Members of Congress went to North Carolina to hold a field hearing on the substation attacks in early December that knocked out power to 45,000 customers.

NERC and industry trade groups asked FERC to reject a call to change how assets are classified under the Critical Infrastructure Protection standard.

Registered entities must report to NERC on the cyber assets present on their systems and the potential impact of adding security monitoring software.

NERC’s Standards Committee declined to advance a project to modify cybersecurity reporting requirements, seeking a fuller response to criticism of the proposal.

One of two men charged with attacking electric substations in Washington state over the Christmas holiday has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges.

FERC took the last step in fulfilling its obligation to encourage voluntary investments in cybersecurity by electric utilities, as directed by Congress in 2021.

NERC will consider changes to its reliability standard for physical security in response to the threat of violence against grid assets.

While none of the incidents affected reliability, evidence of attackers’ efforts to sabotage the grid “highlights the continued need for vigilance,” NERC said.

NERC will not support expanding physical security standards to all major BPS assets when it files comments with FERC next month, a senior official told EPSA.

FERC acted to shore up grid cybersecurity defenses by approving a NERC reliability standard that requires utilities to protect low-impact cyber resources.