# 119-s-4193: Wildfire and Grid Reliability Act

119-s-4193, Wildfire and Grid Reliability Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-06).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4193
- As of: 2026-10-06
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4193
- Congress: 119
- Title: Wildfire and Grid Reliability Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-03-25
- Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-06

## Summary

**A national grant program to cut wildfire risk from power lines and strengthen grid reliability.** This bill would create a Department of Energy Office of Electricity program to give grants to eligible public, cooperative, municipal, investor-owned and federal utilities for projects that reduce wildfire ignitions or boost the grid's ability to withstand natural disasters. - Utilities and grid owners would be able to fund actions like undergrounding lines, installing fire-resistant poles, fast-tripping protection, sensors and weather stations, targeted microgrids, vegetation management, and other resilience upgrades. - Small utilities that sell not more than 4,000,000 megawatt-hours per year would get a dedicated set-aside of at least 20% of program funds and face a reduced matching requirement of one-third of the grant amount. - Most grant recipients must match grants dollar-for-dollar, but amounts spent in the prior year may count toward the match; grants for technical assistance and for hiring planning staff do not count toward set-asides or matching. - The Secretary must prioritize projects that deliver the largest community benefit relative to cost and report every two years on reliability and wildfire-risk reductions. *Would authorize $15 billion per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2036 to fund the program.*

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-03-25T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Utility grants for wildfires and reliability: benefit, high. If enacted, the Secretary of Energy would set up a program in the Office of Electricity within 90 days to make grants to eligible electric utilities and federal electric entities. Grants would fund work that supplements planned grid-hardening, improves public safety, and either reduces wildfire ris…
- Federal recipients and program reporting: benefit, low. If enacted, any grant amounts made to Federal power marketing administrations would be nonreimbursable and would not have to be repaid. The Secretary would also submit a report to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce not later than 2 ye…
- Large $15 billion annual grant program: mixed, high. If enacted, the bill would authorize $15 billion each year to carry out the program for fiscal years 2027 through 2036. At least 40% of program money would be for projects that reduce wildfire risk. At least 20% of program money would be awarded to utilities that sell 4,000,000 megawatt-hours or le…

## Related bills

- 119-s-891: Bipartisan Health Care Act
- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
- 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act

## Sources
- [119-s-4193 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4193)

## Related
- [119-s-891: Bipartisan Health Care Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-891)
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5022)
- [119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4193 (as of 2026-10-06).