H.R. 4338

[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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