§18724 — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary must create and run programs to make energy networks safer from cyber attacks and physical hazards. Working with the Secretary of Homeland Security and other agencies, states, tribes, the energy industry, and other stakeholders, the programs will build advanced cybersecurity tools and technologies, test new ideas with industry pilots, train the workforce, and improve supply chain security. They must find and fix weaknesses like dependence on other infrastructure, weather and fuel problems, risks from inverter-based equipment, and unpatched hardware or software. The work also covers securing field devices and third-party control systems across generation, transmission, distribution, meters, storage, communications, and forensics. The Secretary may also run activities to test emergency response and coordination, share threat information with the intelligence community, improve monitoring and E-ISAC participation, and help small utilities raise their cybersecurity maturity. The Secretary, with the Secretary of Homeland Security, must also run an advanced energy security program for electric, natural gas, and oil networks to keep operations working during natural or human-made threats, including EMP and geomagnetic storms. The program can map risks, model national impacts, add physical security to cybersecurity standards, run exercises, research hardening and recovery, and give technical help to states. The programs do not create new regulatory rules. Funding authorized: $250,000,000 for fiscal years 2022–2026 for the first program, $50,000,000 for fiscal years 2022–2026 for the second, and $50,000,000 for fiscal years 2022–2026 for the advanced security program. Definitions: electric utility — same meaning as in 16 U.S.C. 796; E-ISAC — Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

Title 42, §18724

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In this section:

(1)The term “electric utility” has the meaning given the term in section 796 of title 16.

(2)The term “E-ISAC” means the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

(b)(1)The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security and in consultation with, as determined appropriate, other Federal agencies, the energy sector, the States, Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, territories or freely associated states, and other stakeholders, shall develop and carry out a program—

(A)to develop advanced cybersecurity applications and technologies for the energy sector—

(i)to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities, including—

(I)dependencies on other critical infrastructure;

(II)impacts from weather and fuel supply;

(III)increased dependence on inverter-based technologies; and

(IV)vulnerabilities from unpatched hardware and software systems; and

(ii)to advance the security of field devices and third-party control systems, including—

(I)systems for generation, transmission, distribution, end use, and market functions;

(II)specific electric grid elements including advanced metering, demand response, distribution, generation, and electricity storage;

(III)forensic analysis of infected systems;

(IV)secure communications; and

(V)application of in-line edge security solutions;

(B)to leverage electric grid architecture as a means to assess risks to the energy sector, including by implementing an all-hazards approach to communications infrastructure, control systems architecture, and power systems architecture;

(C)to perform pilot demonstration projects with the energy sector to gain experience with new technologies;

(D)to develop workforce development curricula for energy sector-related cybersecurity; and

(E)to develop improved supply chain concepts for secure design of emerging digital components and power electronics.

(2)There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $250,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.

(c)(1)The Secretary may develop and carry out a program—

(A)to enhance and periodically test—

(i)the emergency response capabilities of the Department; and

(ii)the coordination of the Department with other agencies, the National Laboratories, and private industry;

(B)to expand cooperation of the Department with the intelligence community for energy sector-related threat collection and analysis;

(C)to enhance the tools of the Department and E-ISAC for monitoring the status of the energy sector;

(D)to expand industry participation in E-ISAC; and

(E)to provide technical assistance to small electric utilities for purposes of assessing and improving cybermaturity levels and addressing gaps identified in the assessment.

(2)There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.

(d)(1)The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall develop and carry out an advanced energy security program to secure energy networks, including—

(A)electric networks;

(B)natural gas networks; and

(C)oil exploration, transmission, and delivery networks.

(2)The objective of the program developed under paragraph (1) is to increase the functional preservation of electric grid operations or natural gas and oil operations in the face of natural and human-made threats and hazards, including electric magnetic pulse and geomagnetic disturbances.

(3)In carrying out the program developed under paragraph (1), the Secretary may—

(A)develop capabilities to identify vulnerabilities and critical components that pose major risks to grid security if destroyed or impaired;

(B)provide modeling at the national level to predict impacts from natural or human-made events;

(C)add physical security to the cybersecurity maturity model;

(D)conduct exercises and assessments to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities to the electric grid, including providing mitigation recommendations;

(E)conduct research on hardening solutions for critical components of the electric grid;

(F)conduct research on mitigation and recovery solutions for critical components of the electric grid; and

(G)provide technical assistance to States and other entities for standards and risk analysis.

(4)Nothing in this section authorizes new regulatory requirements.

(5)There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Wage Rate RequirementsFor provisions relating to rates of wages to be paid to laborers and mechanics on projects for

Construction

, alteration, or repair work funded under div. D or an amendment by div. D of Pub. L. 117–58, including authority of Secretary of Labor, see section 18851 of this title.

§18724 Enhanced grid security

Summary

Title 42, §18724

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Construction

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