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By Holden Mann FERC Commissioner Richard Glick warned that the commission’s recent order regarding Duke Energy’s accounting treatment of its cybersecurity program sends a signal that it will let utilities sidestep its rules when convenient. The order issued Thursday allows Duke to treat its Cybersecurity Informational Technology-Operational Technology Program as...

By Holden Mann Comments on a proposal to ensure generators are prepared for cold-weather events revealed widespread skepticism over the value of pursuing new standards. SPP proposed the project earlier this year following the release of a joint FERC and NERC staff report on the Jan. 17, 2018, cold-weather event...

By Rich Heidorn Jr. FERC announced Thursday it was rethinking its cybersecurity strategy by reorganizing two departments and directing its efforts at five "focus areas." FERC is directing its cybersecurity efforts at five “focus areas.” | FERC The changes resulted from Chairman Neil Chatterjee’s directive that the Office of Electric...

By Holden Mann NERC opened a final ballot Wednesday on a proposal requiring entities that fail to meet performance requirements for "supplemental" geomagnetic disturbances (GMD) to develop corrective action plans (CAP) to minimize their vulnerability. Voting will be open until 8 p.m. E.T. Nov. 22 on reliability standard TPL-007-4 (Transmission...

By Rich Heidorn Jr. WASHINGTON — The limits of grid exercises and simulation tools and the need to prepare for a successful cyberattack were recurrent themes at the National Academies’ Committee on the Future of Electric Power in the U.S. daylong conference on computing, communications and cyber resilience. Observations from...

By Christen Smith, Tom Kleckner and Michael Kuser Representatives from utilities, RTOs, technology vendors and researchers gathered at FERC headquarters in D.C. last week for a staff-led workshop to discuss the role of grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) in transmission planning and operations and explore how FERC can help the industry address...

By Rich Heidorn Jr. and Holden Mann ATLANTA — Andy Dodge, director of the FERC Office of Electric Reliability, said the commission and NERC are reviewing the more than 70 comments filed in response to their proposal on disclosure of critical infrastructure protection (CIP) violations and will determine their next...

ATLANTA — NERC Chairman Roy Thilly told the Member Representatives Committee on Tuesday that he has asked CEO Jim Robb to develop a plan to reduce the Board of Trustees’ quarterly meetings to three gatherings per year. Stakeholders at the MRC meeting in Atlanta on Nov. 5 | © ERO...

By Rich Heidorn Jr. FERC’s fourth round of Critical Infrastructure Protection audits still found room for improvement, with the commission’s Oct. 4 report listing seven "lessons learned." Based on "several" audits, the Office of Electric Reliability’s (OER) Division of Reliability Standards and Security, assisted by the Office of Enforcement’s Division...

By Rich Heidorn Jr. and Michael Brooks WASHINGTON — FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee accused Commissioner Richard Glick of seeking to politicize commission staff’s Winter Energy Market Assessment after Glick complained that he had not been allowed to suggest changes to the report before staff’s presentation at Thursday’s open meeting. "As...