S. 5360 · In committee · Science, Technology, Communications

Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act

What it does

Establishes the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program to provide funding and technical assistance to eligible utilities to protect against, detect, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity threats.
Authorizes $250,000,000 in appropriations to the Department of Energy for the program over fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
Designates eligible entities as rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, political subdivision utilities, not-for-profit partnerships of at least 6 such entities, and investor-owned utilities selling fewer than 4,000,000 megawatt hours of electricity annually.
Requires the Secretary to prioritize funding and technical assistance to eligible entities with limited cybersecurity resources, assets critical to bulk-power system reliability, or defense critical electric infrastructure.
Exempts information shared under the program from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act and state and local open records laws.

Sep 30, 2026: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources