H.R. 2417: Secure High-voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage Act

113th Congress · introduced 2013-06-18 · Energy · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Power.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2013-06-18 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Franks, Trent [R-AZ-8] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Power. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Secure High-voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage Act

Plain summary

Secure High-voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage Act or SHIELD Act - Amends the Federal Power Act to authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), with or without notice, hearing, or report, to order emergency measures to protect the reliability of either the bulk-power system or the defense critical electric infrastructure whenever the President issues a written directive or determination identifying an imminent grid security threat. Directs FERC to consult with governmental authorities in Canada, Mexico, and the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) regarding implementation of emergency measures. Prescribes: (1) implementation procedures; and (2) related cost recovery measures affecting owners, operators, and users of either the bulk-power system or the defense critical electric infrastructure. Directs FERC to require any owner, user, or operator of the domestic bulk-power system to implement measures to protect the system against specified vulnerabilities. Requires FERC to issue an order directing ERO to submit for approval, within 30 days, a reliability standard requiring implementation, by any owner, operator, or user of the bulk-power system in the United States, of measures to protect the bulk-power system against an identified grid security vulnerability (including a protection plan with automated hardware-based solutions). Directs FERC also to order the ERO to submit reliability standards to: (1) protect the bulk-power system from a reasonably foreseeable geomagnetic storm event or electromagnetic pulse event (EMP); and (2) require entities that own or operate large transformers to ensure their adequate availability to restore promptly the reliable operation of the bulk-power system in the event of destruction or disability as a result of attack or a geomagnetic storm or EMP. Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to: (1) develop technical expertise in the protection of electric energy systems against either geomagnetic storms or malicious acts using electronic communications or electromagnetic weapons; and (2) share it with owners, operators, or users of systems for the generation, transmission, or distribution of electric energy located in the United States and with state commissions.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

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PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Secure High-voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Franks, Trent [R-AZ-8] · 31 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Scott Perry (R-PA), Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Michael R. Turner (R-OH), Andy Harris (R-MD)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-113hr2417.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/113/hr>

Record fed-us-cong113-hr2417 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113