Topic: North American Electric Reliability Corporation

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Energy Voices Super Bowl outage: Is US ready to address reliability?

Super Bowl 2013's power outage was caused by a faulty relay, utility says. If an outage can occur at the Super Bowl, in front of the nation's largest TV audience, can it happen anywhere?
Senators spar with power industry: Is it safe from cyberattack?

A Senate hearing on protecting the power grid and other crucial infrastructure from cyberattack pivots on the question: Should federal cybersecurity standards be voluntary?
Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks

Cybersecurity needs are not hypothetical, as the recent DHS warning of a cyberattack on the US natural gas industry shows. Why then was a post-9/11 initiative to secure US utilities dropped?
Solar storm could become severe 'bell ringer' in next 24 hours (+video)

Solar storm forecasters say the particles disgorged in a massive solar flare could strike Earth in a particular way, which would make a currently moderate solar storm more severe.
Solar flare races towards Earth, expected to cause disruptions to Earth's magnetic field

The largest solar flare in years is hurdling towards Earth at 4 million mph and is expected to hit early Thursday morning.
Solar storm buffets Earth: How protected is the US power grid?

Peak impact of the solar storm was expected Tuesday. Only a few of the strongest storms have a serious impact, but modern society is more dependent on power grids than ever.
Cyber security: Power grid grows more vulnerable to attack, report finds

'Smart grid' features and Internet-based connections to the US power grid are proliferating, increasing pathways for would-be cyber attackers, says a study from MIT. What to do?
Would EPA air-pollution rules lead to massive blackouts? Feds weigh in.

Energy-industry groups said that new EPA air-pollution rules could threaten the reliability of the American power grid. The Energy Department countered that claim with its own report Thursday.
A year of Stuxnet: Why is the new cyberweapon's warning being ignored?

Experts called Stuxnet a 'wake-up call' when it was identified as a cyberweapon. But even as hackers study it, there is scant evidence US utilities are bolstering their defenses against attack.
Why America's power grid is weathering the heat wave

The heat wave has increased energy demand, but several factors, including energy efficiency, have helped ease the load on the system.
EPA tells coal-fired plants to reduce pollution. Some may just shut down.

The details of new EPA regulations, released Thursday, mandate reductions in power-plant emissions. 'Old, decrepit plants' without pollution controls may be just too costly to retrofit and be shut down by their owners, say analysts.
White House proposes national standards for cybersecurity

Experts say Congress urgently needs to pass cybersecurity standards to protect government, businesses, and critical infrastructure in the US from cyberattack. The White house tried to accelerate this process with its proposal Thursday.
The new cyber arms race

Tomorrow's wars will be fought not just with guns, but with the click of a mouse half a world away that will unleash weaponized software that could take out everything from the power grid to a chemical plant.
America's power grid too vulnerable to cyberattack, US report finds

The utility industry and US regulators need to boost computer-security standards to fend off a cyberattack on the power grid, says a tough new report from the Energy Department.
Son of Stuxnet? Variants of the cyberweapon likely, senators told

The Stuxnet cyberworm could soon be modified to attack vital industrial facilities in the US and abroad, cybersecurity experts warned Wednesday at a Senate hearing.
New EPA rules will erode power grid reliability, report finds

Energy reserves available to the power grid for peak use could be cut in half, says an industry report, as power plants are retired for noncompliance with stiffer clean-air and clean-water rules.
Stuxnet worm: Private security experts want US to tell them more

Private sector security experts say the government’s public reports on the Stuxnet worm – the world’s first publicly-known cyber superweapon – often seem to be old news or incomplete.
Stuxnet malware is 'weapon' out to destroy ... Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant?

The Stuxnet malware has infiltrated industrial computer systems worldwide. Now, cyber security sleuths say it's a search-and-destroy weapon meant to hit a single target. One expert suggests it may be after Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant.
Jon Wellinghoff, Obama’s energy futurist

The chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is committed to renewable energy.
U.S. coal power boom suddenly wanes

Worries about global warming and rising construction costs give the edge to natural-gas and renewable-energy plants.
U.S. coal power boom suddenly wanes

Worries about global warming and rising construction costs give the edge to natural-gas and renewable-energy plants.