Bi-partisan GRID Act Co-Authored by Markey Would Protect Electricity System Against Attacks

 WASHINGTON, D.C. –Bipartisan legislation co-authored by Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) that would protect our nation’s electricity grid from attacks today passed the House of Representatives by unanimous voice vote. The Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense Act (GRID Act) also passed by a unanimous vote in the Energy and Commerce Committee.

“The electric grid’s vulnerability to cyber and other attacks is one of the single greatest threats to our national security,” said Markey, Chairman of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee. “Every one of our nation’s critical systems – defense, water, healthcare, telecommunications, transportation, law enforcement, and financial services – depends on the grid.  This bipartisan legislation is critical to protecting the United States against this emerging threat.”

The GRID Act would direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to take measures to protect the electric grid from cyber and other attacks.

Over the past year, Chairman Markey’s Energy and Environment Subcommittee held multiple hearings and classified briefings on electric grid security issues.  Testimony from the Commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and briefings from national security experts have emphasized the gravity of the threat America’s grid faces and the inadequacy of existing law to deal with this threat.

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