SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Committee members are chosen to assure well-balanced representation in terms of substantive technical expertise, institutional affiliation ( i.e., State, industry, and university), geographic location, and any other considerations required. The EAC has members who represent interests outside of private industry, including academic, economic, labor, research, and state and tribal government interests. OE will continue to broadly reach out to interested individuals to find membership for the board through direct contact or expressions of interest via a Federal Register Notice. Membership and representation of all interests will be determined in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act and its implementing regulations.

The renewal of the Committee has been deemed essential to the Department of Energy's (DOE's) business and in public interest in conjunction with the performance of duties imposed upon the DOE, by law and agreement.

Public Interest Determination: Pursuant to 41 CFR 102-3.65(a), DOE is providing a written public interest determination, approved by the Secretary of Energy, detailing why this committee is essential to the conduct of agency business and that the information to be obtained is not already available through another advisory committee or source within the Federal Government.

1. Annual budget: Approximately $465,000 is planned for FY 27.

a. Federal personnel on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis—The estimated annual person year of staff support required is one-half equivalent Federal full-time employee, at an estimated annual cost of $135,000. ( printed page 42430)

b. Other Federal internal costs—The estimate for other Federal internal costs, which include Federal travel, meeting/administrative expenses, and contractor costs, is $155,000.

c. Proposed payments to members—The estimated payments for 60 non-Federal members are $0; the estimated salary of zero Federal members is $0.

d. Proposed number of members—Approximately 60 members.

e. Reimbursable costs—The estimate for reimbursable costs, including members' travel expenses, is approximately $175,000.

2. Total dollar value of grants expected to be recommended during the Fiscal Year: $0.

3. Criteria for selecting members to ensure the committee has the necessary expertise and fairly balanced membership: Committee members are chosen to assure well-balanced representation in terms of substantive technical expertise, institutional affiliation ( i.e., State, industry, and university), geographic location, and any other considerations required. The EAC has members who represent interests outside of private industry, including academic, economic, labor, research, and state and tribal government interests. OE will continue to broadly reach out to interested individuals to find membership for the board through direct contact or expressions of interest via a Federal Register Notice. Membership and representation of all interests will be determined in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act and its implementing regulations.

4. Other DOE Federal advisory committees:

21st Century Energy Workforce Advisory Board

Advisory Committee for Nuclear Security

Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee

Carbon Dioxide Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration Federal Lands Permitting Task Force

Carbon Dioxide Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration Non-Federal Lands Permitting Task Force

Electric Vehicle Working Group

Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board

Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee

Isotope Research & Development and Production Advisory Committee

Industrial Technology Innovation Advisory Committee

Methane Hydrate Advisory Committee

National Coal Council

National Petroleum Council

National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee

President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology

Office of Science Advisory Committee

Secretary of Energy Advisory Board

State Energy Advisory Board

Technical Panel on Magnetic Fusion

5. Justification that the information or advice provided by the Federal advisory committee is not available from another Federal advisory committee, another Federal Government source, or any other more cost-effective and less burdensome source: No other advisory committee focuses only on the modernization of the nation's electric system. This board is uniquely suited to finding solutions to problems that the government alone cannot answer, and its advice cannot be obtained more economically through any means, such as public hearings.

6. Summary of the previous accomplishments of the committee and the reasons it needs to continue: Since the last charter renewal in August 2024, the EAC has met 2 times and produced several reports and recommendations that have benefited the Office of Electricity's policies and programs. The 3 EAC approved work products approved at the June 2025 meeting were the “ 2024 Biennial Energy Storage Review ”, “ Bridging the Visibility Gap: Advancing Grid Resiliency and National Security With Last-Mile Digitization and Enhanced Distribution-Level Tools ”, and “ Resilient Communication for Grid Security: Enabling Private Broadband Networks for Critical Infrastructure, ” which provided recommendations across energy storage and grid resilience. Additionally, 4 recommendation reports are currently in development within the Grid Resilience for National Security, Smart Grid, and Energy Storage subcommittees. Further, the in-person full EAC meetings also included panels featuring noted thought leaders from the industry, regulatory bodies, public interest organizations, academic institutions and other stakeholders to provide DOE with invaluable feedback on Department initiatives and activities.

7. Explanation of why the committee is essential to the conduct of agency business: The EAC will help identify areas for the Office of Electricity to focus on and provide recommendations to aid in driving down electricity costs, securing our grid, increasing domestic energy production, and advancing critical technologies, such as artificial intelligence. Receiving outside input from industry, academia, and public interest groups is essential in developing sound policies on modernizing the U.S. electric system. The Committee will provide advice on many topics within the following broad subject areas:

a. Advise DOE on current and future electric grid reliability, security, and policy issues of concern;

b. Periodically review and make recommendations on DOE electric grid-related programs and initiatives, including electricity-related R&D programs and deployment activities including technology development, technical assistance, modeling and analysis, and planning and policy;

c. Identify emerging issues related to affordability, production, delivery, end-use, supply chain, reliability, security, modeling, and regulatory structures, and make recommendations, if appropriate, concerning DOE policy and initiatives;

d. Make recommendations on how DOE can address the growing interdependence of and risk to critical electric infrastructure and other critical sectors such as defense, communications, and transportation;

e. Advise on coordination between DOE, state, tribal, territorial, and regional officials and the private sector on matters affecting affordability, production, delivery, end-use, reliability, security, and economic and regulatory structures;

f. Advise on coordination between Federal, State, tribal, territorial, and regional officials and the private sector in the event of supply disruption or other emergencies related to electric transmission, generation, and distribution; and

g. Make recommendations to the Department on how to best implement programs or policies directly affecting all components of the electric system and its operations, as appropriate.

Signing Authority

This document was signed on July 7, 2026, by David Borak, Committee Management Officer, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature and date is maintained by the DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as an official document of the DOE. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the Federal Register .

91 FR 42429