Dear Secretary Granholm:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (“the Chamber”) congratulates you on your Senate confirmation and looks forward to working with you and the Department of Energy (“DOE”). A top priority for the Chamber is working with you and the Biden administration to modify former President Trump’s May 1, 2020 Executive Order 13920, the “Executive Order on Securing the United States Bulk-Power System” (the “BPS EO”).1 Our members are committed partners of the federal government in seeking to achieve our common goal of safeguarding national security while strengthening the nation’s economy and supporting technological leadership.
Following the issuance of the BPS EO, the Chamber immediately convened an informal working group representing the majority of the primary participants in the electric sector supply chain for the United States bulk power system (the “Supply Chain Working Group”). The Supply Chain Working Group mobilized to supplement the contributions of electric utility interests providing feedback via the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (“ESCC”), to ensure that DOE has a robust understanding of the full breadth of stakeholders and associated interests that are impacted by, and will be required to achieve compliance with, any regulations or orders applicable to the complex equipment that comprises the United States bulk power system. We look forward to working with DOE to develop sound cybersecurity risk management measures for the bulk power system supply chain that avoid unintended adverse impacts to the bulk power system and the expansion and modernization of that system that will be essential to support the nation’s ongoing transition to cleaner energy sources.
