Securing Reliable Power for Advanced Technologies Act

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: U.S. federal laws
• Most recent activity: Proposed
• Most recent activity date: 2025-11-07

Risk subdomain coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the risk subdomain are explicitly described.

• Competitive dynamics

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the risk subdomain are described.

• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use
• Environmental harm
• AI possessing dangerous capabilities

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has minimal to moderate coverage of approximately 3-4 subdomains, primarily focused on competitive dynamics (6.4), with some implicit coverage of cyberattacks/weapons development (4.2), environmental harm (6.6), and potentially dangerous capabilities (7.2). The document is primarily infrastructure-focused rather than risk-focused, addressing power supply for AI facilities rather than AI risks themselves.

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• Trade, Transportation & Utilities
• Information
• National Security

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the sector are described.

• Agriculture, Mining, Construction & Manufacturing
• Scientific Research & Development Services
• Public Administration (excl. National Security)

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

The document primarily governs three interconnected sectors: Information (data centers and AI computing facilities), Trade, Transportation and Utilities (electric power generation and transmission infrastructure), and National Security (AI infrastructure for defense purposes). The law establishes regulatory frameworks for energy infrastructure supporting AI development and deployment.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding Congressional bill that amends the Defense Production Act of 1950, creating legally enforceable obligations with mandatory language throughout ('shall'), established enforcement mechanisms including judicial review with specific timelines, penalties for non-compliance, and federal agency oversight.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress; Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America
• Summary: The document is a Congressional bill proposed for enactment by the U.S. legislative branch, as evidenced by the standard bill format and enactment clause.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Infrastructure_Provider, AI_Developer, AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Data centers and high-performance computing facilities; Dispatchable baseload electric generation facilities; Electric utilities and cooperatives; Coal mines and coal preparation facilities; Natural gas facilities; Oil and gas operations; Federal agencies with permitting authority; Rural electric cooperatives
• Summary: The document applies to multiple entity types: (1) AI infrastructure providers who own/operate data centers and computing facilities for AI training/inference; (2) power generation facilities and utilities that supply electricity to these facilities; and (3) Federal agencies that must comply with expedited permitting requirements.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: The President of the United States; Secretary of Defense; Secretary of Energy; Head of Federal agencies; United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; United States Court of Appeals (circuit courts); Supreme Court of the United States; Lead Federal agency
• Summary: The President is granted primary enforcement authority, including designation power, scheduling authority, dispute resolution, and exemption authority. Federal agency heads and Secretaries are assigned implementation and oversight responsibilities. Federal courts provide judicial enforcement through expedited review processes.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: The President or Presidential designee; Lead Federal agency; Secretary of Defense; Secretary of Energy; Federal agencies
• Summary: The President and designated lead agencies are responsible for monitoring compliance with consolidated schedules, reviewing permit applications, and overseeing implementation. The lead agency also handles compensation claims and monitors project adherence to requirements.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

• Plan and Design
• Build and Use Model
• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document covers multiple AI lifecycle stages with primary focus on Build and Use Model, Deploy, and Operate and Monitor stages. It addresses infrastructure necessary for training, development, and inference of AI models, as well as ongoing operation requirements through reliable power supply.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

• AI Models
• AI Systems
• Compute Threshold

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions AI models and AI systems, focusing on infrastructure requirements for training, development, and inference. It establishes a compute threshold (50 megawatts electrical load) for data centers but does not discuss specific model types (frontier, GPAI, foundation, generative) or training FLOP thresholds. The focus is on physical infrastructure rather than model characteristics.