Protecting sensitive customer and utility data
BY JOHN CHOWDHURY, Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc.
Smart meters, and the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) on which they depend, collect and transport vast amounts of data. While the data provides more precise energy billing, as well as valuable insight into energy demand and usage patterns, consumers expect that utilities will keep that data secure and that their privacy will be protected.
Security and privacy are prerequisites to increased...
Achieving the gold standard in data protection for the Smart Grid BY ANN CAVOUKIAN, Ryerson University’s Privacy and Big Data Institute The increased amount of information that is collected, used, and analyzed by the Smart Grid brings with it additional privacy and security concerns which must be...
How utilities can protect bulk electric system control centers BY ANDREW GINTER, Waterfall Security While industry experts debate the likelihood of an attack against the power grid, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has already issued an alert that such threats are real and are on the...
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...
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...
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...
