ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) today said that President Biden’s “permitting action plan” fails to deliver the necessary reforms to streamline environmental reviews and permitting of electric transmission and other projects to modernize America’s electric infrastructure. Such projects are essential to maintaining the safe, affordable and reliable delivery of electricity across the nation.

“The administration’s plan fails to address the root of the environmental review and permitting problems plaguing the electric sector,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “As we plan for a future that depends on electricity as the primary energy source for most of the American economy, the streamlined siting and permitting of electric infrastructure projects will be a key success factor. Robust reforms are needed to remove barriers and accelerate the construction of modern energy infrastructure.”

For years, electric cooperatives have encouraged policymakers to support solutions that modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and facilitate coordinated, consistent, and timely agency decision-making. Lack of federal coordination, inconsistent processes, and protracted litigation have forced communities to endure costly project delays, some of which led to project cancelation, and threats to electric reliability.

The 102-mile Cardinal-Hickory Creek Transmission Line Project is one example of the need for significant reforms. Work on the project began in 2014 to bring renewable energy online in the upper Midwest. Nearly 115 renewable energy projects are dependent upon the completion of this transmission line. The project’s timeline was jeopardized after a court ruling blocked it from crossing the Mississippi River, which could significantly delay and drive up the project’s costs.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing nearly 900 local electric cooperatives. From growing suburbs to remote farming communities, electric co-ops serve as engines of economic development for 42 million Americans across 56 percent of the nation’s landscape. As local businesses built by the consumers they serve, electric cooperatives have meaningful ties to rural America and invest $12 billion annually in their communities.

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Unmanned aircraft systems, better known as drones, are not a new technology. In fact, the first use of unmanned aircraft dates back to the mid-1800s and has thrived mainly in military applications since then. But commercial and personal drone use began to catch on in the early 2000s, and quantum leaps over the past several years in range, payload capacity and available sensors have caused an explosion of interest in the technology, particularly in the utility industry. Electric cooperatives, whose rugged territories and unique operational needs are ideally suited to the capabilities of drones, are leading the trend.

In the latest episode of Along Those Lines, hear from Stan McHann, NRECA’s senior research engineer and the association’s lead on utility drones, and Bill Hovanec, GIS lead at Sangre de Cristo Electric Association in Colorado, about how co-ops are pushing the limits of unmanned aircraft and where this promising technology is heading.

Listen to the episode below:

You can also listen and subscribe to Along Those Lines on your preferred podcast service:
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Find out more about NRECA’s podcast. Questions or suggestions? Email us at AlongThoseLines@nreca.coop.

Electric cooperatives are increasing their investment in renewable energy, but baseload resources like coal and natural gas must continue to be part of the mix to ensure reliable, affordable power for rural America, the leader of Central Iowa Power Cooperative told a House panel Tuesday.

“As we look to the future, intermittent resources such as wind and solar must continue to be complemented and supported by always-available baseload energy resources like coal and natural gas,” Bill Cherrier, executive vice president and CEO of the generation and transmission co-op, testified before the House Agriculture Committee. “System reliability depends on the ability to blend intermittent sources like wind and solar with firm, flexible and dispatchable electric capacity.”

CIPCO, which serves nearly 300,000 residents and more than 13,000 commercial and industrial accounts, has a diverse portfolio that includes wind, solar, hydropower, landfill gas, natural gas, coal and purchases on the market.

“CIPCO’s generation portfolio has evolved significantly, with wind growing from 4.1% in 2010 to 29.9% in 2021 and coal dropping from 58.4% to 29.3% during that same time period,” Cherrier said at a hearing reviewing the 2018 farm bill’s impact on renewable energy opportunities in rural America.

Moving ahead, the co-op recently deployed the 100-megawatt Wapello Solar LLC and the 54-MW Independence Wind power purchase agreements. CIPCO is investing in an additional 100-MW solar project. At the same time, CIPCO recently invested $85 million in its existing Summit Lake generation plant, adding efficient reciprocating natural gas engines that serve peak electric demand, Cherrier said.

“This investment complements our intermittent wind and solar resources while ensuring the baseload generation necessary to meet the 24/7 power needs of Iowans and businesses in CIPCO’s service territory.”

As co-ops add more renewable energy, it’s “critical that policymakers work constructively with industry to achieve these objectives while maintaining the exceptional reliability and affordability that American families and businesses expect and deserve,” Cherrier said.

