Congress·Passed House·H.R. 7266

Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act

Congress Proposes $250 Million to Protect Rural and Local Power Grids from Cyberattacks

Jan 27·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: The Senate

The House passed this bill on June 28, 2026, and it has now moved to the Senate for further consideration. The Senate must act on the bill for it to become law, but it is common for the Senate to not schedule bills passed by the House. It remains uncertain if the Senate will take any action on this proposal.

Legislative Progress

✓ House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

This bill, introduced by Representative Miller-Meeks, would provide $250 million over five years to help small and rural power companies defend against hackers. The money would be used to buy new security technology and hire experts to monitor for digital threats.
The program focuses on helping local utility companies that often have smaller budgets than big city power plants. This includes rural electric cooperatives, city-owned utilities, and small private companies that serve fewer customers.
The goal is to prevent cyberattacks that could cause power outages or damage the electrical grid. By giving these smaller companies better tools to detect and respond to threats, the government hopes to make the entire country's energy system more reliable.
Priority for the funding will go to utilities that have the fewest resources or those that provide power to critical military bases and other essential national security sites.
To encourage companies to participate, any information they share with the government about their security weaknesses or cyber threats will be kept private. It cannot be released through public records requests like the Freedom of Information Act.

Energy EnvironmentTechnology DigitalNational Security Foreign Policy

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works

Many tribal communities in rural areas are served by small electric cooperatives and municipal utilities that would be eligible for this program. The bill also explicitly protects information shared by tribal governments, suggesting awareness of tribal participation. Improved cybersecurity for these utilities would reduce the risk of outages in communities that may already face infrastructure challenges.

ImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

State Impacts

StateScoreImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Milestones

5 milestones17 actions

Jul 13, 2026Senate

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Jun 29, 2026House

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

Jun 29, 2026House

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.

The House fast-tracked this bill — limited debate, no amendments allowed, but needs two-thirds support to pass.

Jun 29, 2026

Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.

The House fast-tracked this bill — limited debate, no amendments allowed, but needs two-thirds support to pass.

Jun 29, 2026House

DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 7266.

Related News

4 articles

SC Media·Feb 10

House panel OKs multiple energy cyber, physical defense bolstering bills

The House Subcommittee on Energy approved the Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act, which would ensure cybersecurity tooling for electric cooperatives and public power agencies until 2030. The measure was part of a package of five bills aimed at bolstering community-level resilience.

Center

SecurityWeek·Feb 6

5 Bills to Boost Energy Sector Cyber Defenses Clear House Panel

The House Subcommittee on Energy advanced H.R. 7266, the Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act. The bill reauthorizes a cybersecurity program through 2030, providing rural electric cooperatives and small utilities with advanced tools, technical assistance, and grant funding.

Center

Nextgov/FCW·Jan 30

Tech Bills of the Week: Measures seek to boost cyber posture of utilities

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks rolled out legislation to expand a program under the 2021 infrastructure law. The bill would authorize $250 million to help smaller electric utilities prevent, detect, and recover from cyber threats through grants and technical assistance.

Center

No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.