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Cybersecurity experts say that last week’s ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline, which led to the ongoing shutdown of the network that carries almost half the supply of gasoline, diesel and other fuel products to the U.S. East Coast, provides a graphic reminder of the rapidly evolving landscape of cyber threats...

The ERO will hold its final planning meeting for GridEx VI from 1 to 3 p.m. ET on May 26. All registered GridEx planners are invited to attend the session, Katherine Ledesma, of the E-ISAC, told the Real-Time Operating Subcommittee (RTOS) at its meeting Wednesday. "The final planning meeting is...

FERC gave final approval Thursday for NERC and WECC to introduce regional reliability standard BAL-002-WECC-3 (RM19-20). The commission also granted the entities the extension they requested for the follow-on progress report that FERC ordered when it approved the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the standard last year. (See FERC Approves...

PacifiCorp has 30 days to convince FERC it should not have to pay a penalty of up to $42 million for alleged violations of NERC reliability standards that may have contributed to the 2012 Wood Hollow wildfire in Utah, the commission ordered Thursday. The Order to Show Cause and Notice...

NERC CEO Jim Robb said Tuesday that his organization thinks more work will be needed to prepare the bulk power system for extreme winter events, even after the proposed cold weather standard (Project 2019-06) is finished. NERC CEO Jim Robb | © ERO Insider “Our conclusion, and we think FERC...

FERC’s proposal for incentivizing public utilities to invest in cybersecurity improvements provoked a range of reactions from industry stakeholders in the comment period that closed earlier this week (RM21-3). The commission introduced the proposed incentive structure in December, building on a white paper published last June that sought to build...

NERC’s proposed virtualization-related updates to its critical infrastructure protection standards are headed for another round of revisions after an extended public comment period revealed widespread industry skepticism about the planned changes. Comments for Project 2016-02 (Modifications to CIP standards) closed on Monday following a 60-day posting. (See NERC Seeks Faster...

Electric distribution systems that carry energy to end consumers are highly vulnerable targets for cyberattacks, but these risks are "not fully" addressed by the Department of Energy’s cybersecurity strategy, according to a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. GAO’s "Electric Grid Cybersecurity" report draws on interviews with officials...

FERC on Thursday approved revisions to three of NERC’s critical infrastructure protection (CIP) reliability standards, submitted last year under Project 2019-03 (Cybersecurity supply chain risks). The commission’s order approved the following standards: CIP-005-7: Cybersecurity — Electronic security perimeter(s) CIP-010-4: Cybersecurity — Configuration change management and vulnerability assessments CIP-013-2: Cybersecurity —...

NERC is considering accelerating the schedule for its cold weather standard project (Project 2019-06) after last month’s winter storm that led to prolonged mass outages in Texas lent a fresh urgency to the effort, project leaders told the standard drafting team (SDT) in a conference call Monday. NERC Senior Standards...