Grid Security & Reliability

The power grid faced heat waves, record demand and tight conditions in 2022. What happens next?

All over the country, a changing climate and extreme weather events – whether due to high temperatures, low temperatures or storms and hurricanes – are posing a threat to grid reliability.

By Kavya Balaraman • Nov. 22, 2022

Distribution grid lessons learned in 2022

With the end of 2022 fast approaching, many of us in the utility industry are considering grid lessons learned over the past year.

Nov. 21, 2022

Offshore oil and gas at risk of potentially catastrophic cyberattack: GAO

A report warns the industry could see an attack that rivals the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and urges Interior Department officials to stand up safeguards.

By David Jones • Nov. 18, 2022

North American electric grid faces ‘unprecedented’ widespread risk this winter: NERC

Portions of the Southeast, Midwest, Texas, New England and other areas could see potential energy shortfalls in extreme weather, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corp.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 18, 2022

US can reach 100% clean power by 2035, DOE finds, but tough reliability and land use questions lie ahead

New aggressive planning is needed to identify the long-duration storage technologies and find the land to grow enough resources to reach the Biden administration’s net zero emissions goals, a DOE national lab reports.

By Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 15, 2022

Distributech International® announces partnership with host utility San Diego Gas & Electric, conference sessions and new initiatives for 2023 event

DISTRIBUTECH International® announces host utility, conference schedule and new initiatives for 2023  

Nov. 14, 2022

5 security musts for industrial control systems

OT involves a collection of dedicated systems and physics, and that creates distinct security requirements, said Robert M. Lee, CEO and co-founder at Dragos.

By Matt Kapko • Nov. 11, 2022

California funds 60 MWh tribal long-duration storage project with nation’s largest vanadium redox flow battery

The project will provide backup power to the Viejas Tribe of Kumeyaay Indians and bolster the reliability of the energy system statewide.

By Kavya Balaraman • Nov. 9, 2022

Porn and Putin-focused hacks of charging stations drive new cybersecurity steps for an EV boom

A broad utility-to-charger attack surface will require smarter protection strategies and tools for cyber threats as transportation electrification and vehicle-to-grid integration expand, analysts said.

By Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 8, 2022

CAISO avoided outages in September heat wave – a ‘remarkable outcome’ – with 4 GW storage, conservation

The state’s gas-fired plants were “critical” during the worst of the heat wave, but some were unavailable at times, California’s grid operator said in a report.

By Ethan Howland • Nov. 4, 2022

Massachusetts OKs over $450M in grid modernization spending by Eversource, National Grid, Unitil

Eversource, National Grid and Unitil will expand technologies for grid monitoring, advanced communications and automation.

By Stephen Singer • Nov. 3, 2022

NERC warns of cybersecurity, reliability risks as it outlines strategy for adding tens of gigawatts of DER

A new approach to the management of distributed energy resources will include operational standards for aggregators, but NERC says an anticipated vulnerability assessment is still almost a year away.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 3, 2022

Storage, demand-side innovation, neighbors and a bit of luck — reliability lessons from summer 2022

Examining how the U.S. avoided major power shortages this summer can help grid operators, utilities and regulators improve reliability and avoid resource adequacy challenges without disrupting the transition to low-carbon resources.

By Eric Gimon and Mike O’Boyle • Nov. 2, 2022

How cybersecurity experts are reacting to CISA’s new security goals for critical infrastructure

Federal authorities describe the cross-sector guidance as “a floor, not a ceiling.” 

By Matt Kapko • Nov. 1, 2022

PG&E formally asks NRC to extend Diablo Canyon power plant license to 2030 to boost grid reliability

Diablo Canyon provides more than 8% of California’s in-state generation. The state will fund a $1.4 billion loan to PG&E to relicense the plant.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 1, 2022

Eversource CEO seeks emergency order by Biden to ensure gas supplies as New England winter approaches

Eversource CEO Joe Nolan Jr. asked Biden to waive the Jones Act, a 1920 law that requires cargo shipped between U.S. ports to be carried by U.S. ships with American crews.

By Stephen Singer • Oct. 31, 2022

CISA aims for resource-poor targets, like small utilities, with new cybersecurity performance goals

Officials hope the goals will serve as a road map to strengthen the resilience of local providers like schools, hospitals and utilities. 

By David Jones • Oct. 31, 2022

Why the probability of ignition is crucial to understanding asset wildfire risk

Energy utilities across the United States increasingly rely on wildfire spread prediction models to determine the risk associated with their assets.

By Pavel Grechanuk, Senior Data Scientist, Technosylva • Oct. 31, 2022

Sen. Warren leads probe of Bitcoin impact on Texas power grid, ERCOT use of demand response ‘subsidies’

Payments to cryptocurrency miners for reducing electricity demand, known as demand response, “feed back into the worsening climate crisis,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others said.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 19, 2022

Distributed resources like solar and batteries open growing pathway to cyberattacks: DOE

Distributed energy resources are expected to quadruple by 2025 and “pose emerging cybersecurity challenges to the electric grid,” according to a Department of Energy report.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 18, 2022

FERC isn’t acting fast enough to strengthen the grid. Here’s one thing Congress can do.

Congress can and should shore up energy resilience by establishing a clear standard for inter-regional transmission support, the authors write.

By Liza Reed and Andrew Xu • Oct. 11, 2022

Complex challenges call for complementary solutions

Today's grid challenges are often better addressed with strategic use of complementary technologies than with deployment of a single solution.

Oct. 10, 2022

97% of smart meters fail to provide promised customer benefits. Can $3B in new funding change that?

Interoperability standards can deliver “non-discriminatory access” to real-time data from new smart meters to fulfill promises of customer savings and other system benefits, energy managers say.

By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 5, 2022

Biden pledges to transform Puerto Rico’s power system as thousands remain without power

In the two weeks since Hurricane Fiona devastated the island, LUMA Energy says it has restored service to 93% of customers. 

By Robert Walton • Oct. 4, 2022

PNM proposes 6-year, $344M grid modernization plan including smart meters for all customers

Low-income areas will receive prioritization for distribution system upgrades and smart meter installation, the utility said.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 4, 2022