Description:
S. 2095 would direct the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a program to collaborate with federal and state agencies and interested parties in the private sector to assess and improve the physical security and cybersecurity of electric utilities. The bill would authorize DOE to provide guidance, training, and technical assistance to electric utilities and would specify program reporting requirements. Using information from DOE, CBO estimates that implementing S. 2095 would not significantly affect the federal budget because the activities authorized by the bill are consistent with DOE’s existing efforts related to the security of energy infrastructure. S. 2095 would impose an intergovernmental mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by preempting state, local, and tribal laws that could otherwise cause governmental agencies to disclose information provided to the Department of Energy under the program, such as plans to enhance cybersecurity. Although the preemption would limit the application of state, local, and tribal laws, CBO estimates that it would impose no duty on those governments that would result in additional spending or a loss of revenues. S. 2095 contains no private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA. On September 12, 2019, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 359, the Enhancing Grid Security through Public-Private Partnerships Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on July 17, 2019. The two pieces of legislation are similar and the CBO’s estimated budgetary effects are the same.
