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.
