H.R. 7607

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7607 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7607

To study and modernize the measurement and reporting of United States 
energy use, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 20, 2026

Mr. Casten (for himself, Ms. Castor of Florida, and Mr. Cleaver) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To study and modernize the measurement and reporting of United States 
energy use, 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 ``Modernizing EIA Tracking and 
Reporting to Increase Consistency Act'' or the ``METRIC Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND FINDINGS.

(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to improve the energy 
performance, transparency, and decision-making of the United States by 
modernizing how the United States measures and accounts for gross 
amount of energy input into the national energy system.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) historical measures of primary energy were developed 
for economies dominated by combustion-based fuels and do not 
accurately capture the efficiency or system value of 
noncombustion energy sources;
(2) differences in how primary energy are measured across 
fuel and renewable systems obscure trends in electrification, 
decarbonization, and energy productivity, hindering effective 
policymaking and misinforming researchers, market participants, 
and the public; and
(3) enhancing national energy accounting through improved 
data collection, modeling, and transparency will strengthen 
evidence-based policymaking, support market efficiency, and 
better align United States statistics with the energy 
transition.

SEC. 3. MODERNIZING ENERGY METRICS.

(a) Study on Primary Energy Indicators.--
(1) Required study.--The Secretary of Energy, with support 
from the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration 
and relevant offices within the Department of Energy, shall 
conduct a comprehensive study on the validity, limitations, and 
potential alternatives to the use of the indicators for primary 
energy in national energy accounting.
(2) Scope of study.--The study shall include--
(A) an evaluation of the conceptual basis and 
historical rationale for the current indicator for 
primary energy calculated and reported by the Energy 
Information Administration;
(B) an assessment of the limitations of primary 
energy accounting in accurately reflecting energy 
efficiency, energy transitions, and the value and 
comparability of combustible and noncombustible energy 
sources;
(C) an analysis of alternative indicators and their 
suitability for integration into national energy 
statistics;
(D) a review of international best practices for 
energy accounting, including methodologies used by the 
International Energy Agency and peer nations; and
(E) recommendations for improvements or 
replacements to the primary energy indicator that 
better align with national goals for energy efficiency, 
electrification, decarbonization, and economic 
productivity.
(3) Report to congress.--Not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall 
submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate a report containing the findings and 
recommendations of the study required under paragraph (1).
(b) Complementary Incident Energy Statistics.--Section 205 of the 
Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7135) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
``(n) Incident Energy Statistics.--
``(1) Requirement.--The Administrator shall develop, 
collect, analyze, and report on incident energy.
``(2) Measurement and estimation.--
``(A) Data derived from surveys.--To the extent 
feasible, under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 
collect, through surveys, reporting requirements, or 
other data-collection mechanisms, data representing the 
amount of incident energy, consistent with the 
approaches used to evaluate primary energy for thermal 
energy sources.
``(B) Derived estimates.--With respect to energy 
sources for which it is not feasible to collect data 
under subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall develop 
and publish model-based estimates or analytical 
approximations of the amount of incident energy, 
updated on an annual basis, based on--
``(i) data collected through new or 
existing surveys of manufacturers, operators, 
or users of energy conversion technologies;
``(ii) physical models or statistical 
analyses developed or adopted by the Energy 
Information Administration; and
``(iii) information derived from Federal 
research institutions, National Laboratories, 
the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, or other 
appropriate entities using remote sensing, 
satellite imagery, or comparable observational 
techniques, as may be necessary.
``(3) Integration and publication.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall include 
the data on the amount of incident energy included in 
each report required by paragraph (1) in the existing 
reports or other products published by the Energy 
Information Administration that include primary energy 
and final energy statistics in a manner that enables 
side-by-side comparison of energy-conversion efficiency 
and system performance.
``(B) Public availability.--The Administrator shall 
make all data, assumptions, and methods used under this 
subsection for purposes of developing, collecting, 
analyzing, and reporting on incident energy publicly 
available in machine-readable formats and shall 
describe the degree of uncertainty or approximation 
associated with the estimates and analytical 
approximations developed and published under paragraph 
(2)(B).
``(4) Relationship to existing statistics.--This subsection 
shall not be construed to affect how the Energy Information 
Administration defines or reports primary energy as of the date 
of enactment of this subsection.
``(5) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Energy conversion.--The term `energy 
conversion' means any physical, chemical, or mechanical 
process by which energy is transformed from one form to 
another for the purpose of producing electricity, heat, 
mechanical work, chemical energy, or another usable or 
storable form of energy.
``(B) Final energy.--The term `final energy'--
``(i) means energy in the form delivered to 
end users for consumption in buildings, 
transportation, industrial processes, or other 
sectors; and
``(ii) includes electricity, pipeline gas, 
gasoline, diesel, hydrogen, and district heat.
``(C) Incident energy.--The term `incident 
energy'--
``(i) means the total energy entering an 
energy conversion technology or system from 
natural or environmental sources, including 
both thermal and nonthermal forms, before any 
transformation or conversion losses occur; and
``(ii) includes energy from combustible 
fuels, biomass, nuclear materials, solar 
radiation, wind, geothermal heat, hydroelectric 
potential, and other renewable or nonrenewable 
resources.''.
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