Cybersecurity, Reliability & CIP

Cybersecurity, Part 2

Opportunities and Challenges for State Utility Regulators

Part I examined the evolving role of state regulators in addressing cybersecurity in the energy sector. Part II surveys best practices in various locations and recommends methods for developing regulatory procedures that will ensure the security of critical energy assets.

Perpetuating the California Dream

Leadership Lyceum Podcast: A conversation with Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro

Edison International is the publicly traded holding company for Southern California Edison, the regulated utility, and a small array of non-regulated investments, plus Edison Energy. At $11.5 billion in annual revenue, and serving 15 million customers, the company is one of the largest utilities in the country.

Energy People: Arshad Mansoor

We talked with Arshad Mansoor, Senior Vice President, Research and Development for the Electric Power Research Institute

Arshad Mansoor is responsible for EPRI's portfolio of R&D and demonstration programs. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and is a member of the board of The Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) at UNC Charlotte.

Cybersecurity, Part 1

Opportunities and Challenges for State Utility Regulators

This article examines the evolving role of state regulators in addressing cybersecurity in the energy sector. It highlights the importance of developing state regulatory processes that promote efficiency, maintain confidentiality, consider affordability and incentivize investment, while ensuring both the cost-effectiveness and security of utility infrastructure.

Fighting the Cyber Threat

How To Prepare

Growing up as an Air Force brat, I had certain values drilled into me: Be aware, take responsibility, work as a team, and be prepared. These same values can help combat security threats facing our industry.

Ted Koppel: Right and Wrong

Electric Sector Cyber Security

Koppel’s “Lights Out” book focuses on America’s cyber vulnerability, and on what he perceives as the fecklessness of institutions designed to protect us. He deserves credit for raising a serious subject in greater depth than it is generally covered in the media. But his expertise in the area is not deep, and he gets some fundamental things wrong.

The Power of Innovation, Part 1

Utility Execs' Roundtable: We sat down with seven utility execs who lead their companies on innovation

Strategy& and Public Utilities Fortnightly recently collaborated on an innovation roundtable in Washington, D.C. at the offices of the Edison Electric Institute. The experiences of these senior executives convey insights attained through the hard work of creating their unique innovation platforms.

Response to Two Articles Re: Grid Resilience

A general response to the articles by Michael Deggendorf and by Paul Afonso, Lauren Azar, Dian Grueneich, James Hoecker in our August 2016 issue

Two articles in the August 2016 issue made the irrefutable case that we need to shore up grid resilience. I can’t argue with those measures. But I’m not sure that they are getting to the root of the problem. Perhaps we need to spend more time asking whether small decentralized systems can accomplish the same end as the large systems.

Averting Disaster on the Grid

Strategy to Mitigate Risks of Catastrophic Events

Grid Assurance is a coalition of six major U.S. utilities dedicated to providing a cost-effective solution to address the increasing threats to the security of power supplies. Grid Assurance and its consultants created a first-of-a-kind framework to help reduce restoration times following a severe attack from months to weeks or days.

The Mobiles are FAST

Including mobile substations in Strategic Transformer Reserve Program

Both spare large power transformers, and emergency mobile substations, have critical roles in the U.S. Department of Energy's Strategic Transformer Reserve Program, STRP. An emergency mobile substation can literally roll onto the site on the bed of a truck, run connecting wires to the power lines, and bypass all of the damaged substation equipment, allowing electricity to flow again within hours.