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FERC’s Initiatives on Energy Infrastructure

FERC’s Initiatives on Energy Infrastructure. Alison Silverstein Federal Energy Regulatory Comm’n EEI-AGA Board Member Seminar September 25, 2003. Overview. Short-term initiatives Cost recovery policy and cases Critical energy infrastructure information Dam safety

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FERC’s Initiatives on Energy Infrastructure

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  1. FERC’s Initiativeson Energy Infrastructure Alison Silverstein Federal Energy Regulatory Comm’n EEI-AGA Board Member Seminar September 25, 2003

  2. Overview • Short-term initiatives • Cost recovery policy and cases • Critical energy infrastructure information • Dam safety • Natural gas deliverability • Cyber-security • Supporting industry and other efforts • Long-term concerns

  3. Security cost recovery • Policy – spend what you need to protect assets and we’ll review and approve prudent expenses • Issued September 14, 2001 • 3 requests approved, more filings coming

  4. Critical energy infrastructure information • Goal to protect information asset-owners must submit from widespread public dissemination, without harming public’s right to learn information to participate in siting proceedings • Keeps locational information and key engineering detail off the web and out of public reading rooms; review of each requester and purpose of request • Rule adopted February, 2003 • http://www.ferc.gov/home/RM02-4-02-21-03.pdf

  5. Dam safety program • Formed FERC hydro security team • Security program for hydropower projects - guidance for licensees • Initial assessments and security enhancement guidance for specific dams; ongoing inspections • Integration of security concerns with emergency action plans and procedures • Rapid alert notification method for information dissemination • Consultation (w/ industry and government agencies) and training (FERC staff and industry)

  6. Natural gas supplies • Working with industry to determine ability to assure gas delivery in the event of pipeline disruptions • Emergency reconstruction • Assessing deliverability relative to needs • Emergency gas reallocation • Regional table-top disaster exercises coming up • Using non-public technical conferences to resolve security issues in specific cases

  7. Cyber-security • FERC asked industry, through NERC, to develop cyber-security standards to address bulk power grid cyber inter-dependencies • These are generic and least common denominator, not “best practices” • Since cyber systems and challenges are consistent across industries, same standards could be used for natural gas, oil pipelines, water and wastewater utilities

  8. Supporting industry and other security efforts • Electric -- NERC CIPAG • Natural gas -- AGA, INGAA initiatives • Other federal agencies -- cooperating with Department of Energy, Office of Pipeline Safety, Department of Homeland Security, Rural Utility Service, … • Talking to state regulators • Thinking about what a secure energy system of the future would look like….

  9. Longer-term security initiatives • Facilitating expansion of physical energy infrastructure • Using locational pricing of energy to encourage better siting, balancing between energy users and transmission, generation and fuel sources • Facilitating use of distributed energy resources – energy efficiency, demand response, distributed generation • Rethinking energy system architecture, materials and assumptions

  10. Security considerations • It’s not just terrorism we have to protect against • What if the energy system is used as the weapon instead of the target? • The energy system should include not just the energy producing and delivery components, but also the energy users • Beware the inter-dependencies…. • Measures that improve security and reliability often have multiple benefits

  11. We can’t protect the whole energy system, so we need: • Better detection of attack or system failure • More graceful, less disastrous system failure • Easier, faster system repair (e.g., more interchangeability between key parts) • Lower consequences to energy system failure • More efficiency, renewables, distributed generation • More robust, redundant, dispersed energy sources • Smarter grid controls, more islanding • Make the digital economy more fault-tolerant

  12. Energy security challenges • Paying for new infrastructure and security investments • Paying for new research and development • Cyber-security and SCADA • Protecting information • Voluntary versus mandatory or regulated security measures • Lack of leadership • Difficult to prioritize challenges, needs

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