Congressmen Brett Guthrie and Bob Latta have announced a hearing focused on the security of the United States’ energy infrastructure, particularly the electric grid. The hearing, titled “Securing America’s Energy Infrastructure: Addressing Cyber and Physical Threats to the Grid,” is scheduled for December 2, 2025, at 10:30 AM ET in the Rayburn House Office Building. It will be open to both the public and press and can be viewed online.
“Ensuring that our energy infrastructure, including the electric grid, can provide reliable power is one of our Committee’s top priorities,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Latta. They emphasized the importance of protecting against cyber and physical threats to ensure national security and economic stability.
Sharla B. Artz, Vice President of Security and Resilience Policy at Xcel Energy, testified before the Subcommittee on Energy. Representing both Xcel Energy and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), she stressed that securing the grid is crucial as electricity demand increases due to technological advancements like artificial intelligence. Artz mentioned warnings from U.S. intelligence about threats from nation-states such as China, highlighting groups like Volt Typhoon.
Artz outlined a “defense-in-depth” strategy involving mandatory security regulations, industry-government partnerships, and preparedness planning. She highlighted NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection standards enforced by FERC, which include significant penalties for noncompliance. Other frameworks mentioned were TSA Security Directives for natural gas systems and voluntary guidelines like NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework.
Public-private partnerships play a key role in this effort, with collaboration platforms such as ETAC and CRISP facilitating threat analysis and information sharing between industry and government entities. Artz also noted substantial investments in grid modernization totaling over $1 trillion in five years.
She concluded with recommendations for Congress to authorize funding for ETAC, expand CRISP, support DOE’s leadership role, avoid duplicative regulations, and protect sensitive information from adversaries.
For further inquiries regarding this hearing or press-related questions, contact Calvin Huggins or Ben Mullany via email.
Information from this article can be found here.