Cortez Masto, Moran Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen America’s Energy Supply Chain

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) introduced bipartisan legislation to help strengthen America's energy supply chain, reducing the risk of dangerous power outages and meeting increasing energy demand. The Electric Supply Chain Act would require the Secretary of Energy to conduct regular assessments of electric consumption trends and vulnerabilities in the electric energy supply chain, which includes distribution lines, transformers, and other equipment required to connect energy generators to energy consumers.

"Nevada's electric grid is experiencing unprecedented levels of demand," said Senator Cortez Masto. "It is our responsibility to help ensure that our supply chains are secure and capable of meeting growing energy demand to prevent power outages or other disruptions to daily life. This commonsense, bipartisan legislation will ensure the Department of Energy is collecting information needed to keep electricity flowing throughout the country."

"Demand for energy is continuing to grow in Kansas and across the country with the expansion of housing, businesses and transportation needs," said Senator Moran. "As demand for energy increases, so does the importance of securing our energy supply chains. It is critical that the Department of Energy is tracking trends in our nation's energy consumption to recognize vulnerabilities and protect national energy security."

The U.S. energy grid consists of millions of miles of transmission and distribution lines, transformers, sensors, software, communication systems, and other equipment that connect electric power generators to American homes and businesses. Disruption to the electric supply chain could result in devastating delays to critical generation and transmission development needed to address growing energy demand. Unfortunately, the U.S. is experiencing a growing electric reliability crisis coupled with dramatically increasing demand, making this legislation all the more pressing.

The Electric Supply Chain Act would address this growing crisis by requiring the Department of Energy to conduct regular reviews of the electric energy supply chain with the following information:

• Efforts and opportunities to strengthen, secure, and supply electric energy supply chains;
• Any trends, risks, and vulnerabilities in the supply, demand, and availability of components for or related to transmitting electricity;
• National security and energy security considerations for strengthening, securing, and expanding such supply chains;
• Barriers to expanding and manufacturing transmission components and the processing of critical minerals;
• Domestic policies that would prevent greater investment into such supply chains;
• Workforce challenges impacting such supply chains; and
• Recommendations to address the above challenges and risks to the electric energy supply chain.

Similar legislation led by Congressman Bob Latta (R-Ohio-05) recently passed the House of Representatives. This legislation is endorsed by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM); National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO); Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE); and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA).

"Manufacturers thank Senator Cortez Masto and Senator Moran for introducing the Senate companion to the Electric Supply Chain Act. Their leadership underscores the bipartisan commitment to strengthening America's competitiveness and keeping our economy growing. Manufacturers are making significant investments in the domestic production of components that are helping to maintain and modernize our grid, and this bill will help ensure those efforts are matched by smart federal oversight and strategic insight. We urge the Senate to continue this momentum and advance this legislation as part of the broader push for comprehensive permitting reform and grid modernization that will strengthen America's energy and AI dominance," said Chris Phalen, NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy.

"America's grid is foundational to reindustrializing our economy and advancing U.S. leadership in twenty-first century technologies," said Avery Ash, SAFE CEO. "Energy-intensive industries are central to American global competitiveness, including critical mineral processing, smelting, automotive manufacturing, and AI computing. The analysis required by this bill will be valuable in enabling strategies to secure our grid component supply chains from foreign adversaries and expand our grid to meet future electricity demand."

"The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) applauds Senators Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) for their introduction of the Electric Supply Chain Act, marking a swift and encouraging response to House passage of the bill earlier this month. By requiring regular reports on the grid and its supply chains from the U.S. Department of Energy, this bill enables government and private sector partners to undertake more efficient and effective actions that will improve the reliability and affordability of the grid. NEMA appreciates the Senate's commitment to comprehensive oversight and stewardship of our nation's most critical infrastructure, and encourages bipartisan action on this legislation," said Peter Ferrell, NEMA Senior Director of Government Relations.

Full text of the legislation can be found here.

Senator Cortez Masto has led efforts in Congress to strengthen our electric energy supply chains. Cortez Masto and Moran have worked together in the past on legislation to encourage the production of electric distribution transformers, devices that are critical to strengthening the energy grid. Earlier this year, Cortez Masto called on the Trump Administration to take strategic action to protect, invest in, and strengthen America's critical mineral supply chain. She introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen the domestic supply chain for rare-earth magnets, which are critical components of cell phones, computers, defense systems, and electric vehicles and to increase critical mineral production in the American West.

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