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ARTICLE · 30 DECEMBER 2020

US FERC Proposes Incentives For Cybersecurity Investment By Public Utilities

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On December 17, 2020, the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proposed new incentives for qualifying cybersecurity investments by public utilities.

United StatesTechnology
J. Paul Forrester
J. Paul Forrester
Mark C. Williams
Mark C. Williams
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On December 17, 2020, the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proposed new incentives for qualifying cybersecurity investments by public utilities.

In the related Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), FERC proposed a cybersecurity incentives framework encourages public utilities to undertake cybersecurity investments on a voluntary basis that are above and beyond the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection Reliability Standards (CIP Reliability Standards) and, thereby, better ensure secure service for ratepayers and to enhance the cybersecurity posture of the Bulk-Power System (BPS)1.

Notably, the new incentives are not only for investment in transmission facilities but also for certain cybersecurity investment in information technology and operational technology networks that a public utility uses to provide other FERC-jurisdictional services. The incentives are proposed under sections 205 and

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