
On February 5, 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) published proposed regulations in the Federal Register that would provide federal financial incentives to utilities that voluntarily increase certain cybersecurity measures above those required by the Critical Infrastructure Protection Reliability Standards (“CIP Reliability Standards”) or by the NIST, Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (“NIST Framework”). (86 Fed. Reg. 8309-8325 (Feb. 5, 2021).)
To obtain the incentive, these voluntary measures must “materially enhance the cybersecurity posture of the bulk-power system by enhancing the applicants’ cybersecurity posture substantially above levels required by CIP Reliability Standards, to the benefit of ratepayers.” The … Continue Reading