Congressmen Brett Guthrie and Bob Latta have announced a hearing to address legislation aimed at protecting America’s energy infrastructure from cyber and physical threats. The hearing, titled “Protecting America’s Energy Infrastructure in Today’s Cyber and Physical Threat Landscape,” is scheduled for January 13, 2026, at the Rayburn House Office Building.
Guthrie and Latta emphasized the importance of safeguarding energy infrastructure to ensure affordable and reliable power while protecting communities. They noted that the U.S. faces numerous threats from nation-state actors, criminals, and hackers. The hearing will explore solutions to enhance collaboration between government and private sectors, detect cybersecurity threats, and improve physical security.
The hearing will discuss several bills: the Energy Threat Analysis Center Act of 2026, Energy Emergency Leadership Act, Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act, Securing Community Upgrades for a Resilient Grid (SECURE Grid) Act, and Pipeline Cybersecurity Preparedness Act. It will be open to the public and livestreamed online.
Adrienne Lotto from the American Public Power Association testified before the Subcommittee on Energy regarding grid security. She highlighted three core pillars: mandatory standards, information sharing, and a defense-in-depth approach. Lotto pointed out that compliance with standards set by NERC under FERC oversight is crucial but not sufficient alone.
Lotto raised concerns about potential burdens from proposed CIRCIA rules on small utilities and called for better federal coordination to avoid duplicative reporting. She advocated for voluntary information sharing enabled by existing laws like the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015.
She also stressed the importance of reauthorizing programs like RMUC for funding under-resourced utilities and supported legislation enhancing pipeline cybersecurity through various acts discussed in the hearing.
