Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images via Getty Images
The cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline illustrates how difficult it will be for electric utilities to protect their grids from disruption
, experts say
, even when attacks are primarily targeting information technology (IT) systems.
The Colonial ransomware attack never migrated into the pipeline s operational technology (OT) environment, and the company says the shutdown was a proactive safety measure. That s good protocol, security experts say, though it simultaneously exposes a vulnerability: If you have an attack on the IT network, the OT network is going to go down, according to electric utility sector security consultant Tom Alrich.
As Texas Went Dark, the State Paid Natural-Gas Companies to Go Offline Source: By Russell Gold and Katherine Blunt, Wall Street Journal • Posted: Sunday, May 9, 2021
A program meant to reduce industrial electricity use during emergencies contributed to power plants not getting fuel during February’s freeze
The Journal’s analysis of grid records shows that participants included dozens of critical pieces of natural-gas infrastructure. Ercot ordered them to stay off for more than four days, as gas prices surged to extraordinary levels and some power plants stopped producing electricity because they couldn’t get enough fuel to function.
The estimated value of the program for the five days of the blackout was about $2 billion and participants including oil-and-gas companies earned a portion of that for turning themselves off at Ercot’s behest. Two companies petitioned Ercot for permission for idled facilities to come back sooner, the grid operator said.
Governors Wind Energy Coalition
The future grid is full of data. That worries cyber experts Source: By Christian Vasquez, E&E News reporter • Posted: Wednesday, May 5, 2021
Security experts warn that clean energy developers and nation-backed hackers are often interested in the same types of granular grid data. Regulators, utilities and renewable energy companies are debating whether to make such information public. Claudine Hellmuth/E&E News(illustration);Internet Archive Book Images/Flickr(drafting sketch); MaxPixel(turbines and transmission lines); Freepik (cyber)
The demand for public grid data to spur renewable energy development has raised a thorny question: Can utilities and regulators shield sensitive information from hackers while speeding up the transition to clean power?
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Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Richard Glick has sought to smooth tensions with states whose varied clean energy policies have come into conflict with the nation s mandatory power capacity markets. In its natural gas project work, FERC has begun to elevate considerations of climate change, environmental justice and community impacts, at times rattling pipeline companies worried about the permanence of its decisions supporting projects. Glick is attacking everything. He is at warp speed right now, said Tyson Slocum of Public Citizen, rattling off multiple policy initiatives, rulemakings and workshops on the gas and power agenda.
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