FERC Tightens Regulations for Inverter Based Resources

FERC-Regulatory

By Renewable Energy World:

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued “new mandatory standards for inverter-based resources (IBRs) in an effort to enhance the reliability of the bulk electric system. IBRs are solar photovoltaic, wind, fuel cell and battery storage resources that use power electronic devices to change direct current power to alternating current power, to be transmitted on the bulk-power system.

In its November 17 action orders, FERC focused on three IBR-relateded actions:

  • An order directing the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) to develop a plan to register the entities that own and operate IBRs;
  • A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to direct NERC to develop reliability standards for IBRs that cover data sharing, model validation, planning and operational studies, and performance requirements; and
  • An order approving reliability standards that are related to IBRs, which NERC proposed earlier in 2022.”

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National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (October)

NERC

By NERC: “WASHINGTON, D.C. – October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, which highlights some of the emerging challenges in the world of cybersecurity. NERC’s Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC) is supporting the campaign as a Cyber Security Awareness Month champion. This year’s theme, “See Yourself in Cyber,” focuses on four primary best practices: enabling multi-factor authentication; using strong passwords and a password manager; updating software; and recognizing and reporting phishing.”

“This year’s campaign is very timely as evidenced by the recent spate of high-profile hacks that often start with credential theft,” said Manny Cancel, NERC’s senior vice president and CEO of the E-ISAC. “It demonstrates the importance of organizations having strong information technology protocols and procedures in place combined with a need for employee training and awareness. NERC and the E-ISAC support a month focused on raising awareness of cyber security, which coincides with our annual grid security conference GridSecCon, cohosted with ReliabilityFirst this year.”

“With rising cybersecurity threats to the United States energy infrastructure and the reliability of the bulk power system, the need for shared heightened vigilance cannot be underestimated. The E-ISAC continues to collaborate, coordinate and communicate with industry stakeholders and government partners to collectively enhance the cybersecurity posture of the North American grid. The E-ISAC encourages its members to practice good cyber hygiene and always maintain a Shields Up posture. Good practices across both information technology and operational technology networks include: applying security patches as soon as possible, maintaining strict access management, baselining systems, encouraging strong passwords and multi-factor authentication and sharing cyber incident information with the E-ISAC. And, finally, E-ISAC stakeholders who are not yet members are encouraged to join find out more information at www.eisac.com.”