I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5760 
To provide for a comprehensive interdisciplinary research, development, and 
demonstration initiative to strengthen the capacity of the energy sector 
to prepare for and withstand cyber and physical attacks, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 5, 2020 
Mr. BERA (for himself and Mr. WEBER of Texas) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 
and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to 
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for a comprehensive interdisciplinary research, 
development, and demonstration initiative to strengthen 
the capacity of the energy sector to prepare for and 
withstand cyber and physical attacks, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Grid Security Research 
and Development Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Nation, and every critical infrastruc-
ture sector, depends on reliable electricity. 
(2) Intelligent electronic devices, advanced ana-
lytics, and information systems used across the en-
ergy sector are essential to maintaining reliable op-
eration of the electric grid. 
(3) The cybersecurity threat landscape is con-
stantly changing and attacker capabilities are ad-
vancing rapidly, requiring ongoing modifications, ad-
vancements, and investments in technologies and 
procedures to maintain security. 
(4) It is in the national interest for Federal 
agencies to invest in cybersecurity research that in-
forms and facilitates private sector investment and 
use of advanced cybersecurity tools and procedures 
to protect information systems. 
(5) The number of devices and systems con-
necting to the electric grid is increasing, and inte-
grating cybersecurity protections into information 
systems when they are built is more effective than 
modifying products after installation to meet cyber-
security goals. 
(6) An understanding of human factors can be 
leveraged to understand the behavior of cyber threat 
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actors, develop strategies to counter threat actors, 
improve cybersecurity training programs, optimize 
the design of human-machine interfaces and cyberse-
curity tools, and increase the capacity of the energy 
sector workforce to prevent unauthorized access to 
critical systems. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND SE-
CURITY ACT OF 2007. 
Title XIII of the Energy Independence and Security 
Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17381 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 1310. ENERGY SECTOR SECURITY RESEARCH, DEVEL-
OPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordination 
with appropriate Federal agencies, the Electricity Sub-
sector Coordinating Council, the Electric Reliability Orga-
nization, State, tribal, local, and territorial governments, 
the private sector, and other relevant stakeholders, shall 
carry out a research, development, and demonstration pro-
gram to protect the electric grid and energy systems, in-
cluding assets connected to the distribution grid, from 
cyber and physical attacks by increasing the cyber and 
physical security capabilities of the energy sector and ac-
celerating the development of relevant technologies and 
tools. 
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‘‘(b) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.—As part of the ini-
tiative described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
award research, development, and demonstration grants 
to— 
‘‘(1) identify cybersecurity risks to information 
systems within, and impacting, the electricity sector, 
energy systems, and energy infrastructure; 
‘‘(2) develop methods and tools to rapidly detect 
cyber intrusions and cyber incidents, including 
through the use of data and big data analytics tech-
niques, such as intrusion detection, and security in-
formation and event management systems, to vali-
date and verify system behavior; 
‘‘(3) assess emerging cybersecurity capabilities 
that could be applied to energy systems and develop 
technologies that integrate cybersecurity features 
and procedures into the design and development of 
existing and emerging grid technologies, including 
renewable energy, storage, and demand-side manage-
ment technologies; 
‘‘(4) identify existing vulnerabilities in intel-
ligent electronic devices, advanced analytics systems, 
and information systems; 
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‘‘(5) work with relevant entities to develop tech-
nologies or concepts that build or retrofit cybersecu-
rity features and procedures into— 
‘‘(A) information and energy management 
system devices, components, software, firmware, 
and hardware, including distributed control and 
management systems, and building manage-
ment systems; 
‘‘(B) data storage systems, data manage-
ment systems, and data analysis processes; 
‘‘(C) automated- and manually-controlled 
devices and equipment for monitoring and sta-
bilizing the electric grid; 
‘‘(D) technologies used to synchronize time 
and develop guidance for operational contin-
gency plans when time synchronization tech-
nologies, are compromised; 
‘‘(E) power system delivery and end user 
systems and devices that connect to the grid, 
including— 
‘‘(i) meters, synchrophasors, phasor 
measurement units, and other sensors; 
‘‘(ii) distribution automation tech-
nologies, smart inverters, and other grid 
control technologies; 
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‘‘(iii) distributed generation, energy 
storage, and other distributed energy tech-
nologies; 
‘‘(iv) demand response technologies; 
‘‘(v) home and building energy man-
agement and control systems; 
‘‘(vi) electric and plug-in hybrid vehi-
cles and electric vehicle charging systems; 
and 
‘‘(vii) other relevant devices, software, 
firmware, and hardware; and 
‘‘(F) the supply chain of electric grid man-
agement system components; 
‘‘(6) develop technologies that improve the 
physical security of information systems, including 
remote assets; 
‘‘(7) integrate human factors research into the 
design and development of advanced tools and proc-
esses for dynamic monitoring, detection, protection, 
mitigation, response, and cyber situational aware-
ness; 
‘‘(8) evaluate and understand the potential con-
sequences of practices used to maintain the cyberse-
curity of information systems and intelligent elec-
tronic devices; 
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‘‘(9) develop or expand the capabilities of exist-
ing cybersecurity test beds to simulate impacts of 
cyber attacks and combined cyber-physical attacks 
on information systems and electronic devices, in-
cluding by increasing access to existing and emerg-
ing test beds for cooperative utilities, utilities owned 
by a political subdivision of a State, such as munici-
pally owned electric utilities, and other relevant 
stakeholders; and 
‘‘(10) develop technologies that reduce the cost 
of implementing effective cybersecurity technologies 
and tools, including updates to these technologies 
and tools, in the energy sector. 
‘‘(c) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—The Na-
tional Science Foundation, in coordination with other Fed-
eral agencies as appropriate, shall through its cybersecu-
rity research and development programs— 
‘‘(1) support basic research to advance knowl-
edge, 
applications, 
technologies, 
and 
tools 
to 
strengthen the cybersecurity of information systems, 
including electric grid and energy systems, including 
interdisciplinary research in— 
‘‘(A) evolutionary systems, theories, mathe-
matics, and models; 
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‘‘(B) economic and financial theories, 
mathematics, and models; and 
‘‘(C) big data analytical methods, mathe-
matics, computer coding, and algorithms; and 
‘‘(2) support cybersecurity education and train-
ing focused on information systems for the electric 
grid and energy workforce, including through the 
Advanced Technological Education program, the 
Cybercorps program, graduate research fellowships, 
and other appropriate programs. 
‘‘(d) 
DEPARTMENT
OF
HOMELAND
SECURITY 
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DIRECTORATE.—The Science 
and Technology Directorate of the Department of Home-
land Security shall coordinate with the Department of En-
ergy, the private sector, and other relevant stakeholders, 
to research existing cybersecurity technologies and tools 
used in the defense industry in order to— 
‘‘(1) identify technologies and tools that may 
meet civilian energy sector cybersecurity needs; 
‘‘(2) develop a research strategy that incor-
porates human factors research findings to guide the 
modification of defense industry cybersecurity tools 
for use in the civilian sector; 
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