Electric Supply Chain Act
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Would require the Department of Energy to periodically assess and report to Congress on the supply chain supporting electricity generation and transmission, covering vulnerabilities, foreign dependencies, workforce challenges, and barriers to U.S. manufacturing capacity.
The bill focuses on identifying risks from foreign entities of concern and gaps in domestic capacity, giving Congress a recurring intelligence picture on the resilience of the U.S. electric supply chain.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would direct the Secretary of Energy to prepare periodic assessments of the supply chain for electricity generation and transmission, consulting relevant stakeholders throughout the process. The assessments would be required to cover a broad set of topics: trends, risks, and vulnerabilities in the supply and availability of electricity components; barriers to manufacturing and deploying those components domestically; the effects of U.S. reliance on foreign entities of concern; national security considerations including those entities' efforts to exploit supply chain disruptions; domestic policy barriers to investment; and workforce challenges including opportunities for veterans and military spouses. The Secretary would then submit a report on each completed assessment to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
The bill creates a new recurring reporting obligation but does not itself change any operational program, appropriate any money, or impose requirements on private companies. The first report would be due within one year of enactment, with further reports to follow periodically.
Key provisions
- 1Would direct the Secretary of Energy to periodically prepare assessments of the supply chain for electricity generation and transmission, consulting relevant stakeholders.
- 2Assessments must cover trends, risks, and vulnerabilities in the supply and availability of components needed to generate or transmit electricity, including those supporting advanced transmission technologies.
- 3Assessments must evaluate national security and energy security considerations, including efforts by foreign entities of concern to exploit supply chain disruptions to undermine U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence development.
- 4Assessments must identify barriers to manufacturing, delivering, and installing electricity components in the U.S. and to processing critical materials domestically.
- 5Assessments must address workforce challenges, including opportunities to expand participation by veterans, transitioning servicemembers, and military spouses.
- 6Would require the Secretary to submit a report on each assessment to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, with the first report due within one year of enactment.
Who would be affected
The Department of Energy and the Secretary of Energy, who would carry out the assessments. Relevant stakeholders — including electric utilities, grid component manufacturers, facility constructors, cybersecurity experts, the Electric Reliability Organization, and ratepayer advocates — would be consulted. Congressional committees would receive the reports. Veterans, transitioning servicemembers, and military spouses are specifically identified as workforce populations of interest.
Why it matters
If enacted, Congress would receive a structured, recurring picture of vulnerabilities in the electricity supply chain — including how much the U.S. relies on foreign entities of concern for components and critical materials. Stakeholders in electricity generation and transmission would have input into the assessments, and findings could inform future legislation or executive action on domestic manufacturing and energy security.
What would change
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Initial supply chain assessment report due to Congress
How implementation would work
The Secretary of Energy would lead the process in consultation with relevant stakeholders drawn from across the electricity sector. Each assessment would address a specified list of topics — vulnerabilities, foreign dependencies, workforce issues, and policy barriers — and culminate in a written report submitted to the two designated congressional committees. The first report is due within one year of enactment; the bill requires further reports "periodically thereafter" but does not specify an interval. No rulemaking process or enforcement mechanism is established; the obligation is a reporting duty only.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Official CRS summary
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This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to periodically assess the supply chain that supports the generation and transmission of electricity and report on the assessment to the appropriate congressional committees.
Specifically, DOE must periodically assess and report on
- information including trends and vulnerabilities in the supply of components needed for generating or transmitting electricity, barriers to expanding U.S. capacity to process critical materials, and domestic policies that deter greater investment into the supply chain;
- emerging issues in the supply chain; and
- recommendations to address these emerging issues and to secure and expand the supply chain.
The initial report must be submitted no later than one year after the date of enactment of this bill.
Legislative subjects
Congressional oversight; Electric power generation and transmission; Energy; Energy storage, supplies, demand; Government studies and investigations; Industrial facilities; Supply chain
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-304,Part 2