116th CONGRESS 2d Session |
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to reauthorize programs to assist consenting Indian Tribes in meeting energy education, planning, and management needs, and for other purposes.
January 7, 2020
Mr. O'Halleran (for himself and Mr. Mullin) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to reauthorize programs to assist consenting Indian Tribes in meeting energy education, planning, and management needs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Tribal Power Act”.
(a) Definition of Indian land.—Section 2601(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501(2)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking “and”;
(2) in subparagraph (C), by striking “land.” and inserting “land; and”; and
(3) by adding at the end the following subparagraph:
“(D) any land in a census tract in which the majority of the residents are Natives (as defined in section 3(b) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(b))).”.
(b) Reduction of cost share.—Section 2602(b)(5) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3502(b)(5)) is amended by adding at the end the following subparagraph:
“(D) The Director may reduce any applicable cost share required of an Indian tribe in order to receive a grant under this subsection to not less than 10 percent if the Indian tribe meets criteria developed by the Director, including financial need.”.
(c) Authorization.—Section 2602(b)(7) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3502(b)(7)) is amended by striking “$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2016” and inserting “$30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025”.
SEC. 3. Report on electricity access and reliability.
(a) Assessment.—The Secretary of Energy shall, in consultation with Tribal governments, the North American Electricity Reliability Corporation, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, conduct an assessment of the status of access to electricity by residents on Indian land, and the reliability of electric service available to residents on Indian land, as compared to the status of access to and reliability of electricity within neighboring States or within the State in which Indian land is located.
(b) Report.—Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on the results of the assessment conducted under subsection (a), which shall include—
(1) a description of generation, transmission, and distribution assets available to provide electricity to Tribal communities;
(2) percentage of households residing in Tribal communities or on Indian land that do not have access to electricity;
(3) the potential of distributed energy resources to provide electricity to residents of Tribal communities or households residing on Indian land;
(4) the potential for tribally owned utilities or electric utility assets to participate in or benefit from regional electricity markets;
(5) a description of the barriers to providing access to electric service to households residing in Tribal communities or on Indian land; and
(6) recommendations to improve access to and reliability of electric service for residents of Tribal communities or households residing on Indian land.