FERC Issues Proposed Rules To Enhance Grid Cybersecurity Reliability Standards

Cyberattacks on U.S. energy infrastructure have been on the rise in 2024. According to the 2024 Thales Data Threat Report, 42% of critical infrastructure companies, including those in the energy sector, suffered data breaches this year. Between November 2023 and April 2024, 29 cyberattacks targeting U.S. energy infrastructures' industrial control systems were reported. In July 2024, the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") issued a Private Industry Notification highlighting the increased risk of malicious cyberattacks on the U.S. renewable energy industry, including attacks that could target solar infrastructure and microgrids.

Amid these growing concerns over the grid's vulnerability to malicious cyberattacks, on September 19, 2024, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") issued two proposed rules that aim to enhance cybersecurity standards for the U.S. bulk-power system. In the first Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("NOPR") (Docket No. RM24-4-000),