(a) In general

On the request of a State, regional organization, or electric utility, the Secretary of Energy shall provide assistance to States, regional organizations, and electric utilities to facilitate the development of State, regional, and local electricity distribution plans by—

(1) conducting a resource assessment and analysis of future demand and distribution requirements; and

(2) developing open source tools for State, regional, and local planning and operations.

(b) Risk and security analysis

The assessment under subsection (a)(1) shall include—

(1) the evaluation of the physical security, cybersecurity, and associated communications needs of an advanced distribution management system and the integration of distributed energy resources; and

(2) advanced use of grid architecture to analyze risks in an all-hazards approach that includes communications infrastructure, control systems architecture, and power systems architecture.

(c) Designation

The information collected for the assessment and analysis under subsection (a)(1)—

(1) shall be considered to be critical electric infrastructure information under section 824o-1 of title 16; and

(2) shall only be released in compliance with regulations implementing that section.

(d) Technical assistance

For the purpose of assisting in the development of State and regional electricity distribution plans, the Secretary shall provide technical assistance to—

(1) States;

(2) regional reliability entities; and

(3) other distribution asset owners and operators.

(e) Withdrawal

A State or any entity that has requested technical assistance under this section may withdraw the request for technical assistance at any time, and on such withdrawal, the Secretary shall terminate all assistance efforts.

(f) Effect

Nothing in this section authorizes the Secretary to require any State, regional organization, regional reliability entity, asset owner, or asset operator to adopt any model, tool, plan, analysis, or assessment.