The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved two reliability standards developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to enhance transmission planning and cybersecurity, according to a Jan. 23 news release. The commission also accepted NERC’s performance assessment, endorsing the continued work of the corporation, now in its 13th year as the Electric Reliability Organization. In…
The New York State Public Service Commission adopted new cybersecurity and data privacy requirements for third-party energy suppliers and companies that electronically receive and exchange utility housed customer data, according to an Oct. 17 press release. The commission’s decision is directed at the state’s utilities and third-party energy suppliers with standards that ensure customer data remains…
The Michigan Public Service Commission is proposing to amend rules governing the technical standards for gas service for utilities under the Commission’s jurisdiction, including cybersecurity measures, according to an Oct. 17 press release. The proposed rules reflect new technologies in the area of metering, equipment inspections and tests as well as removing references to obsolete…
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry announced his resignation on Oct. 17 amid a Democratic-led impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s actions to pressure the Ukraine government to investigate his political opponent Joe Biden. The Energy Department wrote to House Committees that it would not comply with a subpoena demanding Ukraine-related documents, arguing that the House…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a report on Oct. 4 finding that most of the cyber security protection processes and procedures adopted by registered entities of the bulk power system met the mandatory requirements of the Critical Infrastructure Protection, or CIP, Reliability Standards during fiscal year 2019. The report, based on audits of registered…
Public Citizen Inc issued a protest to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requesting it release the name of utilities that violated reliability standards, according to June 24 filing with the federal regulator. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, which is responsible for enforcing the nation’s cybersecurity and reliability standards for the electric utility industry, issued a…
President Trump issued an executive order on March 26 directing federal agencies to assess and plan against the risks of an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, implementing the core recommendations of the decommissioned Congressional EMP Commission on an accelerated basis. An electromagnetic pulse is a high-intensity surge of energy that can disrupt or destroy sensitive electronics and electrical infrastructure…
The U.S. Energy Department is conducting exercises with the private sector to enhance the energy industry’s ability to withstand cyber attacks in keeping with the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month dedicated to protecting critical infrastructure, according to an Oct. 26 press release. The agency’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, launched in February, engaged…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Oct. 18 approved reliability standards to address supply chain risks in industrial control system hardware, software, and computing and networking services. The rule, developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation builds on existing critical infrastructure protection standards to allay cyber security risks associated with the supply chain for…
President Donald Trump nominated Bernard L. McNamee to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the term ending June 30, 2020, to fill the vacancy resulting from Commissioner Robert Powelson’s resignation in August, according to an Oct. 9 release from the agency. McNamee currently serves as the Executive Director of the U.S. Energy Department’s Office of…
The U.S. Energy Department announced the funding to support research partnerships that will facilitate next-generation technologies to advance cybersecurity and resilience of the electric grid and oil and natural gas infrastructure, according to an Oct. 1 press release. The projects will take innovative approaches such as redesigning existing architecture that makes the grid vulnerable to…
U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat representing Colorado, introduced legislation on June 5 that would provide $5 billion in financing under the U.S. Agriculture Department’s rural utility service program for cybersecurity and grid security enhancements. A second bill would include energy storage under the department’s Rural Energy for America Program, providing financial support for agricultural…
