Rep. McFarland urges law creating study committee on energy and telecommunications survivability amid nation‑state cyber concerns

Representative Donald McFarland (Grafton 18) introduced HB 541, a proposal to create a committee (or study commission) to examine survivability and resiliency of New Hampshire’s energy and telecommunications infrastructure. McFarland framed the bill as a preparedness measure in light of recent nation‑state cyber operations the sponsor cited from federal reporting and public accounts.

Nut graf: McFarland told the committee that senior U.S. cyber officials have described an evolution in activity by People’s Republic of China–linked campaigns that now target telecommunications, cloud and critical infrastructure—citing publicly reported campaigns described in national press and by federal agencies. He said state and local governments should review whether policies, procurement, and infrastructure hardening are aligned to manage these risks.

McFarland asked for a study that would solicit testimony from utilities, telecommunications firms, Department of Homeland Security and federal cyber agencies, and state emergency management, to determine whether New Hampshire should change procurement, physical hardening, or coordination practices. "This is not about me; this is about whether the state is prepared and whether the committee should recommend policy actions," he said.

Michael Licata of Eversource acknowledged the seriousness of cyber threats but said a broad regulatory gap does not exist in the electric sector: utilities already coordinate closely with federal and state agencies—including FERC, NERC, CISA, ISO‑NE, state homeland security and the Public Utilities Commission—on cyber and physical security. Licata urged caution about the committee’s access to sensitive or confidential security materials and observed that much of the detailed work involves classified or sensitive planning that is shared via secure channels.

Ending: McFarland said he is open to structuring the study as a longer‑term commission and to coordinating with existing state and federal efforts. Committee members asked for more details about membership, scope and timetable; no vote was taken on HB 541 at the hearing.