,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bjie  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #aa1     
#bjai,mr4 ,gardner 7for himself and ,mr4
 ,bennet7 introduced the following bill2
 which was read twice and referred to   
the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural  
,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to provide for  
certain programs and developments in the
 ,department of ,energy concerning the  
cybersecurity and vulnerabilities of1   
and physical threats to1 the electric   
grid1 and for other purposes4  #a4      
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,enhancing ,grid ,security through  
,public-,private ,partnerships ,act4    
#b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7    
,electric ,reliability ,organization    
,the term ,electric ,reliability        
,organization has the meaning given the 
term in section #bae7;a7 of the ,federal
 ,power ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #hbdo7a774  
7#b7 ,electric utility2 ,state          
regulatory authority ,the terms electric
 utility and ,state regulatory authority

 have the meanings given those terms in 
section #c of the ,federal ,power ,act  
7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #gif74  7#c7 ,secretary  
,the term ,secretary means the          
,secretary of ,energy4  #c4 ,program to 
promote and advance physical security   
and cybersecurity of electric utilities 
7a7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary1 in  
consultation with ,state regulatory     
authorities1 industry stakeholders1 the 
,electric ,reliability ,organization1   
and any other ,federal agencies that the
 ,secretary determines to be            
appropriate1 shall carry out a program--
  7#a7 to develop1 and provide for      
voluntary implementation of1 maturity   
models1 self-assessments1 and auditing  
methods for assessing the physical      
security and cybersecurity of electric  
utilities2  7#b7 to assist with threat  
assessment and cybersecurity training   
for electric utilities2  7#c7 to provide
 technical assistance for electric      
utilities subject to the program2  7#d7 
to provide training to electric         

utilities to address and mitigate       
cybersecurity supply chain management   
risks2  7#e7 to advance the             
cybersecurity of third-party vendors in 
partnerships with electric utilities2   
and  7#f7 to increase opportunities for 
sharing best practices and data         
collection within the electric sector4  
7b7 ,scope ,in carrying out the program 
under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary    
shall-- 7#a7 take into consideration--  
7,a7 the different sizes of electric    
utilities2 and  7,b7 the regions that   
electric utilities serve2  7#b7         
prioritize electric utilities with fewer
 available resources due to size or     
region2 and  7#c7 to the maximum extent 
practicable1 use and leverage--  7,a7   
existing ,department of ,energy         
programs2 and  7,b7 existing programs of
 the ,federal agencies determined to be 
appropriate under subsection 7a74  7c7  
,protection of information ,information 
provided to1 or collected by1 the       
,federal ,government pursuant to this   

section-- 7#a7 shall be exempt from     
disclosure under section #eeb7;b77#c7 of
 title #e1 ,united ,states ,code2 and   
7#b7 shall not be made available by any 
,federal agency1 ,state1 political      
subdivision of a ,state1 or ,tribal     
authority pursuant to any ,federal1     
,state1 political subdivision of a      
,state1 or ,tribal law1 respectively1   
requiring public disclosure of          
information or records4  #d4 ,report on 
cybersecurity and distribution systems  
7a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year 
after the date of enactment of this     
,act1 the ,secretary1 in consultation   
with ,state regulatory authorities1     
industry stakeholders1 and any other    
,federal agencies that the ,secretary   
determines to be appropriate1 shall     
submit to ,congress a report that       
assesses--  7#a7 priorities1 policies1  
procedures1 and actions for enhancing   
the physical security and cybersecurity 
of electricity distribution systems1    
including behind-the-meter generation1  

storage1 and load management devices1 to
 address threats to1 and vulnerabilities
 of1 electricity distribution systems2  
and  7#b7 the implementation of the     
priorities1 policies1 procedures1 and   
actions assessed under paragraph 7#a71  
including--  7,a7 an estimate of        
potential costs and benefits of the     
implementation2 and  7,b7 an assessment 
of any public-private cost-sharing      
opportunities4  7b7 ,protection of      
information ,information provided to1 or
 collected by1 the ,federal ,government 
under this section-- 7#a7 shall be      
exempt from disclosure under section    
#eeb7;b77#c7 of title #e1 ,united       
,states ,code2 and  7#b7 shall not be   
made available by any ,federal agency1  
,state1 political subdivision of a      
,state1 or ,tribal authority pursuant to
 any ,federal1 ,state1 political        
subdivision of a ,state1 or ,tribal law1
 respectively1 requiring public         
disclosure of information or records4