[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4338 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4338
To develop weather tools for electricity system planning and
operational modeling, expand research on extreme weather event
scenarios for energy utility companies and regulators, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 10, 2025
Ms. Leger Fernandez (for herself, Mr. Casten, Ms. Castor of Florida,
and Ms. Ross) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To develop weather tools for electricity system planning and
operational modeling, expand research on extreme weather event
scenarios for energy utility companies and regulators, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Weather-Safe Energy Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF WEATHER-SAFE ENERGY PLATFORM AND SUPPORT FOR
ELECTRICITY SYSTEM PLANNING AND OPERATIONAL MODELING.
(a) Initial Report on Meteorological and Extreme Weather Event
Data.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this
section, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report containing the following:
(1) A summary of current efforts in federally funded
research and development centers to develop the use of
meteorological, hydrological, and extreme weather event data
for energy system modeling.
(2) A description of the specific actions that the
Secretary shall take to carry out subsection (b).
(b) Weather-Safe Energy Platform Digital Tool.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall develop and maintain
an open-access digital tool, to be known as the ``Weather-Safe
Energy Platform'' (in this section, referred to as the
``Platform''), to provide high-resolution data of
meteorological and hydrological variables suitable for
electricity system planning and operational models.
(2) Availability of platform.--The Secretary shall make
available the Platform not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this section.
(3) Contents of platform.--The Platform shall include the
following, with respect to the United States:
(A) Meteorological and hydrological variables
derived from state-of-the-science atmospheric models
used in international model intercomparison projects,
regional forecasting datasets, and reanalysis data, as
determined appropriate by the Secretary, at
spatiotemporal resolutions suitable for electricity
system planning and operational modeling.
(B) Information that maintains spatiotemporal
correlation of the meteorological and hydrological
variables to ensure a realistic and reliable
representation of conditions that may contribute to
cascading failures of electricity systems.
(C) Historical data and projections of
meteorological and hydrological variables across short-
, medium-, and long-term timelines, developed using
methods that ensure consistency with standard practices
for evaluating electricity system planning and
operational decisions.
(D) Sufficient information to provide for ensemble
model scenarios that support narrative- or
storytelling-based approaches to modeling current and
future conditions and effects on electricity systems.
(E) Up-to-date information provided by ongoing
relevant research projects.
(4) Stakeholder input.--The Secretary shall include input
from stakeholders determined appropriate by the Secretary,
including utility companies, municipalities, independent system
operators, regional transmission operators, Federal and State
regulators, and academic experts, to ensure the Platform meets
the data needs of such stakeholders in the energy modeling
activities of the stakeholders.
(5) Fit-for-purpose data strategy.--The Secretary shall
develop and implement a strategy to carry out the following:
(A) Evaluate whether the data in the Platform are
appropriate for specific electricity system planning
and operation applications.
(B) Ensure that each dataset in the Platform
includes, or is accompanied by, clear and standardized
metadata that includes information on best-practice use
cases such as trend detection, uncertainty analysis,
and the study of extreme event intensification.
(C) Establish and implement procedures to regularly
review and update datasets and the metadata of the
datasets to account for and reflect advances in science
and the evolving needs of stakeholders.
(c) Research and Modeling Into Extreme Weather Event Scenarios.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall take such actions, as
determined appropriate by the Secretary, to support research
projects to enhance the understanding and modeling of the
changes to extreme weather events that affect the planning and
operations of electricity systems.
(2) Grants for increased research.--The Secretary shall
make funds available, through grants made on a competitive
basis, contracts, and cooperative agreements, to federally
funded research and development centers, institutions of higher
education, and other eligible independent research institutions
(as determined by the Secretary) to carry out the research
projects and modeling referred to in paragraph (1).
(3) Integration of research findings into the platform.--
The Secretary shall integrate into the Platform such findings
from the research projects and modeling referred to in
paragraph (1) to assist energy utility companies and regulators
with respect to planning for, and responding to, changes in
extreme weather events.
(d) Technical Assistance.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide training
resources and technical assistance to utility companies, grid
operators, municipalities, State regulators, and other
interested stakeholders.
(2) Goals.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall carry out the following:
(A) Offer workshops, training sessions, and
distribute educational materials to stakeholders to
improve understanding of how meteorological and
hydrological variables and extreme weather events
affect electricity system planning and operations.
(B) Provide technical assistance with respect to
the following:
(i) Utilizing the tools and resources
available through the Platform.
(ii) Integrating scenario data into
electricity system planning and operational
models.
(C) Facilitate collaboration and the exchange of
knowledge among stakeholders to identify best practices
for electricity system planning and operations with
respect to changes in meteorological and hydrological
variables and changes in extreme weather events.
(e) Reports to Congress.--Not later than 5 years after the date of
the enactment of this section, and on a periodic basis thereafter not
less frequently than every 3 years, the Secretary shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report containing descriptions
of the following:
(1) The funds used to carry out this section, including
grants made pursuant to subsection (c).
(2) The outcomes achieved through such grants.
(3) The development and deployment of the Platform.
(4) The advancements in the research carried out pursuant
to subsection (b).
(5) The extent to which utility companies, grid operators,
and Federal and State regulators have utilized the Platform.
(6) The activities and effects of the training resources
and technical assistance provided under subsection (d).
(f) Implementation.--The Secretary shall carry out--
(1) subsections (a) and (c) through the Office of
Electricity of the Department of Energy, in consultation with
such agency heads as determined appropriate by the Secretary;
and
(2) subsections (b) and (d) through research and
development centers funded by the Secretary.
(g) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the following:
(A) The Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives.
(B) The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
of the Senate.
(2) Ensemble model.--The term ``ensemble model'' means a
collection of multiple simulations used to estimate uncertainty
in projections of meteorological phenomena, including extreme
weather events, that provides a range of possible outcomes with
respect to such phenomena.
(3) Extreme weather event.--The term ``extreme weather
event'' means severe and abnormal earth system phenomena that
can significantly affect the operations of electricity systems,
including hurricanes, coastal or inland flooding, wildfires,
snowpack or permafrost thaw, and extreme droughts.
(4) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given that
term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001).
(5) Meteorological and hydrological variables.--The term
``meteorological and hydrological variables'' includes
temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar radiation,
precipitation, streamflow, and other atmospheric and water-
related measurements.
(6) Open-access digital tool.--The term ``open-access
digital tool'' means a computational resource, including
software, datasets, and modeling frameworks, that is designed
to support energy system resilience planning and operational
decision-making that is publicly available without restrictions
to access, use, or distribution.
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy.
(8) Spatiotemporal correlation.--The term ``spatiotemporal
correlation'' means the statistical relationship between
variables across both space and time that ensures consistency
in modeling the effect of extreme weather events on energy
systems.
(9) Spatiotemporal resolution.--The term ``spatiotemporal
resolution'' means the level of detail in which data elements
are represented across space and time that is appropriate for
energy system modeling and analysis.
(10) State-of-the-science.--The term ``state-of-the-
science'' means the most advanced and validated knowledge,
methods, or technologies available in scientific research and
applications related to meteorology, hydrology, extreme weather
events, and energy system modeling.
(11) United states.--The term ``United States'' means each
of the several States of the United States, the District of
Columbia, and the territories and possessions of the United
States.
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