Prompted by looming threats from abroad, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) have released a set of cybersecurity baselines for electric distribution systems and the distributed energy resources (DER) that connect to them, with the purpose of creating a starting point for cyber risk reduction activities.
The initiative will build on the work that states have done over the last 10 years to mitigate cybersecurity risks for their critical infrastructures. The baselines, in addition to implementation guidance, are intended to be resources for Public Utility Commissions, electric distribution utilities, and DER operators and aggregators.
According to a statement, NARUC developed these baselines by convening a Steering Group of regulatory, cyber, and industry experts. To ensure a wide range of perspectives were considered, the development process included multiple stakeholder reviews and comment cycles.
Over the next 12 months, strategies and guidelines will be developed to help states adopt a uniform set of cybersecurity practices.
Find out more about the DOE’s upgraded cybersecurity plans here.