January 26, 2011

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Monitoring of PowerGrid Cyber Security

Congress passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Energy Policy Act), giving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) jurisdiction to conduct oversight of the bulk power system, commonly referred to as the bulk electric system or power grid, including the approval of mandatory cyber security reliability standards. The bulk electric system consists of approximately 1,600 entities operating at 100 kilovolts or higher. The system does not, however, include distribution to end-users, as that function remains under the jurisdiction of state public utility commissions.

Topic: National Security & Safety