New government standards appear well-timed for improving the resiliency of critical network operations in electric generation and transmission systems and combatting cybersecurity and physical security threats. In April 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decided to adopt the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Version 5 standard for cybersecurity. This decision was… Keep reading →
ISO New England’s 2014 Regional System Plan underscores that retirements indicate the need for new resources to address future demand despite energy efficiency measures projected to flatten demand over time. On November 6, 2014, ISO New England (ISO-NE) issued the 2014 Regional System Plan, its annual guide on New England’s long term power-system planning efforts. The… Keep reading →
BrightSource Energy says the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is doing just fine, and that all along the company expected the “power tower” concentrating solar plant in California to take four years to hit full stride. Meanwhile, the latest federal reports indicate that in the first three quarters of the year the plant produced a… Keep reading →
The FERC has issued a draft EIS for Jordan Cove’s proposed LNG export terminal at Coos Bay and the associated natural gas transmission pipeline proposed by Pacific Connector On November 7, 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Jordan Cove Energy Project LP’s proposed liquefied natural gas… Keep reading →
Utilities are generally pessimistic about their future role in the effort to expand the U.S. electric grid and make it stronger. They believe they will be on the losing end as new competition becomes increasingly involved in the initiative. But they disagree strongly about what the future of energy transmission will look like and how… Keep reading →
Analysts and investors are trying to figure out the point at which oil prices fall too low for Venezuela to continue servicing its debt. The country’s export revenues are 95% oil reliant. “But this week’s fall in the oil price has further fomented worries of a possible default, pushing up Venezuelan bond yields to more than 18… Keep reading →
If vandals can do so much harm, what can determined terrorists accomplish Ever since The Wall Street Journal published an article on the threat that a few vandals with assault rifles inflicted on a critical substation, there has been heightened concern about grid security. The 18 Feb 2014 article titled Assault on California power station… Keep reading →
According to an alert issued last year by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, hackers using a tactic called “spear phishing” sent targeted emails to insert malware in computers belonging to natural gas sector organizations. In a separate series of attacks, intruders attempted to obtain information from oil and gas companies about drilling projects and… Keep reading →
Project partners and the State of Alaska filed a permit application with FERC on Friday to export an estimated 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves from Alaska’s North Slope. The mammoth project could cost between $45 billion and $65 billion and would involve constructing an 800-mile pipeline in addition to gas processing, liquefaction… Keep reading →
On a hot day in August 2003, a high-voltage transmission line failed in Ohio, followed by a series of failures on other vital lines over the next two hours. As the massive power flows sought a path of least resistance, they overloaded other high-voltage lines and the time intervals became shorter between each subsequent failure.… Keep reading →
