House subcommittee hears DOE and industry on bills to strengthen energy cybersecurity and emergency response
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Summary
A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing examined a package of bills to formalize DOE leadership on energy emergencies, authorize a threat-analysis center (Etech), reauthorize rural and municipal utility cybersecurity funding, and bolster pipeline and state planning. DOE’s acting undersecretary defended the changes while lawmakers pressed him on grant cancellations and staffing cuts.
The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on energy convened a bipartisan hearing to consider draft legislation aimed at strengthening the nation’s energy cybersecurity and emergency response capabilities.
Acting Undersecretary Alex Fitzsimmons testified for the Department of Energy, outlining how the package — including an Energy Emergency Leadership Act to elevate energy emergency leadership within DOE, legislation authorizing an Energy Threat Analysis Center (Etech), a pipeline and LNG facility cybersecurity preparedness bill, and a reauthorization of rural and municipal utility cybersecurity programs — would improve information sharing, technical assistance, and coordination across federal, state and private-sector partners.
"As the sector risk management agency for the energy sector, DOE has great technical resources and convening authority," Fitzsimmons said. "We provide timely and actionable information to the energy sector, develop security technologies, and work with national labs and industry partners to harden infrastructure." He described CAESAR (the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response) as a voluntary convening office that works alongside industry to build trust and share classified threat information that can be declassified and routed to operators.
Members from both parties generally expressed support for improved information sharing and the Etech concept, which Fitzsimmons described as a collocated capability that brings cleared industry and intelligence community partners together to analyze threats in real time. Industry witnesses at the second panel, including Scott Aronson of the Edison Electric Institute and Rebecca O'Neil of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, said Etech and related coordination mechanisms have already produced operational benefits.
But the hearing featured sustained questioning about other DOE actions. Multiple members pressed Fitzsimmons on the department’s recent cancellation or re‑scoping of previously awarded grants and loans, raising court filings that cited political criteria for some terminations. Lawmakers also pressed about staffing reductions at DOE and whether the agency has the capacity to carry out the additional responsibilities envisioned in the bills.
Ranking members raised the impact of canceled projects on reliability and jobs, citing court reversals and figures for lost capacity and investment. Fitzsimmons repeatedly described DOE’s review criteria as focused on "national security" and a project’s pathway to technical, financial, and economic feasibility, and said the department would brief members on specific projects in separate settings.
Panelists from cooperatives and municipal utilities urged quicker disbursement of $80 million in awards under the rural and municipal utility cybersecurity program and recommended simplifying the application process so the smallest utilities can access technical assistance and upgrades.
Other discussion topics included resource adequacy and the department’s use of Federal Power Act §202(c) emergency orders to delay retirements of dispatchable plants, supply‑chain testing of imported equipment (the CAESAR Citrix program), and how state energy security plans can be improved and maintained. PNNL described completing reviews of state plans and providing technical guidance through training, data and exercises.
The subcommittee did not mark up or vote on the bills during the hearing. Members may submit written questions for the record; the committee asked DOE and witnesses to respond within 10 business days. The hearing record will be used as lawmakers refine statutory language and funding authorizations for the session.
