Title: Tribal Power Act
Policy area: Native Americans

Summary:
Tribal Power Act
This bill reauthorizes through FY2025 and otherwise revises the Indian Energy Education Planning and Management Assistance Program. The program is administered by the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs within the Department of Energy (DOE).
Specifically, the bill revises the program to (1) expand the definition of Indian land to include any land in a census tract in which the majority of the residents are Alaska Natives, thereby permitting such areas to receive program grants; and (2) allow the office to reduce a tribe's cost share in order to receive a grant if certain criteria are met, including financial need.
The bill also requires DOE to assess the availability and reliability of electricity for those individuals residing in tribal communities or on Indian land.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5541 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5541

   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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 2020

 Mr. O'Halleran (for himself and Mr. Mullin) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 
 addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

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''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following subparagraph:
                    ``(D) any land in a census tract in which the 
                majority of the residents are Natives (as defined in 
                section 3(b) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 
                (43 U.S.C. 1602(b))).''.
    (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 subparagraph:
            ``(D) The Director may reduce any applicable cost share 
        required of an Indian tribe in order to receive a grant under 
        this subsection to not less than 10 percent if the Indian tribe 
        meets criteria developed by the Director, including financial 
        need.''.
    (c) Authorization.--Section 2602(b)(7) of the Energy Policy Act of 
1992 (25 U.S.C. 3502(b)(7)) is amended by striking ``$20,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2006 through 2016'' and inserting ``$30,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025''.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON ELECTRICITY ACCESS AND RELIABILITY.

    (a) Assessment.--The Secretary of Energy shall, in consultation 
with Tribal governments, the North American Electricity Reliability 
Corporation, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, conduct an 
assessment of the status of access to electricity by residents on 
Indian land, and the reliability of electric service available to 
residents 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.
    (b) 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 Tribal 
        communities;
            (2) percentage of households residing in Tribal communities 
        or on Indian land that do not have access to electricity;
            (3) the potential of distributed energy resources to 
        provide electricity to residents of Tribal communities or 
        households residing on Indian land;
            (4) the potential for tribally owned utilities or electric 
        utility assets to participate in or benefit from regional 
        electricity markets;
            (5) a description of the barriers to providing access to 
        electric service to households residing in Tribal communities 
        or on Indian land; and
            (6) recommendations to improve access to and reliability of 
        electric service for residents of Tribal communities or 
        households residing on Indian land.
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