• Smart grid: from deployment to applications

    Some 200 million smart meters have been deployed worldwide, forty million of them in North America; a new white paper from Pike Research says that the year 2012 represents a turning point for the sector

  • New material to improve efficiency of power grids

    Global energy demand is on the rise, as populations continue to grow and industrialization progresses; at the same time, there is a growing awareness and concern about repercussions of increasing rates of carbon dioxide emissions released in the atmosphere; a new nanocomposite material holds the promise of enabling smarter, more reliable, and greener power systems

  • NRC approves first new nuke reactors since 1978

    For the first time since 1978, U.S. nuclear regulators have approved the construction of a new nuclear power plant; the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently voted four-to-one in favor of granting Southern Co. a license to build two additional reactors at its Plant Vogtle nuclear facility near Augusta, Georgia

  • Critical flaws in SCADA give hackers edge

    In an effort to improve critical cybersecurity flaws in industrial control systems, last week researchers released exploit modules that take advantage of security gaps in six major control systems, but in doing so, have made it easy for hackers to infiltrate these systems as none of them have been patched or taken offline

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  • GAO: critical infrastructure operators need more coherent regulations

    A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that the bulk of U.S. critical infrastructure is inadequately protected as operators lack a coherent set of guidelines

  • Connecticut examines ways to bolster electrical grid during disasters –

    Following Tropical Storm Irene and the29 October nor’easter that left thousands of homes without power across the northeast, Connecticut is considering new regulations that could bolster the power grid and improve resiliency during natural disasters

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  • Electrical grid needs cybersecurity oversight: study

    In a recently released report, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say that a single federal agency should be tasked with protecting the United States’ electrical grid from cyberattacks; the Obama administration has proposed that DHS assume responsibility for the grid, while Congress has submitted proposals for both the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

  • MIT report warns U.S. electrical grid vulnerable

    A new report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology warns that the U.S. electrical grid is vulnerable to cyberatacks; according to the report, the U.S. electrical grid’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities stem from weaknesses in processes, technology, as well as the actual physical environment

  • SCADA systems’ vulnerability key weakness in Smart Grid deployments

    The discovery of the Stuxnet worm in 2010 shone a harsh light on the fragility of industrial control systems (ICS), such as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, and has created a new urgency among security vendors and utility managers alike; new research forecasts that investments in ICS security will total $4.1 billion during the years between 2011 and 2018

  • NERC CIP-compliant grid security reporting tool

    NERC CIP Standard is a comprehensive framework of physical and cyber security best practices to safeguard the bulk power system for North America; Skybox Security shows NERC CIP-compliant grid security reporting tool

  • Electrical grids in state of “chaos,” report finds

    A recent report warned that the world’s electrical grid is in a “state of near chaos,” leaving it vulnerable to a devastating cyberattack; the report, released by Pike Research, found that a simple $60 smart phone app could enable an attack on smart grids due to an aging infrastructure, a lack of standards, and inadequate spending

  • Electrical grid targeted by hackers

    The co-chair of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus warns that U.S. electrical grids are becoming increasingly attractive targets for hackers in a potential cyberwar

  • Squirrel causes explosion, knocks out Connecticut town’s power

    Last week more than 14,000 homes in Greenwich, Connecticut were left without power after a squirrel managed to find its way into a substation and caused an explosion that sent flames shooting 150 feet into the air

  • Danish designer wins completion for new U.K. pylons

    There are 88,000 pylons in the United Kingdom, carrying 400,000 volts of electricity over thousands of miles across the country; the design of the pylons has barely changed in eighty years – and a winner has just been announced in the competition for a new pylon design

  • 'Thinking machines' will run future power grids

    Plans to develop the smart grid — a system that uses intelligent computer networks to manage electric power — cannot succeed without the creation of new “thinking machines” that can learn and adapt to new situations, from power outages along the grid to fluctuations in the power supply