NERC

Obama's New Proposed Regulations On Coal Energy Production Met With Ire Through Kentucky's Coal Country

Last week the Midwest and northeastern United States experienced an historic cold snap that tested our nation’s electric grid. Like last year’s solar eclipse, unprecedented wildfires in California, and extreme flooding after Hurricane Harvey, this year’s “bomb cyclone” has not created a reliability crisis. In fact, it appears based on the evidence thus far that… Keep reading →

Anniversary Of Nuclear Disaster At Three Mile Island Marked Near The Site

It’s scary to think about, but anything that is online is hackable. Including critical infrastructure like nuclear power plants.

Coal Mining In India's Jharia

As Yogi Berra used to say: “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Coal plant operators shutting down their plants should remember this phrase.

Germany Expands Its Electricity Network

On January 21, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved advancements to Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards that address cybersecurity of the bulk electric system. The CIP version 5 standards, developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), identify and categorize bulk electric system (BES) cyber structures based on whether such structures… Keep reading →

(FILES) Photo dated 27 October 2006 show

There’s no question that variable resources like solar PV and wind present unique grid challenges, but with the Clean Power Plan pointing to higher penetration levels, there’s a lot of debate about how big an issue integration really is. The North American Electrical Reliability Corporation set off alarms bells in late April with a report that said… Keep reading →

California Power Grid Strained By Heat Wave

Is the U.S. electric grid ready for solar storms and other geomagnetic disturbances? Today the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proposed approving a new reliability standard for the grid to address its vulnerability to these hazards.

epahearings_0

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals just reversed and remanded EPA’s rule allowing backup generators to operate for up to 100 hours per year as necessary for demand response.

Coal Remains Main Source Of German Energy Supply

Change is sweeping through utility telecommunications at a furious pace, as nearly 60 percent of electric and water providers are planning for replacement, upgrades or new communications infrastructure in the next five years. “This change is challenging utilities to adapt to transformative technologies, and to place a heightened focus on security and regulation,” said Dean… Keep reading →

Emerging Issues In The Federal Regulation of Electricity Markets

Storm Eases Over Windfarms

In 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will address many of the most serious challenges the electric industry faces in multiple proceedings that will be closely followed by industry participants. Those challenges include the retirement of substantial portions of the nation’s generation fleet and the changing composition of that fleet due to the increased use of natural gas and renewable resources.

Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano Announces New Cybersecurity Team

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… Keep reading →

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