The bill amends the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to establish the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program. It defines advanced cybersecurity technology and eligible entities, and outlines the objectives and awards of the program. The Secretary is required to provide technical assistance and funding to eligible entities to protect against cybersecurity threats. Priority for funding and technical assistance will be given to entities with limited cybersecurity resources, assets critical to the bulk-power system, or defense critical electric infrastructure. Information shared under the program is exempt from disclosure. $250,000,000 is authorized for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act
This bill reauthorizes through FY2030 a program that provides cybersecurity-related assistance and funding to rural electric cooperatives and municipal or small, investor-owned electric utilities. The bill also revises methods of awarding support and expands protections for information shared under the program.
This program, known as the Rural and Municipal Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program, is administered by the Department of Energy (DOE). Current law requires DOE to provide technical assistance and funding under the program on a competitive basis; under the bill, assistance and funding may be provided on a competitive or noncompetitive basis.
Current law also requires DOE to prioritize providing technical assistance and funding to certain entities, including entities that own defense critical electric infrastructure. The bill specifies that DOE must also prioritize entities that operate such infrastructure. (Defense critical electric infrastructure is electric infrastructure that (1) is located in the contiguous United States, and (2) serves a designated critical defense facility but is not owned or operated by the owner or operator of the critical facility.)
Finally, the bill expands an existing protection against disclosure to cover all information shared under the program by or with the federal government or a state, tribal, or local government. This provision protects against disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act and other state, tribal, or local disclosure laws.
