Bill makes power shutoff data public to stop wildfires.
H.R. 10854 — Public Safety Power Shutoff Data Transparency Act · Filed by George Whitesides (D-CA) · Introduced Oct 19, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
Big power firms must tell the government when they shut off power to stop wildfires. They must report within 7 days of starting and stopping each shutoff. The Department of Energy will share summaries with other groups. It will post them online for people to see. Firms that report are safe from lawsuits about the data they give. Local groups can send feedback about how shutoffs hurt them.
Who it affects
People in towns and rural areas learn when and why power gets shut off. Power firms get safe from lawsuits for the data they report. State and local groups get facts to help plan for shutoffs.
One thing to notice
Power firms are safe from lawsuits even if shutoffs were not needed or poorly planned. The government can delay posting reports if it says safety is at risk.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Oct 19, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Oct 19, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- power shutoff — When a power firm turns off power to an area to stop wildfires.
- safe from lawsuits — A rule that stops firms from being sued for harm caused by data they report.
- Department of Energy — The federal group that handles power and energy facts and rules.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (8,517 characters) on Oct 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,396 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-22.
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