House panel OKs multiple energy cyber, physical defense bolstering bills

Improved cyber and physical security protections for the U.S. energy infrastructure have been sought by five new bills passed by the House Subcommittee on Energy, reports SecurityWeek.

Included in the approved measures were the Securing Community Upgrades for a Resilient Grid Act, which would introduce new cyber and physical security programs to bolster community-level resilience; the Energy Emergency Leadership Act, which would empower the Department of Energy's incident response efforts; and the Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act, which would ensure cybersecurity tooling for electric cooperatives, public power agencies, and minor utilities until 2030.

The House panel also advanced the Pipeline Cybersecurity Preparedness Act, which would enhance the Energy Department's efforts to secure pipelines and LNG facilities, and the Energy Threat Analysis Center Act of 2026, which would extend the ETAC's information sharing, preventative analysis, and cyber threat coordination authorities. Such a development comes as the Energy Department concluded its yearly Liberty Eclipse effort that aims to improve utilities' response to potentially destructive intrusions.