In its latest round of Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) audits, FERC noted registered entities have made significant progress in meeting or exceeding the reliability standards’ mandatory requirements. However, the commission still noted several "potential compliance infractions" and other areas for improvement. FERC’s "Lessons Learned from Commission-Led CIP Reliability Audits" report...

FERC on Friday rejected a challenge by security activist Michael Mabee against NERC’s Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) reliability standards (EL20-46). Mabee filed his complaint May 12, focusing primarily on CIP-013-1 (Cybersecurity — Supply chain risk management) and its supposed deficiencies relating to President Trump’s executive order of May 1 declaring...

FERC on Wednesday approved a settlement between WECC and an unnamed entity in the Western Interconnection for violations of NERC’s Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) reliability standards (NP20-21). The settlement does not involve a monetary penalty. NERC notified the commission of the agreement Aug. 30 in a Notice of Penalty (NOP),...

NERC on Monday completed the second of two compliance filings directed by FERC earlier this year, detailing changes to its Rules of Procedure (ROP) intended to "reflect current business practices and provide further transparency to industry stakeholders" (RR19-7). FERC ordered the ROP changes in January in response to NERC’s five-year...

FERC and NERC will no longer publicly post information about violations of the ERO’s Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards, according to a joint white paper published by the organizations on Wednesday (AD19-18). Under the new rule, NERC will request that CIP noncompliance information filed to the commission be treated as...

FERC on Thursday approved the full retirement of four NERC reliability standards and the modification of five others, in the name of "[enhancing] the efficiency of the reliability standards program." The updates will result in the retirement of 18 reliability standard requirements overall (RM19-16, RM19-17). The four standards to be...

Seeking "a better understanding of the risks to bulk electric system reliability posed by … entities identified as risks to national security," FERC on Thursday issued a Notice of Inquiry regarding reliability risks posed by BES equipment originating overseas (RM20-19). The NOI seeks comments from utilities on: the extent of...

Rapid advances in digital technology can provide utilities with much needed assistance in wildfire response, panelists said during Edison Electric Institute’s 2020 Virtual Leadership Summit. In the "Harnessing Technology to Fight Wildfires" panel, attendees including Caroline Winn, CEO of San Diego Gas & Electric, discussed the potential of emerging technologies...

Trust and collaboration between the private and public sectors is more important than ever for guarding against cyberattacks on U.S. critical infrastructure, according to participants in Edison Electric Institute’s 2020 Virtual Leadership Summit. Southern Co. CEO Tom Fanning, who participated in the government-sponsored Cyberspace Solarium Commission last year and moderated...

NERC CEO Jim Robb’s virtual attendance during last week’s Texas Reliability Entity quarterly governance meetings gave stakeholders an opportunity to clear up a bit of confusion: Why were wind farms and solar facilities excluded from the Department of Energy’s and NERC’s requests for data on the bulk power system’s exposure...