The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has been working to upgrade the cyber security for the power grid, and on June 20 they announced that they had boosted the cyber security for the nation’s bulk electric system. They did this “by expanding the reporting requirements for incidents involving attempts to compromise operation of the grid.” FERC reports that this helps to close “a gap in the prior Critical Infrastructure Protection Reliability Standards,” which had previously only required groups to report if an incident disrupted or compromised reliability tasks.

The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) had already been tasked by FERC to make changes to the “reporting of cyber security incidents out of concern that the existing standards may understate the true scope of threats by excluding from reporting incidents that could facilitate subsequent efforts to harm the reliable operation of the grid.”

FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee said that “Defending our nation’s electric grid against cyber security threats is one of the Commission’s most pressing challenges. It is vital that we ensure that NERC and the Department of Homeland Security have all the information needed to understand the evolving threat landscape for industrial control systems.”

This new Critical Infrastructure Protection Reliability Standard will require reporting for incidents that “either compromise or attempt to compromise Electronic Security Perimeters, Electronic Access Control or Monitoring Systems, and Physical Security Perimeters associated cyber systems.” The new standard also covers “disruptions or attempts to disrupt the operation of a bulk electric system cyber system.”

The individual entities in charge of parts of the bulk power system will have to develop their own criteria for how they will identify attempts to “compromise a cyber asset and then apply those criteria during its cyber security incident identification process.” This is intended to give the entities some flexibility in the development of their criteria as it applies to their systems.

The new standards will also address “the information to be included in Cyber Security Incident reports, their dissemination, and deadlines for filing. Reports and updates will be sent to the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center and the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center.”

FERC said in their presentation of the changes that they believe the new standards will give them an “accurate picture of the rapidly changing cyber threat landscape.”

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) opened an investigation and ordered a hearing on March 20, to determine whether or not the Stagecoach Pipeline & Storage Company has been “substantially over-recovering its cost of service, resulting in unjust and unreasonable rates.” FERC also discovered that “38 gas companies have complied with the filing requirements of Order 849 and terminated their FERC Form 501-G proceedings without any further action.”

In July 2018, FERC directed every interstate natural gas pipeline company to file Form 501-G, which is “a one-time report that provides a rough estimate of the pipeline’s return on equity before and after passage of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act and changes to the Commission’s income tax allowance policies in response to rulings by the D.C. Circuit.”

The March 20 order for the investigation follows FERC’s review of the 501-G, as well as other filings by Stagecoach. FERC is concerned that the earnings Stagecoach receives “may exceed its actual cost of service, including a reasonable rate of return on equity.” The hearing and investigation will determine if the existing rates are indeed “just and reasonable in accordance with section 5 of the Natural Gas Act.”

FERC has not determined “a just and reasonable return on equity for Stagecoach, and therefore set this issue, among others, for hearing before FERC’s administrative law judges.” Stagecoach was directed by FERC to “file a cost and revenue study for the latest available 12-month period within 75 days of the issuance of its order.”

FERC listed “the 38 companies whose FERC Form 501-G proceedings were terminated without further action:”

• Cheniere Creole Trail Pipeline
• Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline Company
• Cimarron River Pipeline
• Colorado Interstate Gas Company, L.L.C.
• Crossroads Pipeline Company 
• Dauphin Island Gathering Partners
• DBM Pipeline, LLC
• Destin Pipeline Company, L.L.C.
• Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC
• Florida Southeast Connection, LLC
• Golden Pass Pipeline LLC
• Gulf Crossing Pipeline Company LLC
• Kinder Morgan Illinois Pipeline LLC
• Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline LLC
• KO Transmission Company 
• MarkWest Pioneer, L.L.C.
• Midcontinent Express Pipeline LLC 
• Mojave Pipeline Company, L.L.C.
• National Grid LNG, LLC
• NGO Transmission, Inc.
• Pine Needle LNG Company, LLC 
• Rockies Express Pipeline LLC
• Rover Pipeline LLC
• Ruby Pipeline, L.L.C. 
• Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC
• Sabine Pipe Line LLC
• Sea Robin Pipeline Company, LLC
• Sierrita Gas Pipeline LLC
• Stingray Pipeline Company, L.L.C.
• TransColorado Gas Transmission Company LLC
• Trans-Union Interstate Pipeline, L.P.
• Transwestern Pipeline Company, LLC
• UGI Mt. Bethel Pipeline, LLC
• UGI Sunbury, LLC
• USG Pipeline Company, LLC
• Venice Gathering System, L.L.C.
• West Texas Gas, Inc.
• WTG Hugoton, LP

On March 12, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released their Energy Infrastructure Update for January, related to natural gas and hydropower, and covering the highlights for electric generation and transmissions.

