Insights from our Editorial Team
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A call for resiliency and evidence-based investmentNov 06, 2012 |
Hurricane Sandy should call for evidence-based investments in hardening and resiliency, particularly where that dovetails with cyber and physical security. The performance of smart grid investments must be weighed against resources for traditional steps for hardening and resilience, including vegetation management. What works should be applied where it fits.
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Association's focus remains awareness, educationNov 05, 2012 |
Terry Jarrett, utility regulator in Missouri, also chairs the NARUC Committee on Critical Infrastructure, which plays a key role in cyber security education for regulators and their regulated utilities. Jarrett says that keeping cyber security on state regulators' minds remains a challenge.
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Association's focus remains awareness, educationNov 04, 2012 |
In an extensive Q&A, Terry Jarrett, who chairs the critical infrastructure committee at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, says that knowledge and training are the primary resources needed by state regulators.
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Hard analysis needed of practices and technologyNov 01, 2012 |
As the media documented the damage to the grid by Hurricane Sandy, before economic losses can be properly estimated, questions were ubiquitous and largely unanswered. Good answers will take time. What utilities do with the answers may determine our future quality of life.
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Sober discussion needed in wake of extreme stormsOct 31, 2012 |
Killer storms last fall. Killer storms this spring. Killer storm this week. What w're learning about grid modernization and resiliency in the wake of extreme weather events should inform investments going forward, if hype, spin and unsubstantiated claims are subtracted.
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NESCO: empower states, aggregate incident data, help frontlineOct 30, 2012 |
A cyber security practitioner advocates state-level control of cyber security requirements for the distribution system, rather than a top-down federal role. Utilities should demonstrate proficiency in prevention, detection and response and the feds should stay out of it.
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ICC approach on cost recovery is slowing projectsOct 29, 2012 |
A former regulator, now consulting with Commonwealth Edison in Illinois, expresses concern that Ilinois regulators are applying an inappropriate cost recovery mechanism to interest on billions of dollars in capital invested for grid modernization.
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NESCO: empower states, aggregate incident data, help frontlineOct 29, 2012 |
Patrick Miller, president/CEO of EnergySec and principal investigator for its offshoot, the National Electric Sector Cybersecurity (NESCO), a public-private partnership operated by EnergySec with funding from the Department of Energy shares his views on cyber security.
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Nimbleness helped address customer concernsOct 28, 2012 |
Central Maine Power had a plan: install AMI and develop customer benefits in consultation with them, while creating the basis to move forward with distribution automation and power quality monitoring. The utility ran into meter opposition that caused it to modify its messaging and communication plan. And it completed its rollout, with an opt-out option, third-party plaudits and time to look ahead again.
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Oct 28, 2012 |
Smart grid discussions may reveal details of customer benefits and notations about the use of “big data,” the current industry trend, but they sometimes ignore the basic necessities of a smart grid: smarter equipment, analytics ability and, at the core, interoperability. Having a holistic approach to both the smart grid and its necessities, such as interop, is the advice of Avista Utility’s Curtis Kirkeby, a senior electrical engineer in charge of technology strategy with more than 30 years in the industry.