He urged Congress to approve direct federal payments to co-ops to put them on a more equal footing with for-profit utilities, which have long received tax incentives to invest in renewable energy projects. Co-ops cannot access those incentives because they do not pay federal income taxes.

“The federal tax-credit structure prevents not-for-profit electric cooperatives like CIPCO from taking advantage of the tax benefit to directly build and own wind and solar generation assets,” Cherrier testified. “For cooperatives to reap any benefit for this transition, we must work with third parties that develop and own these assets.

“Direct-pay tax incentives would level the playing field for all electric providers, allowing co-op-member systems and member-owners down the line to have equal access to a diverse power supply mix.”

Congress could also boost rural America’s economy by passing legislation to allow electric cooperatives to refinance federal Rural Utilities Service loans at lower interest rates without penalty, he said.

NRECA and its member co-ops are calling on lawmakers to approve the Flexible Financing for Rural America Act, which permits co-ops to refinance their RUS electric loans without facing costly prepayment penalties. An average co-op with typical RUS debt could save $2 million per year in interest payments at today’s interest rates.

“This essential step will give co-ops the flexibility to best manage their financial circumstances while focusing on cooperatives’ long-term stability and that of the communities they serve,” Cherrier said.

Erin Kelly is a staff writer for NRECA.

Achieving 100% carbon-free electricity generation by 2035 is an overly ambitious goal that could threaten grid reliability and requires technology that is not yet available, NRECA CEO Jim Matheson told a Senate panel Wednesday.

The Biden administration has set a goal of a carbon-free electric sector by 2035.

“As our nation works to strengthen energy security and reliability while also protecting the environment, we must realize that it is not an all-or-nothing choice,” Matheson testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “We can address these priorities—but it requires technology and time beyond what is currently available and what many have called for.”

Matheson said lawmakers should focus on three key points as they consider the nation’s energy future:

• A resilient and reliable electric grid that affordably keeps the lights on is the cornerstone of American energy security and the national economy.

• The ongoing energy transition must recognize the need for time and technology and be inclusive of all energy sources to maintain reliability and affordability.

• The bipartisan infrastructure bill made important investments to support an energy transition, but additional actions on tax credits, permit streamlining and coordination on electrification will be required to meet future energy needs.

Matheson urged senators to oppose efforts to “mandate energy sector transformations over unreasonable or unrealistic timelines and that fail to account for regional differences in energy resource availability or the potential for stranded assets.”

He pointed to a recent long-term reliability assessment by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. warning of the risks of energy shortfalls during extreme weather if too much baseload generation is retired prematurely.

“Such policies would have significant impacts on the reliability and security of the electric grid and could have an undue economic impact on co-op consumer-members, particularly as additional costs must be incurred for replacement generation,” he said at a hearing focused on American energy security and investments in clean energy technologies.

Electric cooperatives are accelerating energy innovations and investments in clean energy to reduce carbon emissions, Matheson said. Co-ops lowered their CO2 emissions by 23% between 2005 and 2020—the equivalent of taking nearly 9 million cars off the road.

“As electric co-ops continue to reduce CO2 and other emissions, it is critical that policymakers work with industry in a constructive manner that achieves these objectives while maintaining the exceptional reliability and affordability that American families and businesses expect and deserve,” Matheson said.

The electric sector is poised to play a major role in reducing carbon emissions through increased electrification of the transportation, agricultural and industrial sectors, he said.

“Electrifying other sectors of the economy, however, will require a three-fold expansion of the transmission grid and up to 170% more electricity supply by 2050, according to the National Academies of Sciences,” Matheson testified.

“The increasing role of electrification will place more demands on the electric grid and generation portfolio, and measures to enhance grid reliability are essential to maximize emission reductions and keep costs affordable.”

The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress last November “included significant opportunities for electric co-ops and the communities they serve through programs supporting clean energy deployment, grid resiliency and modernization, physical and cybersecurity, electric vehicles, and rural broadband,” Matheson said.

But he said more must be done to provide tax incentives, streamline the permitting process and coordinate electrification efforts.

“Policymakers must continue to balance realism with aspiration while recognizing that any energy transition will require additional time and technology and must be inclusive of all energy sources to maintain the reliability and affordability that is the cornerstone of American energy security.”

Erin Kelly is a staff writer for NRECA.

What would happen if a polar vortex plunged thousands into icy darkness in the Northeast and then, after electric cooperatives in the central U.S. sent mutual aid, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit along the New Madrid Fault that stretches from Illinois to Arkansas?

