Electric utility executives experience a number of headaches when it comes to data. Forbes reports that electric utilities possess 194 petabytes (that is, one million gigabytes) of data—as of 2009. Now, utility execs are searching for new methods and solutions to manage this incoming flux of data. However, data management is only one part of the problem. Data security is another matter altogether.
Skilled hackers continue to refine their methods to infiltrate the data...
A coalition of large energy consumers and ratepayer advocates has filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), urging the agency to prohibit transmission owners from independently planning "local" transmission projects exceeding 100 kilovolts (kV). The coalition argues...
Improve protection with a layered security approach BY ERIC BYRES, Belden Inc. An age-old joke in the North American power industry states that if Alexander Graham Bell walked in the room today, he would not recognize the telephone, the technology, or its business model. However, if Thomas Edison...
How utilities can protect operations from penetration BY MICHAEL STUBER, Itron For utilities deploying Smart Grid solutions, the major security concern is often the field devices. Utilities and vendors have long understood that field devices such as meters, switches, routers, and concentrators...
Addressing the impacts and the drawbacks BY ELIZAVETA MALASHENKO, CHRIS VILLARREAL, & J. DAVID ERICKSON, California Public Utilities Commission With grid modernization or “Smart Grid” efforts underway, cyber security is being recognized as an increasingly important factor in ensuring...
Utilities are rethinking cybersecurity. The zero-trust model replaces perimeter defense with continuous verification—of every device, vendor, and data path—across the substation and supply chain. The End of Perimeter Thinking For decades, substation cybersecurity meant building walls:...
A coalition of large energy consumers and ratepayer advocates has filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), urging the agency to prohibit transmission owners from independently planning "local" transmission projects exceeding 100 kilovolts (kV). The coalition argues...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is seeking public input on proposed "ride-through" reliability standards for inverter-based resources (IBRs), including wind, solar, and battery systems. These standards aim to ensure that IBRs can maintain operation during grid disturbances, such as...
The rapid shift toward renewable energy resources (RERs) has placed significant demands on traditional power systems. To address these challenges, modern energy infrastructure is evolving into smart grids, leveraging advanced technologies like Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) to enhance grid...
A small town in North Carolina has filed a lawsuit against Duke Energy, one of the largest utility companies in the United States, alleging that the company has been deceptive in its efforts to downplay the environmental impact of its operations. The lawsuit, filed by the town of Smithfield, claims...
In a significant move that underscores the growing demand for reliable and sustainable energy to power the expanding digital infrastructure, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved an interconnection agreement between Talen Energy, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Exelon. This...
