Historically, utilities have shouldered the burden of mitigating
the security risks inherent in energy generation, distribution and
transmission. The utilities were, and continue to be, well-placed
to do so as they benefit from historical knowledge, existing
relationships with regulators and grid operators, large and
highly-trained workforces and, perhaps most importantly, the
ability to rate base. Although the nature of risks has evolved over
the years, with terror threats and privacy concerns added to the
list of conventional risks like weather events, traditional
utilities have been up to the task with a few noteworthy
exceptions.
However, the traditional model of energy generation and
distribution is in midst of an evolution that, arguably, could be
more impactful to the U.S. grid than deregulation has been. Even in
competitive generation markets, retail interaction with customers
has been handled almost exclusively by the utility as an energy
aggregator with the
