Grid Resilience in the Cyber Age

Can the U.S. electric grid remain resilient as the threat of cyber and physical attack rises? Pennsylvania PUC Chair Gladys Brown talks about state and federal efforts to safeguard the electric power system. --- The electricity industry has taken advantage of network communications technologies to deliver power more efficiently and reliably. But as information technology becomes interwoven into the electricity system, the industry has also become more vulnerable to cyber attack. In recent years, hackers have gained access to utility customer information and to energy control systems, and may ultimately threaten to disrupt power delivery itself. Gladys Brown, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and head of the Critical Infrastructure Committee at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), talks about cyber risk and electric grid resilience. She also looks at current efforts involving state and federal regulators, and agencies such as the Department of Homeland security, to ensure electricity supply as cyber risks proliferate. Gladys Brown is Chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. She also leads the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioner’s Critical Infrastructure Committee, a forum where state utility commissioners examine grid security risks and best practices. Related Content New FERC Rule Grows Clean Energy’s Role in Grid Resilience https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2018/02/21/new-ferc-rule-grows-clean-energys-role-grid-resilience Distributed Energy’s Cyber Risk https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/distributed-energy’s-cyber-riskSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.