That’s a scenario that emergency, safety and energy coordinators from 22 electric cooperative statewide associations and their state government peers wrestled with in Fractured Freeze, the first tabletop exercise of its kind. The drill was organized by NRECA and the National Association of State Energy Officials.

NRECA CEO Jim Matheson welcomed more than 50 participants, including two U.S. Department of Energy officials, to the exercise recently in Arlington, Virginia.

“This is an excellent example of where folks can put their heads together and better prepare for the future because, let’s face it, your job is not getting any easier,” Matheson said. “At NRECA, we want to find the best way to convene everyone; to find opportunities to facilitate discussion and implementation of ideas.”

Roundtables of co-op and state officials tackled power restoration and recovery from the two make-believe disasters that created harrowing circumstances for mutual aid crews, including shortages in gasoline, accommodations and supplies along with damaged roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure.

“Dual disasters like those in Fractured Freeze may not be that far-fetched as weather and environmental conditions become more extreme,” said Martha Duggan, NRECA senior regulatory affairs director. “This exercise allowed electric co-ops to face two catastrophes in a safe place, polish their strengths and develop bonds with state officials that will be crucial when disaster strikes.”

Ben Bolton, senior energy programs administrator at the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, facilitated the exercise and shared his experience from 11 natural disasters in his home state over the last two years.

“You can’t have a massive outage without it affecting rural co-ops or the state energy office. Both get involved in different ways,” he said. “We need to increase our cooperation. This is a first great step to build that bridge between rural co-ops and state energy offices.”

Co-op participants said Fractured Freeze provided significant benefits:
• New state emergency contacts.
• Opportunities to educate state officials on the co-op model.
• Relationship building with other co-op statewide associations.
• Reinforcement of the need for timely recordkeeping for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
• New resources and techniques for disaster recovery.

Co-op officials said the exercise gave them a blue-sky chance to fill the void in their state connections.

“It was a good idea for NRECA to have this exercise and invite state officials,” said Rob Land, vice president for risk management and training at the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. “It helps to develop a working relationship before a disaster strikes.”

Peggy Dantzler, vice president of loss control and training for the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, echoed the significance of the exercise in establishing these relationships. “Co-ops need a person at the county or state emergency level so communications can happen more accurately and more quickly,” she said.

Co-op leaders also were eager to share with state officials how co-ops operate and coordinate to restore service through mutual aid agreements.

“The exercise really opened up their eyes to how much territory we cover in a state,” said Joe McElroy, safety director at the Michigan Electric Cooperative Association. “They also have a much better idea on how we all work together in the real-life disasters. In that respect, the exercise was worth its weight in gold.”

Even veterans of massive natural disasters found the exercise valuable. Discussions drew new ideas to expedite recovery, like contacting park services when chainsaws are needed or the state tourism department to secure housing for crews. State and public officials also can help identify large empty parking lots for staging and tent cities.

“We exercise our storm muscle quite a bit,” said Addie Armato, CEO of the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives. “When you’re in the heat of it, you’re strictly focused on your industry and your particular needs. This exercise allowed us to come together and have a better understanding of the big picture and not just tunnel vision we have when we get into recovery mode.”

Cathy Cash is a staff writer for NRECA.

As the U.S. Supreme Court addresses whether Congress authorized the Environmental Protection Agency to issue rules capable of reshaping the nation’s electric grid through the Clean Air Act, electric cooperatives continue to support the preservation of state authority to set emission levels at fossil fuel generation sources.

“The oral argument presented today was clear that the Supreme Court should preserve the states’ authority to set emission standards at power plants. Federal agencies are not free to rewrite statutory terms to accommodate policy desires that lack clear congressional directive,” NRECA CEO Jim Matheson said Monday.

“The Circuit Court’s decision would unconstitutionally allow EPA to determine the type of electric generation used within the states’ borders. Congress has recognized that every state is different, and the Court’s decision should recognize this fact,” Matheson said.

Matheson’s statement followed oral arguments in West Virginia v. the Environmental Protection Agency. The case pits coal-producing states and mining interests against the agency over an appeals court’s decision to throw out the 2019 Affordable Clean Energy rule, which gave states the right to set emission standards for existing power plants.

The Supreme Court could decide the case by June.

The ACE rule replaced the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which established emission guidelines for states to follow limiting carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated the ACE rule, sending the matter back to EPA.

EPA plans to propose a replacement for the ACE rule late this year and finalize a new rule in 2023, Elizabeth Prelogar, solicitor general representing the agency, told the justices.