In January, two liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline projects were certified, and another four were proposed. There were no updates to any storage or import/export LNG projects. In January 2018, seven LNG pipelines were certified, and there are no other differences in totals for that month last year.

For nonfederal hydropower, one capacity amendment was filed, and nothing new was issued or placed in service.

For new generation in-service electric generation, there was one new natural gas unit, compared to three in 2018. There were no nuclear power or oil units, compared to three in January 2018. There were no hydropower or biomass units, the same as in 2018. Wind power had four new units, compared to 12 last year. There were no updates to geothermal steam power, compared to one in January 2018. There were 18 new solar power units added, compared to 44 in 2018. In total, 23 new units were added, one-third of the 69 units added in January 2018.

There were a number of proposed additions and retirements of units by February 2022. For coal there was one proposed addition and 54 retirements; for natural gas there were 265 proposed additions and 94 retirements; there were 12 proposed additions for nuclear power and nine retirements; for oil, there were 18 proposed additions and 25 retirements; hydropower had 238 proposed additions and 18 retirements; wind power had 538 proposed additions and no retirements; biomass had 53 proposed additions and 27 retirements; geothermal steam had 18 proposed additions; and solar power had 2,394 proposed additions and five retirements.

For electric transmission highlights, “American Electric Power announced plans to increase their four year forward transmission capital expenditure plans by $1.7 billion.” FERC also noted there were no transmission projects completed in January, compared to 30 in January 2018.

On February 4, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released its Energy Infrastructure Update for December 2018, which gives the highlights of changes and expansions in the industry.

For natural gas pipelines, five were placed in service, two were certified, and six more were proposed; there were no updates in December for storage facilities or liquified natural gas (LNG) imports of exports. The total number of pipeline projects placed into service in 2018 was 26, which is lower than the 32 in 2017. There were 48 certified in both 2017 and 2018. No storage facilities were placed into service in 2018, and only one was in 2017. There were four storage facilities certified in 2018, compared to only two in 2017. One LNG export was placed into service, compared to three in 2017. There was one import/export facility certified in 2018, and there were none in 2017.

For hydropower, one capacity amendment was filed in December, and another hydropower facility was licensed. In 2018, two facilities files for 10-MW Exemption and three filed for capacity amendments. Only one license was issued last year, and one capacity amendment was issued. Two licenses were placed in service in 2018.

In December, no new coal facilities were put into service, and only four were put in service in 2018; three were put in service in 2017. Seven new natural gas facilities were put in service, and 103 were opened in 2018; this is compared to the 106 put in service in 2017. No nuclear facilities opened in December, but five opened last year; only one opened in 2017. No oil facilities opened in December either, but 14 opened in 2018, compared to the 37 opened in 2017. No hydropower facilities opened either, but 10 opened in 2018; 14 opened in 2017. Twelve wind power facilities opened in December, 55 opened in 2018; 83 opened in 2017. No biomass facilities opened in December, but 13 opened last year; 27 opened in 2017. Two geothermal steam facilities opened, half of the four that opened last year; only two opened in 2017. There were 15 solar facilities opened in December, and 429 total in 2018; in 2017 750 opened.

There were a number of suggestions for additions and retirements to take place by January 2022. One coal addition was suggested, and 57 retirements. For natural gas, 276 additions were suggested and only 94 retirements. There were 11 additions suggested for nuclear power, and nine retirements. Seventeen oil additions and 24 retirements were suggested. For hydropower, 237 additions and 20 retirements were suggested. There were 530 wind additions and no retirements suggested. There were 53 biomass additions and 29 retirements recommended. For geothermal steam, 19 additions and no retirements were suggested. Solar power saw the largest recommended additions with 2,278 and only five retirements.

In December, 20.2 miles of electric transmission projects of less than 230 volts were completed, compared to 54 miles of in December 2017. That same voltage has 327.3 miles in all of 2018, compared to 329.3 in 2017. For voltages of 345, there were 161.8 miles completed in December, compared to 32.5 miles in December 2017. In all of 2018, 714.5 miles were completed, compared to 363.1 miles in 2017. For 500 voltage, there was none in December, only 69.4 miles in 2018; there were no miles completed in 2018. In total, 182 miles were completed in December, compared to 86.5 miles in December 2017. In all of 2018, a total of 1,111.2 miles completed; 692.4 miles were completed in 2017.