Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act

This bill would reauthorize the Rural and Municipal Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program through fiscal year 2030 to provide funding and support to small, municipal, and rural electric utilities. The proposal would allow the Department of Energy to award assistance on either a competitive or noncompetitive basis and expands priority status to include entities that operate defense critical electric infrastructure. Additionally, the bill would protect all information shared under the program from public disclosure under federal, state, tribal, or local transparency laws.

This bill affects rural electric cooperatives as well as municipal and small, investor-owned electric utilities, particularly those that own or operate defense critical electric infrastructure. The Department of Energy is also impacted as the agency responsible for administering the program's grants and technical assistance. Additionally, federal, state, tribal, and local governments are affected by new provisions protecting shared cybersecurity information from public disclosure laws.

• Reauthorization of the Rural and Municipal Advanced Cybersecurity Program. The bill extends the Department of Energy's Rural and Municipal Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program through fiscal year 2030. This program provides cybersecurity funding and technical support to rural electric cooperatives as well as municipal and small, investor-owned electric utilities.
• Modification of funding and technical assistance award methods. The legislation changes the Department of Energy's method for awarding support under the program. While current law requires assistance and funding to be provided on a competitive basis, the bill allows for these resources to be distributed on either a competitive or noncompetitive basis.
• Expansion of prioritization for defense critical electric infrastructure. The bill updates the prioritization criteria for program assistance to include entities that operate defense critical electric infrastructure, in addition to those that own it. This infrastructure serves designated critical defense facilities but is not owned or operated by the facility itself.
• Enhanced disclosure protections for shared information. The bill expands legal protections against the disclosure of information shared under the program with federal, state, tribal, or local governments. This provision shields such information from release under the Freedom of Information Act and similar state, tribal, or local disclosure laws.

• H.R. 7266, Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act
  Apr 14, 2026 · As ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on March 5, 2026

The bill reauthorizes the Rural and Municipal Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program through fiscal year 2030.

This bill reauthorizes the Department of Energy's Rural and Municipal Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program through FY2030. It modifies existing law by allowing program support to be awarded on a noncompetitive basis and expanding legal protections against the disclosure of information shared under the program.

The bill aims to strengthen the cybersecurity of rural, municipal, and small investor-owned electric utilities by reauthorizing and expanding the Rural and Municipal Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program through FY2030. It seeks to improve program flexibility by allowing noncompetitive funding and enhances the protection of shared cybersecurity information from public disclosure.