Senate should demand electric grid reliability and security

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/211238-senate-should-demand-electric-grid-reliability-and

By Thomas S. Popik and William R. Graham
The Hill
July 07, 2014

With a Senate vote on two nominees for commissioners of the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (FERC) pending, there is unprecedented attention on 
this obscure regulator of interstate pipelines and electricity 
transmission. In 2005, Congress granted FERC additional authority to 
regulate electric grid reliability and security, but too often FERC has 
accommodated industry rather than enforce strict standards.

Both FERC nominees, Cheryl LaFleur and Norman Bay, have long tenures as 
commissioner and director of Enforcement, respectively. Before a 
confirmation vote, Senators should examine FERC’s weak regulatory record 
and determine whether leadership and legislative fixes are necessary.

Prior to the 2003 Northeast Blackout which affected 50 million people, 
electric grid reliability and security were unregulated. An industry trade 
association had set voluntary standards but compliance was spotty. After 
the Northeast Blackout, a special U.S.-Canada task force identified the 
voluntary standards system as a prime cause. In response, Congress 
designed a hybrid regulatory system, where a private successor to the 
trade association, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation 
(NERC), would set mandatory standards. FERC would have authority to 
request, review, and approve, but not change, NERC’s standards.

Nominee and Acting FERC Chair LaFleur, formerly a senior utility 
executive, is a supporter of the hybrid FERC-NERC regulatory system. At an 
April Senate hearing entitled, “Keeping the lights on -- Are we doing 
enough to ensure the reliability and security of the U.S. electric grid?” 
energy committee Chair Mary Landrieu (D-La.) requested of the witnesses, 
“Say how this is working.”

“I think it's working quite well,” responded Chairman LaFleur. NERC CEO 
Gerry Cauley chimed in, “I think the model is working really well.”

[...]

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