The Energy Act of 2020 included specific requirements for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct research and report back to Congress on energy access and reliability on tribal lands.

To meet this requirement and develop a thorough and substantive report from the tribal perspective, the DOE Office of Indian Energy held a virtual listening session on Nov. 4, 2021, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Mountain Time.

DOE sought to gather insights directly from Native Nations about the status of unelectrified homes and electricity reliability issues in tribal communities.

Tribal leaders and staff from energy, planning, natural resources, or other relevant tribal government departments and positions were encouraged to join the discussion. Tribal participation is critically important to help DOE develop a report that reflects tribal input and addresses the energy challenges tribal communities face.

Along with exploring challenges and potential solutions, the listening session gave tribes an opportunity to provide input on the development of DOE's report for Congress. DOE will schedule a follow-up listening session in 2022 to provide participants with an opportunity to discuss and review the report's findings and provide feedback on the recommendations.

Download the presentation slides.

Review the polling questions and roundtable discussion topics.

Download the polling question results.

Please submit any questions to IndianEnergy@hq.doe.gov.