H.R. 4298: GRID Act
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H.R. 4298: GRID Act
113th Congress · introduced 2014-03-26 · Energy · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Power.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2014-03-26 · official record
- Who proposed it: Rep. Waxman, Henry A. [D-CA-33] · 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.
Official title
GRID Act
Plain summary
Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense Act or the GRID Act - Amends the Federal Power Act to authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), with or without notice, hearing, or report, to issue orders for 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. Requires either the President or the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to notify specified congressional committees promptly whenever the President issues such a directive. Instructs FERC, to the extent practicable in light of the nature of the grid security threat and the urgency for emergency measures, to consult with certain governmental authorities, including in Canada and Mexico, regarding implementation of such emergency measures. Prescribes: (1) implementation procedures; and (2) related cost recovery measures affecting owners, operators, or users of either the bulk-power system or the defense critical electric infrastructure. Directs FERC to require any owner, user, or operator of the bulk-power system in the United States to implement measures necessary to protect the bulk-power system against specified vulnerabilities. Directs FERC to order the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) to submit reliability standards requiring owners or operators of large transformers to ensure their adequate availability to restore promptly the reliable operation of the bulk-power system in the event that any such transformer is destroyed or disabled as a result of a reasonably foreseeable physical or other attack or a geomagnetic storm event. Directs the President to designate for FERC the domestic facilities that are: (1) critical to the national defense, and (2) vulnerable to an electric energy supply disruption. Directs FERC to require an owner or operator of defense critical electric infrastructure to implement measures to protect it against any vulnerability that has not been adequately addressed. Directs FERC, before promulgating a rule or issuing such order, to request and consider recommendations from the ERO. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to develop technical expertise in the protection of systems for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric energy against either geomagnetic storms or malicious acts using electronic communications or electromagnetic pulse. Exempts the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Bonneville Power Administration for 11 years from any requirement under this Act pertaining to emergency response measures or measures to address grid security vulnerabilities (except for a requirement addressing a malicious act using electronic communication).
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
If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.
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What does this mean? (plain words)
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Rep. Waxman, Henry A. [D-CA-33] · 0 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
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 (3)
- 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.
- Rulemaking
- The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
- 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-113hr4298.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/113/hr>
Record fed-us-cong113-hr4298 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113