FERC, DOE to hold Security Investments for Energy Infrastructure Technical Conference

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the United States Department of Energy have scheduled a joint technical conference to discuss current cyber and physical security practices used to protect energy infrastructure and possible federal and state incentives for related security investments.

According to a notice issued on February 4, the Security Investments for Energy Infrastructure Technical Conference will be led by one or more FERC Commissioners and DOE senior officials. Its agenda addresses two high-level topics: types of current and emerging cyber and physical security threats, and how federal and state authorities can facilitate investments to improve the cyber and physical security of energy infrastructure.

In a supplemental notice issued on March 1, the agencies noted that the Commission has adopted a "well-developed set of mandatory and enforceable reliability standards that set baseline protections for both cyber and physical security of the bulk electric system" as well as "policies that allow for the recovery of prudently incurred costs to comply with those mandatory reliability standards." The supplemental notice describes the technical conference as aimed at better understanding:

1. the need for security investments that go beyond those measures already required by mandatory reliability standards, including in infrastructure not subject to those standards (e.g., natural gas pipelines);
2. how the costs of such investments are or could be recovered; and
3. whether additional incentives for making such investments are needed, and if so, how those incentives should be designed.

The supplemental notice describes two panels, the first of which will discuss types of cyber and physical security threats to energy infrastructure, particularly electric transmission, generation, and natural gas pipelines, as well as best practices for cyber and physical security mitigation beyond those measures already required by mandatory reliability standards and industry and government engagement needed to address these matters. The second panel will explore how federal and state authorities can provide incentives and cost recovery for security investments in energy infrastructure, particularly electric transmission, generation, and natural gas pipeline infrastructure

The federal agencies' Security Investments for Energy Infrastructure Technical Conference has been scheduled for on March 28, 2019.