6.1a ERMUSR 03-13-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

111111111111,11.8 1111111110112 Position Statement Grid Security Public power utilities, along with the rest of the electric industry, take seriously their •4 responsibility to maintain the j , .LL very high degree of electric .� a: grid security that is absolutely essential to the welfare and AI security of the nation. That is why the industry worked together to reach consensus on _ AT.. a mandatory reliability plan in # ' 4_ ril the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ,, '� i :'PA - (EPAct05). r: 0 Y The electric utility industry is _, the only critical infrastructure sector, along with nuclearl. , `"' power plants, that adheres to federal mandatory and enforceable reliability and cyber security standards; this is known as the FERC-NERC The electric utility industry is the only critical infrastructure sector that adheres to process (Federal Energy federal reliability and cyber-security standards. Regulatory Commission and North American Electric The public power community supports NERC's Reliability Corporation), which oversees the Critical Infrastructure Protection standards and standards as prescribed in the EPAct 05. FERC's physical standards, as well as efforts by the Electricity Sub-sector Coordinating Council to We take threats to the electric system very improve cyber standards throughout the industry. seriously. We know that we need to be on constant We also encourage our local utilities to adopt the guard against cyber-attacks. We also understand cyber security framework outlined in the White how critical it is to protect our physical assets—our House's Executive Order that went into effect in power plants, transmission lines, and substations. February 2014. Electric utilities have worked diligently with MMUA Position regulators to develop the necessary standards The regulations and standards (FERC-NERC) and are making sure that they are upgraded to process set up in the 2005 Energy Policy Act ensure that our defenses are up to date. Critical continue to provide a solid foundation for Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Version 5 was strengthening the industry's security posture. approved by FERC and became enforceable on These mandatory standards evolve with input April 1, 2016. FERC also approved a new physical from subject-matter experts from across industry security standard to protect our most critical and government. MMUA believes that close substations which became enforceable beginning on coordination among industry and government October 1, 2015. partners at all levels is imperative to deterring attacks and preparing for emergency situations and, as such, will continue to invest considerable resources into this effort. 2017 Federal Position Statements/ 10 179