NERC CIP Version 5: Impact to Hydro Owners and Operators

摘要

Cyber attacks - especially as they pertain to such critical infrastructure as Bulk Electric System (BES) Facilities, dams and water facilities - has been the subject of news headlines and Hollywood movies for some time now. Version 5 of the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards were approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in November 2013 in an effort to reduce the likelihood of major cyber (and now physical) attacks on critical electric infrastructure and prevent the worst-case scenarios from becoming reality. The Version 5 standards are to be implemented in 2016 and 2017 and will have far-reaching implications across the utility industry - including all hydroelectric Generator Owners and Operators listed on the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Compliance Registry - because before the enforcement dates every registered entity will now have to install at least some or improve their current electronic and physical security protection of their network-connected Facilities.