Electricity at War
Rumors tell of a cyber attack on the power grid.
Electricity in war today is akin to the railroads, dating from the Civil War: a high-value target. Every line of code is a land mine, waiting for hackers to detonate.
Cybersecurity, Reliability & CIP
Before the Death Spiral, a Black Hole
How rooftop solar picks off the utility’s largest and most lucrative customers.
Let's make it clear also that affixing solar panels to your roof won't take you off-grid. Indeed it takes you to even greater dependence.
Cyber Security: Are Four-Letter Words Enough?
As it relates to cyber security, the existing regulatory paradigm falls short and provides inadequate protection to the electric grid.
Given the dynamic nature of cyber threats, we should ask ourselves whether mandatory reliability standards drafted by NERC and approved by FERC can get past the uncertainty created by cumbersome procedures and regulatory delays to provide an effective means of addressing the cyber security threat to the bulk power system. Let’s examine some of the regulatory gaps and risks presented by our current system of NERC and FERC oversight.
Preparing for NERC CIP Version 5
A look at Its new guidelines for secure remote access
Several utility regulatory bodies have initiatives tailored to help secure remote access to the electric power grid from cybercrime. The most notable of these efforts comes from the North American Energy Reliability Corporation (NERC), with the realization of Version 5 of its Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standard, which goes into effect on April 1, 2016.
Utility System Hardening
Taking Resiliency One Step Further
An independent system operator for the distribution network could allow utilities to invest in rooftop solar behind the meter and within territory.
Intelligent Protection
Local network security in the age of microgrids and distributed generation.
With the local grid infused with distributed generation, static relay settings must yield to a more dynamic approach to ensure network security.
In the Crosshairs
Protecting substations and transformers after the PG&E Metcalf attack.
The latest fallout from the April 2013 Metcalf incident: the unprecedented assault with high-powered rifles on PG&E’s Metcalf substation, in Silicon Valley, which disabled 17 of 20 large transformers.
Why Outage Management Must Change
Smart grid advancements call for a new approach to restoration.
The next-generation smart grid system must perform SCADA, DMS, and OMS functions using a single, common representation of the distribution network.
Cybersecurity and the PUC
Regulators and utilities should collaborate more to address cyber threats.
Public utility commissions face a growing need to understand cybersecurity issues, so they can address utility investments and processes. A collaborative approach will allow an effective response.
Scare Tactics
New England’s proposed capacity market reform would force generators to ‘Be There or Else.’
Facing worries about resource adequacy, ISO New England proposes changes that would penalize generators that fail to perform when needed -- for any reason. Market players say it can only work if the system operator allows for reasonable exceptions.