Six generation and transmission co-ops and NRECA filed an amicus brief last December stating the position that Congress gave the states, not EPA, authority to set the standards for existing plants, with guidance from EPA, and that those standards must be achievable by each plant.

They said that the Clean Power Plan, which was sidelined by litigation and never took effect, would have forced “generation shifting” away from fossil fuel, harmed the economy and threatened the grid.

The G&Ts also raised the Supreme Court’s “major questions doctrine,” which asserts that federal agencies must have specific authorization from Congress when making policy of vast economic and political significance. Imposing emissions caps on electric generating units nationwide, they argued, would be such an action.

Cathy Cash is a staff writer for NRECA.

A year after a prolonged severe winter storm caused the near-collapse of the Texas power grid and left more than 4 million households without electricity, state lawmakers, regulators and power providers have worked to assess the causes of the outages and harden critical infrastructure. When another cold snap hit the state early this February, those measures were tested in real-time.

Julia Harvey is vice president of government relations and regulatory affairs at Texas Electric Cooperatives, the statewide association that represents 76 co-ops serving more than 4 million members. She recently discussed steps that have been taken over the past year to shore up the energy grid and what still needs to be done.

The widespread outages last year have been largely attributed to failures in the state’s natural gas infrastructure, is that right?

Harvey: Yes. There was some interplay between natural gas assets and the electric utility system that we had not seen to this extent before. When some aspects of the natural gas transmission system were affected by sustained freezing temperatures, multiple electric generation resources were not able to operate at full capacity because their fuel supply was constrained.

The loss of fuel access for electric generation became a multiple-day event. Because so much generation was unavailable and demand was so high, ERCOT [the Electric Reliability Council of Texas], which manages the statewide grid, had to invoke load shedding operational rules to help stabilize the system.

What have you learned in the past year, and what tangible steps have been taken to reduce the chances of such extreme disruptions from happening again?

Harvey: The susceptibility of certain infrastructure to freezing was central to changes in both legislation and Texas Public Utility regulations. More than 4,000 access points on key utility infrastructure have been inspected since September, and enhanced weatherization measures have been implemented to support increased resiliency during extreme weather.

According to ERCOT, on-site inspections have been completed at 302 generation facilities and 22 transmission facilities, and 321 of those sites now meet winterization requirements imposed by the legislature and the PUC. As important as generation weatherization is, a reliable grid can only be achieved when the gas system is also weatherized.

In regard to the [natural] gas system, an additional reform relates to a new critical infrastructure map being created by the PUC and the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry. This map will reflect current and future operational needs related to the gas supply chain. That allows certain gas transmission assets to be designated as essential so they are prioritized by electric utilities during a load shed event. Gas facilities identified on the map will also be required to weatherize, which will support increased resiliency on the system.

Are you confident that all the relevant state agencies are working together effectively on this issue?

Harvey: Last February’s freeze highlighted the importance of coordination and communication between both the electric and natural gas industries and the regulatory agencies that oversee various aspects of their operations.

The Texas Legislature has now formalized a framework to make that work. It’s a council of oil and gas representatives, the PUC, the railroad commission, and ERCOT that establishes a venue and a forum for communications during emergency events to help ensure that the electricity supply chain operates reliably during emergencies.

How confident are you that co-op voices are being heard as the nature of Texas energy markets and industry oversight evolves?

Harvey: Leading up to the freeze event during the first week of February [2022], the PUC, ERCOT and the new Texas Energy Reliability Council created by the legislature were very good about communicating with all segments of the industry—including cooperatives—regularly and consistently. We feel like we have a seat at the table from the cooperative perspective and our concerns are being heard and addressed. Part of the framework of ERCOT, reaffirmed since the 2021 event, has been the importance of effective communications on market issues, and regulators recognize this.

What challenges remain for the state’s grid?

Harvey: We are fully expecting more changes to be made to the electric system, both to infrastructure and market aspects of the business. Those include the need for weatherization of natural gas components. That’s why advancement and completion of key infrastructure mapping is so important. Portions of those systems need to be weatherized so they can better withstand extreme weather. We also expect additional weatherization requirements to be adopted for electric utility and generation infrastructure.

One of the highest-profile consequences of last year’s event was the run-up on the price of natural gas, which directly affects the price of electricity. Some customers in retail choice areas were directly exposed to those prices. Has that been addressed?

