On March 16, FERC approved North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Reliability Standard CIP-003-9, Cyber Security – Security Management Controls, which introduces two new requirements to the suite of...more
Regulatory developments include FERC’s orders on electric storage resources participating in the wholesale markets, qualifying facility eligibility, and reliability rules for inverter-based resources....more
On March 2, the White House issued the National Cybersecurity Strategy (the Strategy), a broad vision to reinvigorate the federal government’s approach to cybersecurity and address a wide spectrum of long-term challenges. The...more
As cyberattack threats rise around the globe, malicious actors are increasingly setting their sights on exploiting critical infrastructure. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), tasked with safeguarding land-based...more
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a request for information (RFI) on the new cyber incident reporting requirements for critical infrastructure owners as required by the Cyber Incident...more
More than a decade since issuing Order No. 1000, FERC is formally developing new rules for regional transmission planning and cost allocation after what FERC calls “mounting evidence” that existing planning processes are...more
More than a decade since issuing Order No. 1000, FERC is formally developing new rules for regional transmission planning and cost allocation after what FERC calls “mounting evidence” that existing planning processes are...more
More than a decade since issuing Order No. 1000, FERC is formally developing new rules for regional transmission planning and cost allocation after what FERC calls “mounting evidence” that existing planning processes are...more
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) filed its 2022 NERC Standards Report, Status and Timetable for Addressing Regulatory Directives summarizing the progress made and plans for addressing the reliability...more
Cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure systems are nothing new. But events over the last few years have been notable due to the seemingly increased frequency of successful attacks and the way those attacks have been...more
The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently issued a notice seeking public comment on two new electric vehicle (EV) programs that will receive funding under the Infrastructure...more
The Federal Register recently published the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) notice of Request for Information (RFI) seeking public input on energy sector supply chains. The RFI requests that stakeholders provide comment on a...more
US congressional Democrats released the latest version of H.R. 5376—better known as the Build Back Better Act—late last week, hoping to advance a $1.85 trillion spending package after months of deadlock. The release of the...more
Hydrogen has been widely touted as a solution to achieve ambitious emissions reduction goals. But in order to unleash hydrogen’s potential as a viable energy source to meet current targets, it needs to be produced in larger...more
Virginia became the second state in the United States, after California, to pass a comprehensive data privacy law when the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA) passed both houses of the state legislature in February...more
6/15/2021
/ CDPA ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Controller ,
Data Management ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Electricity ,
New Legislation ,
Opt-Outs ,
Personal Data ,
Virginia
As has been reported, a recent ransomware attack has caused an interstate pipeline and fuel supplier to much of the eastern United States to shut down its operations. Although the attack did not compromise operational...more
5/13/2021
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Hackers ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
National Security ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Supply Chain
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on February 24 to address possible vulnerabilities in the supply chains of critical national economic sectors, including the energy sector. ...more
FERC issued a pair of orders terminating, or upholding the termination of, proceedings designed to evaluate the resiliency of the electric grid on February 18. Both proceedings arose from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s)...more
On February 17, Texas Governor Greg Abbott took the extraordinary measure of directing the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) to restrict out-of-state exports of natural gas produced in Texas through February 21. Noting the...more
In May 2020, US President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13920, banning the unrestricted import or use of certain categories of bulk-power system electric equipment from foreign adversaries, with a focus on Russian and...more
2/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Reform ,
Executive Orders ,
Imports ,
Infrastructure ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Russia ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration
During its January open meeting, FERC issued an order directing independent system operators (ISOs) and regional transmission organizations (RTOs) to submit informational reports regarding co-located generation resources. ...more
President Joe Biden issued a series of executive orders on January 27 to further confront the “existential threat” of climate change, to reaffirm the executive branch’s commitment to evidence-based policymaking and...more
At its December open meeting, FERC proposed to establish rules for incentive-based rate treatments for voluntary cybersecurity investments by a public utility. If approved, the regulations would provide incentives for...more
Following its December 17 open meeting, FERC issued an order withdrawing and terminating a proceeding that had been opened earlier this year to examine oil pipeline affiliate contracts. FERC initiated that proceeding on...more
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has released the Hydrogen Program Plan, a strategic framework that intends to “accelerate research, development, and deployment (RD&D) of hydrogen and related technologies in the United...more