PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.

Enhanced Grid Security Act of 2015

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-344.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 7, 2015

Enhanced Grid Security Act of 2015

This bill designates the Department of Energy (DOE) as the lead Sector-Specific Agency for cybersecurity for the energy sector (this action comports with the presidential policy directive entitled "Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience" dated February 12, 2013).

DOE shall:

Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.

Read full official summaryShow less

develop advanced cybersecurity applications and technologies for the energy sector;

advance the security of field devices and third-party control systems;

leverage electric grid architecture as a means to assess risks to the energy sector, including by implementing an all-hazards approach to communications infrastructure, control systems architecture, and power systems architecture;

perform pilot demonstration projects with the energy sector to gain experience with new technologies; and

develop workforce development curricula for energy sector-related cybersecurity.

DOE shall also implement within the energy sector cybertesting and cyberresilience programs that target:

DOE emergency response capabilities,

cooperation with the intelligence communities for energy sector-related threat collection and analysis,

enhancing the tools of DOE and the Electricity Sector Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ES-ISAC) for monitoring the status of the energy sector,

expanding industry participation in ES-ISAC, and

technical assistance to small electric utilities to assess cybermaturity posture.

DOE must develop an advanced energy security program that secures diverse energy networks in order to increase the functional preservation of the electric grid operations or natural gas and oil operations in the face of natural and human-made threats and hazards, including electric magnetic pulse and geomagnetic disturbances.

DOE shall study alternative management structures and funding mechanisms to expand industry membership and participation in ES-ISAC.

Read the summary on Congress.gov
PlainBill analysis is coming later. This page presents official source data. We have not yet published a PlainBill explanation for this bill.

Who introduced it

Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] · D–WA

Committees

  • Energy and Natural Resources Committee
0 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

    Actions

    A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

    1. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-344.

    2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

    3. Introduced in Senate

    Bill text & related measures

    Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

    Related bills identified by Congress.gov

    Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

    Explore the bill from different angles

    Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.

    Neutral evidence review

    Objective

    Analyze S.1241 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.

    View full prompt & sources
    Fairness and public impact

    Progressive lens

    Examine S.1241 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.

    View full prompt & sources
    Institutions and government scope

    Conservative lens

    Examine S.1241 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.

    View full prompt & sources
    Individual rights and government power

    Liberty lens

    Examine S.1241 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.

    View full prompt & sources