WASHINGTON, DC - The Subcommittee on Energy, chaired by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), today announced a hearing for Wednesday, June 14, 2017, at 10 a.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled, “States’ Perspectives on Energy Security Planning, Emergency Preparedness, and State Energy Programs."
The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1975 authorized the State Energy Program, which provides federal and technical assistance to states who focused their efforts on energy conservation but has since expanded its scope to include energy assurance planning, technology development, and other related activities. However, the current State Energy Program’s authroized purpose and scope does not fully address today’s evolving energy landscape. Next week’s hearing will provide members an opportunity to examine the program and look at potential ways the committee can refocus the program on one of its core missions - energy security.
“Our grid has changed immensely since the EPCA’s implementation in 1975 but so too have the threats and vulnerabilities. Cyberattacks and other emerging vulnerabilities could disrupt the operation of technology critical to reliability of our critical electrical infrastructure," said Chairman Upton. “Next week’s hearing will provide us an opportunity to examine states’ current efforts as it relates to State Energy Assurance Plans and what we can do at the federal level to address energy assurance planning, energy infrastructure protection, and cybersecurity preparedness."
The hearing builds on the committee’s previous efforts as part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to make the Department of Energy the lead sector-specific agency for cybersecurity for the energy sector. Committee provisions included as part of the FAST Act grant the Secretary of Energy the authority to address grid security emergencies if the president provides a written directive or determination identifying a grid security emergency. Earlier this year, #SubEnergy held a hearing examining the electricity sector’s efforts to respond to current and future cybersecurity threats.as they are posted. See Also
* States’ Perspectives on Energy Security Planning, Emergency Preparedness, and State Energy Programs