Harvey: In certain retail markets not served by co-ops or public power providers, there is retail choice. During the 2021 freeze, certain providers indexed retail rates to $9,000 per megawatt-hour of electricity, and that led to enormous bills for some consumers. That practice has now been prohibited. The legislature also took steps to ensure that retail choice providers have a higher standard of accountability. Further, the maximum wholesale price has been reduced by the PUC to $5,000, so prices will not rise to the level seen last February.

What do consumers need to know about the changing nature of electric markets and how they can affect reliability?

Harvey: Extreme operating events like the 2021 cold snap underscore the importance of maintaining diversified “all options” generation portfolios that provide service and pricing flexibility.

We support an all-of-the-above energy strategy that allows the evolution of our market design to make sure that with that growth of renewables, that conventional thermal dispatchable generation still has a place in Texas to back that up.

Derrill Holly is a staff writer for NRECA.

A Hawaiian electric cooperative is upping its conservation game as a pioneer of specialized drones to deploy bird flight diverters on its power lines that span remote and dramatically rugged terrain.

Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative is placing hundreds of advanced diverters along 740 spans of power line throughout the island’s dense tropical rainforests, jagged mountain peaks and steep valleys.

“When complete, we will have installed tens of thousands of diverters using drones,” said Beth Tokioka, communications manager for the Lihue-based co-op.

“Some areas where diverters were needed were in mountainous or forested areas where use of bucket trucks was not possible. Drones were the only way we could access these lines safely. They were an extremely efficient tool for completing these installations.”

Historically, utilities have used helicopters or large bucket trucks for such remote installations, but an upcoming report from NRECA finds that cost and safety factors are driving a trend toward the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for these jobs.

“The use of unmanned aerial vehicles offers a new way to install certain types of overhead marking devices over more traditional approaches,” notes the report, “New Trends in Avian Protection.”

“UAV-supported line marking can reduce costs and increase safety. NRECA recommends cooperatives discuss these options with qualified developers, other utility users, and qualified contractors before pursuing one option or one vendor to best fit the cooperative’s needs and budgets.”

KIUC has been testing different types of technologies and devices to minimize bird strikes for more than a decade. Diverters were first used on a small scale to test their efficacy. About two years ago, the co-op started working with new data on where strikes were most frequently occurring, which allowed for a more strategic installation, Tokioka said.

“This project is also proving to be very effective in our effort to minimize bird strikes with power lines,” she said. “Any cooperatives facing the same challenge with difficult terrain should consider the use of drones as a safe and efficient installation method.”

KIUC is using a combination of passive reflective and LED diverters. Each is effective at keeping specific avian species away, including three species of endangered seabirds and five species of threatened and endangered waterbirds.

“Reflective diverters are small devices that glow in the dark,” said John Cox, KIUC’s transmission and distribution manager. “LED diverters use a small solar panel that charges during the day and produces light that’s visible to birds throughout the evening.”

The co-op plans to continue using drones to install and maintain its diverters.

“KIUC has a responsibility to protect our natural environment,” Tokioka said. “We’re in the process of developing a longer-term Habitat Conservation Plan that will formalize current minimization activities in relation to requirements of the federal and state endangered species regulations.”

Watch a video of the bird diverters being installed.

Cathy Cash is a staff writer for NRECA.

An electric cooperative in Texas is going all-in on a promising new grid sensor after extensive collaboration with the state’s pre-eminent research university showed the devices improve reliability and can even help head off wildfires.

In 2017, engineers at Texas A&M University approached Navasota-based MidSouth Electric Cooperative about testing their experimental distribution fault anticipation sensors, which the university spent more than a decade developing.

DFAs are installed at a substation and continuously monitor a circuit for faults or potential arcing events. Signals from the sensors can notify operations crews before a fault occurs. That provides operators with the options of shutting down or rerouting power before an arc can damage a circuit or send sparks and molten metal to forest floors where they can ignite dry vegetation.

“By detecting problems as they develop, we can anticipate failures and avoid some outages, failures on local conductors and unsafe conditions like phase slapping that occur on galloping lines during windy conditions,” said Carl Benner, a research engineer on the Texas A&M team that developed the technology. “Some of those conditions are known to increase fire ignition risks.”

MidSouth agreed to try the devices out at substations in and around the Sam Houston National Forest. After these tests showed positive results, the co-op committed to install them at 10 additional substations per year. By the end of this year, all 60 of MidSouth’s substations will host the technology.

“We have been able to detect a failing switch in a substation and make repairs with no members out of service before catastrophic failure, which could take a complete substation offline,” said Robert Taylor, an engineering specialist with MidSouth. “Our reliability is improved by being able to head off some of the controllable problems that start small and escalate with time that we wouldn’t otherwise know about until failure occurred.”

