U.S. Orders Electric Utilities to Secure Sites From Attack

[mahatmakanejeeves]

U.S. Orders Electric Utilities to Secure Sites From Attack

By
Rebecca Smith
Nov. 20, 2014 4:55 p.m. ET

Federal energy regulators ordered the nation’s utilities to protect important electrical equipment from potential attackers trying to disrupt the U.S. electric grid.

Under a new rule adopted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Thursday, power companies nationwide must identify key transmission substations and other hubs that, if knocked out of service, could cause blackouts or other major problems. The utilities must then put defenses in place, and unaffiliated experts must review their security plans.

The commission said it expects the new standard to take effect by 2016; it will be enforceable with fines and penalties. The agency didn’t set a deadline for utilities to complete security upgrades and decided not to give government authorities discretion to add sites to a utility’s own list of critical facilities.
....

The agency began looking at the issue of physical attacks on power facilities in March, after The Wall Street Journal described an armed assault on an electrical substation in California that funnels electricity to Silicon Valley. ... The Metcalf substation, owned by PG&E Corp., was knocked out of service in April 2013 after attackers slashed telecommunications cables and then shot up the substation’s giant transformers. The facility was disabled for nearly a month and repairs cost millions of dollars. Because the nighttime attack occurred when electricity demand was low, the grid operator was able to avoid blackouts.
....

Write to Rebecca Smith at [e-mail]

Warning: CNN has an auto-play video.

Hackers attacked the U.S. energy grid 79 times this year

The Cybercrime Economy
By Jose Pagliery @Jose_Pagliery November 18, 2014: 8:21 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The nation's energy grid is constantly under attack by hackers.

In fiscal year 2014, there were 79 hacking incidents at energy companies that were investigated by the Computer Emergency Readiness Team, a division of the Department of Homeland Security. There were 145 incidents the previous year.

Rebecca Smith and The Wall Street Journal. have been on top of this story.

There have been previous articles at DU about this issue. For example:

Attack on electric grid raises alarm

Sniper attack on Silicon Valley power grid spurs security crusade by ex-regulator

Assault on California Power Station Raises Alarm on Potential for Terrorism

Here's the link to FERC, so you can read Order No. 802 itself:

FERC Approves Physical Security Grid Reliability Standards

News Release: November 20, 2014
Docket No. RM14-15-000
Item No. E-4
Order No. 802

FERC Approves Physical Security Grid Reliability Standards

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) acted today to enhance the physical security for the most-critical Bulk-Power System facilities and reduce the overall vulnerability of the grid to attacks by approving a physical security Reliability Standard submitted by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).

[tularetom]

1. Another excuse for a big ass rate increase

It's gonna cost them a bundle, and we can't expect the shareholders to eat the cost, so blah, blah, blah.

As if we haven't heard the same bullshit a thousand times already.

[Feral Child]

2. More fear generating propaganda.

Seems like they should have done this long ago.

[shraby]

3. This is just now being done? Seems it would have been done in 2002 or so.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Yeah, if we really WERE concerned about "Terra terra terra" over here

you'd think, right?