The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee on Sept. 16 held a hearing on several bills, including two of interest to public power.
One of the bills that was discussed at the hearing is S. 5360, the Rural and Municipal Cybersecurity (RMUC) Act, which APPA supports.
Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy Alex Fitzsimmons testified in support of the RMUC Act, saying that “RMUC is one of the most important programs we have at DOE because it allows us to get a lot of bang for the buck on the investments that we make.”
Fitzsimmons said that the RMUC program has assisted more than 500 eligible utilities to date, adding that in 2026, 29 organizations will receive $54.8 million in funding across 650 distribution utilities to invest in cybersecurity technologies and strengthen staff skills and utility policies.
Sponsored by Senators Dave McCormick (R-PA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), John Hoeven (R-ND), John Curtis (R-UT), and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV), the bill would reauthorize the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity (RMUC) Grant and Technical Assistance Program at the Department of Energy (DOE) through 2031 and authorize $250 million in appropriations.
Originally authorized in 2021, APPA and numerous public power utilities have received funding to develop and promote cybersecurity resources and training through RMUC. The House companion, H.R. 7266, passed the House of Representatives in late June.
The hearing also examined S. 5048, the Hydropower Licensing Affordability Act, which APPA also supports.
Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) criticized the bill because he believes it will significantly weaken tribal protections, while Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) said the mandatory conditioning authority has been weaponized.
Sponsored by Daines, Jim Risch (R-ID), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), this bill would amend sections 4(e) and 18 of the Federal Power Act (FPA) to clarify that mandatory conditions for the licensing of non-federal hydropower projects must be limited to those that are necessary to reasonably mitigate the direct adverse effects of a project on federal reservations and fish populations, respectively.
Currently, natural resource agencies can require mandatory conditions that must be met for the project to proceed, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cannot reject them regardless of cost, impact, or whether the condition is directly relevant to the project.
APPA sent a letter of support for the bill in July. Congressman Cliff Bentz (R-OR) introduced the companion bill (H.R. 9337) in the House.
