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By Rich Heidorn Jr. FERC on Thursday approved reliability standards for mitigating supply chain risks in industrial control system hardware, software and computing and networking services. The commission also ordered NERC to develop rules expanding the supply chain protections to include electronic access control and monitoring systems (EACMS). The commission’s...
By Rich Heidorn Jr. and Amanda Durish Cook FERC and NERC announced Wednesday they are conducting a joint inquiry into the January cold snap that resulted in generation outages and loads that approached summertime highs in MISO South. Uncharacteristically frigid weather prompted MISO to initiate a maximum generation alert for...
By Rich Heidorn Jr. FERC on Thursday ordered expanded reporting of cybersecurity incidents, saying attempts not currently reported could lead to bigger, more successful attacks. The commission gave NERC six months to revise its critical infrastructure protection (CIP) reliability standards to mandate reporting of incidents that compromise, or attempt to...
FERC OKs Reliability Standard on Fault Protections By Rich Heidorn Jr. FERC last week gave final approval to NERC reliability standards on training requirements and the coordination of protection systems to detect and isolate faults (Order 847, RM16-22). Standard PER-006-1 (Specific Training for Personnel) sets training requirements for real-time...
FERC Pushes NERC Further on GMD Rules By Rich Heidorn Jr. FERC took another step Thursday in its efforts to protect the grid from geomagnetic disturbance events (GMDs), proposing to approve a revised reliability standard but directing NERC to also require mitigation of vulnerabilities to localized events (RM18-8). The...
Don’t Rush on Resilience, Commenters Urge Warn Against PJM Overreach, Abandoning Stakeholder Process By RTO Insider Staff FERC should let RTO stakeholder processes work and not issue broad and costly new mandates on grid resilience, commenters told the commission in its proceeding to examine the resilience of the bulk...
FERC, NERC Recommend Expanded Black Start Testing By Rich Heidorn Jr. Coal plant retirements have not caused a shortage of black start resources, but grid operators should consider expanded testing, FERC and NERC said last week. NERC, its eight Regional Entities and the commission released a study May 2...
FERC Approves Dissolution of SPP RE By Tom Kleckner FERC on Friday approved the dissolution of the SPP Regional Entity (RE) and the transfer of its members to the Midwest Reliability Organization and SERC Reliability Corp., ending a reliability oversight role that had been a source of concern at...
FERC Finalizes Cyber Controls on Portable Devices By Rich Heidorn Jr. FERC on Thursday approved rules to prevent malware from infecting "low impact" computer systems through transient electronic devices such as laptops and thumb drives (RM17-11, Order 843). The order approves a requirement outlined in the commission’s October Notice...
By Rich Heidorn Jr. Two cybersecurity firms on Monday disclosed what may be the most dangerous cyber threat yet to U.S. power systems: malware that can take over control of circuit breakers without any manual involvement. Maryland-based Dragos and ESET, a Slovakian anti-virus software provider, said the malware — which...