Sponsors (2)
Introduced May 22, 2025 by James Risch · Last progress May 22, 2025
The bill bolsters energy‑sector cybersecurity, federal‑state coordination, and technical capacity with targeted funding, but concentrates executive control, limits transparency and oversight, and raises privacy concerns for communities and customers.
Utilities and energy companies will receive actionable threat analysis, mitigation advice, and improved coordination with federal agencies (DHS, DOD, FBI, ODNI, intelligence community) to strengthen defense and resilience against cyber and physical attacks.
State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments gain secure information‑sharing and coordination with federal agencies to support faster response and restoration after incidents, improving local infrastructure resilience for communities.
The bill authorizes funding (up to $50 million total, FY2025–2029) for DOE monitoring, testing, R&D guidance, and related program activities to strengthen energy‑sector security and technical capabilities.
The Secretary has broad, unreviewable discretion over who receives assistance and information and the Program is exempted from the Federal Advisory Committee Act, concentrating decision-making and limiting independent oversight or stakeholder input.
Information shared with the Program can be withheld from the public and many open‑records laws, reducing transparency about incidents and responses that affect local communities.
Expanded integration of intelligence and law‑enforcement partners with industry monitoring tools increases risks to privacy and civil liberties for customers, employees, and health-care providers tied to critical infrastructure monitoring.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Creates a DOE-run Energy Threat Analysis Program to produce actionable threat intelligence, expand E-ISAC participation, and coordinate federal–industry responses to energy-sector threats.
Creates an Energy Threat Analysis Program at the Department of Energy, managed by CESER with support from DOE intelligence, to gather and share operational threat information for the energy sector. The Program may establish a physical Energy Threat Analysis Center and other facilities to improve public–private collaboration, expand industry participation in E-ISAC, strengthen monitoring tools, provide mitigation advice, support response and restoration, inform R&D, test DOE emergency-response capabilities, and coordinate closely with DHS, DOD, DOJ, ODNI, and other federal partners.