H.R. 7266 · Passed House · Science, Technology, Communications

Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act

Sponsor: Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA)

What it does

• Reauthorize through fiscal year 2030 the Rural and Municipal Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program administered by the Department of Energy.
• Allow the Department of Energy to provide cybersecurity assistance and funding to rural electric cooperatives and municipal or small investor-owned utilities on either a competitive or noncompetitive basis.
• Require the Department of Energy to prioritize assistance to utilities that own or operate electric infrastructure serving designated critical defense facilities.
• Expand confidentiality protections to cover all information shared under the program by federal, state, tribal, or local governments.

Official summary

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…

Latest action

Jul 13, 2026: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources