H.R. 3829 — Introduced in House

I 115th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3829 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 26, 2017Mr. Soto (for himself and Mr. Curbelo of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To establish a program to provide grants to States, local governments, and electric utilities to make electric infrastructure more resilient to hurricanes, tornadoes, and other major weather-related events. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as The Uniform Federal Grants for Resilient Infrastructure and Design Act of 2017 or TUFGRID Act of 2017. 2. Grant program (a) Establishment The Secretary of Energy shall establish and carry out a program to provide grants to States, local governments, and electric utilities to make electric infrastructure more resilient to hurricanes, tornadoes, and other major weather-related events. (b) Use of grants Grants provided pursuant to the program established under subsection (a) may be used to— (1) relocate electric distribution power lines and facilities from above ground to underground; (2) replace wooden electric distribution poles with metal, composite, or concrete electric distribution poles; or (3) any other use the Secretary considers appropriate to make electric infrastructure more resilient to hurricanes, tornadoes, and other major weather-related events. (c) Priority In providing grants under the program established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to States, local governments, and electric utilities that serve areas that are, as determined by the Secretary, historically prone to hurricanes, tornadoes, or other major weather-related events. (d) Federal share The Federal share of the costs of a project or activity carried out using a grant provided under the program established under subsection (a) may not exceed 50 percent.