With Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval last Friday of the CIP 002-009 cyber security standards, the NERC-developed suite will become mandates for those utilities under FERC authority. However, the agency wants some of the changes outlined in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) on the CIP standards last July to toughen the standards, and will require NERC to monitor other cyber security measures for possible adoption. Under the NERC process, industry representatives will develop the required modifications, with NERC then submitting them to FERC for approval.

As the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO), NERC is being required to modify the CIP standards in regard to various oversight and technical issues, including eliminating language that allows variable implementation of the standards based on "reasonable business judgment." As outlined in the NOPR, FERC also wants to tighten accountability when utilities point to exceptions based on "technical feasibility," among other changes. NERC also is directed to monitor the progress of other cyber security standards such as those offered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). However, FERC declined to substitute the NIST standards for the NERC CIP suite due to possible delays in implementation.

UTC has a research paper available on the NERC CIP standards; for more information, contact research@utc.org [3]. The full FERC decision (221 pages) is available at www.ferc.gov [4].

Industrial Defender, Inc., a Cyber Risk Protection™ specialist, and RuggedCom, a provider of communications networking solutions designed for mission-critical applications in harsh environments, announced this week that they will jointly develop, market, and co-brand a "comprehensive cyber security solution for critical infrastructure industries" including power, oil and gas, transportation, water and chemical sectors. Both companies are active UTC supporters. RuggedCom says it hopes to benefit from the strategic partnership by tapping into Industrial Defender's comprehensive "Defense in Depth™" approach to cyber security, which includes network security professional services, cyber security technology and managed security services. Meanwhile, Industrial Defender will be able to extend its process control/SCADA network cyber security monitoring and management capabilities into harsh network environments. This enables technology providers focused on the real-time process control/SCADA market "to collaborate on expanding their technology offerings and providing end customers with comprehensive integrated cyber security solutions," the company said.

Today marks the start of the FCC's Auction 73, to award a total of 1,099 licenses in the 698-806 MHz band. With reserve prices totaling more than $10 billion, the FCC has already planned Auction 76 to auction any licenses that are not sold due to failure to meet reserves. Auction 73 is unusual, not only because of the reserve prices set per block, but because bidding is anonymous and the rules permit package bidding for the twelve large regional licenses of Block C (746-757 MHz/776-787 MHz). Only the largest incumbent carriers or other entities are expected to participate seriously in the Block C bidding, since this block of 22 MHz has a reserve of more than $4.6 billion and is considered the most likely block for a major wireless broadband opportunity. Block D (758-763 MHz/788-793 MHz) consists of a single, nationwide 10 MHz license with spectrum located adjacent to public safety spectrum that has been partially reallocated for broadband operations. The Block D licensee must build out its own spectrum and part of the public safety allocation in a public/private partnership after coming to agreement with a nationwide public safety licensee, with tight construction requirements, making this otherwise attractive license considered fairly risky. More than 200 bidding entities have qualified to participate in the 700 MHz auction.

In two Public Notices released late last week, the FCC spoke on issues of interest to UTC members. In the 800 MHz rebanding proceeding, the Commission announced procedures for those wishing to request waivers from the June 2008 rebanding deadline (FCC 08-23). Any non-border area incumbent licensee requiring additional time beyond June 26, 2008 must request a waiver from the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, with such requests subject to a high level of scrutiny. Licensees in Waves 1 and 2 must file for waiver no later than March 17, while Wave 3 and non-border Wave 4 licensees must seek waiver by April 15. The Public Notice includes guidelines on recommended content for waiver requests, including information about the size and complexity of systems, any interoperability issues, a timetable for completion and steps already taken.

The Office of Engineering and Technology says it will try again to test personal, portable devices for possible use in unused portions of the TV broadcast spectrum (DA 08-118). The first round of testing resulted in failure, with devices not able to detect nearby broadcast signals and thus, avoid causing them interference. The testing is part of a larger FCC proceeding seeking the best use of such "white space" within the valuable broadcast band. Devices have been submitted by Adaptrum, Microsoft, Motorola and Phillips. UTC's position in the TV white spaces proceeding seeks licensed use of fixed-only devices, preferably without an auction of the spectrum, to permit critical infrastructure use. The second phase of bench testing begins today.

Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure Protection, told a Canadian trade delegation from Alberta this week that she favors increased cooperation between the two countries' energy sectors. During a meeting at the US Capitol on cross-border transportation, Lee said that the North American energy industry needs to protect miles and miles of unattended and often unregulated gas and oil pipelines which are vulnerable to terrorist attacks. She also said that if the industry executives did not step up to the plate on a voluntary basis, her subcommittee would take measures to establish the necessary security requirements. Rep. Jackson Lee is an attorney from Houston and previously provided counsel for an oil and gas company.

Xcel Energy announced last week that it plans to spend $100 million to build a "Smart Grid City" that will become a test bed for emerging power technologies from Current Technologies, Accenture, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and Ventyx. Several cities within Xcel's eight-state service region -- including Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin -- are being considered. The utility says the ideal city will be geographically concentrated and feature a population of roughly 100,000 that includes environmentally conscious customers interested in trying green products. "Using the smart grid, we can provide innovative solutions to the environmental challenges facing all of us today," Xcel chief executive Dick Kelly said in a statement.

Xcel plans to use the Smart Grid for distributed generation, as well as to provide two-way meter reading and substation monitoring. The city would be outfitted with infrastructure to support renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. The city also would feature plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles that charge and discharge to the grid. Reportedly, the plug-in vehicle program will include technology from Seattle-based V2Greeen, which "establishes two-way communication between plug-in vehicles and the grid and provides the means to intelligently manage electric power resources." Xcel will select the city in March and the building phase reportedly will start in April.

The California Broadband Task Force released its report last week, finding that 96% of all households in the state have access to basic broadband service and recommending various ways to reach the remaining 1.4 million households. On the surface, the numbers seem good, but the Task Force cautioned that only 56% of households have access to broadband at speeds greater than 10 megabits per second; that broadband infrastructure is distributed unevenly throughout the state; and that service speed varies significantly. The California report contains a series of maps that show where broadband is available and at what speeds. California is "poised to become the world's leader" in broadband if it adopts the recommendations in the report, said Dale Bonner, the secretary of the state's Business, Transportation and Housing Agency and a task force co-chairman. The report is available at www.calink.ca.gov/pdf/CBTF_FINAL_Report.pdf [5].