UTILITIES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Energy, in 
coordination with relevant Federal agencies and in con-
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sultation with State regulatory authorities, industry stake-
holders, and the Electric Reliability Organization, as the 
Secretary determines appropriate, shall carry out a pro-
gram to— 
(1) develop, and provide for voluntary imple-
mentation of, maturity models, self-assessments, and 
auditing methods for assessing the physical security 
and cybersecurity of electric utilities; 
(2) provide training to electric utilities to ad-
dress and mitigate cybersecurity supply chain man-
agement risks; 
(3) increase opportunities for sharing best prac-
tices and data collection within the electric sector; 
(4) assist with cybersecurity training for electric 
utilities; 
(5) advance the cybersecurity of third-party 
vendors that work in partnerships with electric utili-
ties; and 
(6) provide technical assistance for electric utili-
ties subject to the program. 
(b) SCOPE.—In carrying out the program under sub-
section (a), the Secretary of Energy shall— 
(1) take into consideration different sizes of 
electric utilities and the regions that such electric 
utilities serve; 
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(2) prioritize electric utilities with fewer avail-
able resources due to size or region; and 
(3) to the extent practicable, utilize and lever-
age existing Department of Energy programs. 
(c) PROTECTION
OF
INFORMATION.—Information 
provided to, or collected by, the Federal Government pur-
suant to this section— 
(1) shall be exempt from disclosure under sec-
tion 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code; and 
(2) shall not be made available by any Federal, 
State, political subdivision or tribal authority pursu-
ant to any Federal, State, political subdivision, or 
tribal law requiring public disclosure of information 
or records. 
SEC. 3. REPORT ON CYBERSECURITY AND DISTRIBUTION 
SYSTEMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy, in co-
ordination with relevant Federal agencies and in consulta-
tion with State regulatory authorities, industry stake-
holders, and the Electric Reliability Organization, as the 
Secretary determines appropriate, shall submit to Con-
gress a report that assesses— 
(1) priorities, policies, procedures, and actions 
for enhancing the physical security and cybersecurity 
of electricity distribution systems to address threats 
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to, and vulnerabilities of, such electricity distribution 
systems; and 
(2) implementation of such priorities, policies, 
procedures, and actions, including an estimate of po-
tential costs and benefits of such implementation, in-
cluding any public-private cost-sharing opportunities. 
(b) PROTECTION
OF INFORMATION.—Information 
provided to, or collected by, the Federal Government pur-
suant to this section— 
(1) shall be exempt from disclosure under sec-
tion 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code; and 
(2) shall not be made available by any Federal, 
State, political subdivision or tribal authority pursu-
ant to any Federal, State, political subdivision, or 
tribal law requiring public disclosure of information 
or records. 
SEC. 4. ELECTRICITY INTERRUPTION INFORMATION. 
(a) INTERRUPTION COST ESTIMATE CALCULATOR.— 
The Secretary of Energy, in coordination with relevant 
Federal agencies and in consultation with State regulatory 
authorities, industry stakeholders, and the Electric Reli-
ability Organization, as the Secretary determines appro-
priate, shall update the Interruption Cost Estimate Calcu-
lator, as often as appropriate and feasible, but not less 
than once every 2 years. 
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(b) INDICES.—The Secretary of Energy, in coordina-
tion with relevant Federal agencies and in consultation 
with State regulatory authorities, industry stakeholders, 
and the Electric Reliability Organization, as the Secretary 
determines appropriate, shall, as often as appropriate and 
feasible, update the following: 
(1) The System Average Interruption Duration 
Index. 
(2) The System Average Interruption Fre-
quency Index. 
(3) The Customer Average Interruption Dura-
tion Index. 
(c) SURVEY.—The Administrator of the Energy In-
formation Administration shall collect information on elec-
tricity interruption costs, if available, from a representa-
tive sample of owners of electric grid assets through a bi-
ennial survey. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
In the Act, the following definitions apply: 
(1) ELECTRIC
RELIABILITY
ORGANIZATION.— 
The term ‘‘Electric Reliability Organization’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 215(a)(2) of the 
Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)(2)). 
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