When potential problems are detected by a DFA unit, operations crews analyze the cause and, depending on the data, will send personnel to examine the problem feeder. Taylor says they’ve been able to troubleshoot multiple issues before a fault or dangerous arcing.

“We detected, found and reported a loose clamp in the forest that was arcing before any outages, a fire or complaints from members occurred,” he said.

Co-op officials say DFA technology improves their ability to monitor the overall health of their distribution network because it detects problems that other systems are not designed to report. They are now using it in conjunction with their automated metering infrastructure and supervisory control and data acquisition components to get better quality information about events occurring across their system.

“The primary benefit of implementing DFA technology is wildfire and outage mitigation which is significant for the co-op, our members and the whole community,” said Kerry Kelton, MidSouth’s CEO and general manager. “Building relationships with universities like Texas A&M helps propel our use of new and emerging technologies while also reaching the next generation of potential co-op employees.”

Derrill Holly is a staff writer for NRECA.

The electric industry is facing one of the most challenging and disruptive times in its history as changes in policy, energy markets and consumer expectations drive fundamental changes in how utilities generate and deliver electricity.  

Electric cooperatives recognized this trend more than a decade ago and have been adding wind and solar to their generation portfolios as well as leading innovation in the development of microgrids and carbon capture and sequestration. Today, increasing social, economic and political pressure to accelerate the timeline for this transition is causing concern among electric co-ops and other utilities over how it will affect their ability to reliably and affordably provide electricity.

To delve into this important topic, we’re joined by Lisa Johnson, CEO and general manager of Seminole Electric Cooperative in Florida, and Pat O’Loughlin, president and CEO of Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives and its generation and transmission co-op, Buckeye Power.

Listen to the episode below:

You can also listen and subscribe to Along Those Lines on your preferred podcast service:
Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube

Find out more about NRECA’s podcast. Questions or suggestions? Email us at AlongThoseLines@nreca.coop.

NRECA is receiving $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to continue its work in developing and deploying sophisticated cybersecurity tools and tactics for the electric utility industry.

The funds come from the Electricity Subsector Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Initiative following the administration’s 100-day action plan to secure the U.S. energy grid.

NRECA CEO Jim Matheson said the Oct. 27 announcement from DOE underscores how government partnerships, information sharing, technology development and coordination with the industry “are essential to strengthening electric sector cyber defenses.”

“Electric co-ops are appreciative of this funding that will help support the deployment of advanced technologies to stay ahead of cyberthreats,” he said.

NRECA has partnered with DOE on several cybersecurity projects, including Essence 2.0, a tool that instantly alerts utilities of possible network intrusions, allowing administrators to lock out bad actors and warn other grid operators in real time.

“Real-time visibility into what’s happening across several different systems is important to strengthen our cybersecurity capabilities and identify attacks in their infancy,” Matheson said.

NRECA also partnered with DOE on the Rural Cooperative Cybersecurity Capabilities (RC3) program, which offers co-ops cybersecurity training, risk assessments, tabletop exercises, workshops and more.

“DOE’s trusted partnerships across the electricity complex are integral to ensuring and maintaining a reliable flow of energy across the country,” said Puesh Kumar, acting principal deputy assistant secretary for DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response.

“As we continue supporting the 100-day plan and taking action to protect and defend our critical infrastructure, we want to gain greater cyberthreat visibility and develop longstanding relationships with the public utilities that power our homes and businesses.”

DOE also awarded $5 million for this initiative to the American Public Power Association.

For questions on this initiative, please contact Emma Stewart.

Cathy Cash is a staff writer for NRECA.

Minnesota electric cooperatives scored a major victory against unlawful fees and requirements from railroad companies, with state regulators basing their unanimous decision on a state right-of-way law written in part by the statewide association.

The Oct. 5 order by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission allowed Connexus Energy to immediately begin replacing old distribution line underneath tracks owned by BNSF Railway and located in a public easement. The commission denied the rail giant’s 52 requirements and a request for a hearing and restricted BNSF to “reasonable and necessary” traffic flagging expenses.

It was the first test of the 2016 railway crossing law by an electric co-op before the PUC after the Minnesota Rural Electric Association led a two-year fight for legislation to curtail railroads’ widespread, costly impediments levied on co-ops for right-of-way work.

“To protect our members from those demands, it became a priority for us,” said Darrick Moe, MREA president. “We work with members on this all the time.”

As part of its ruling against BNSF, the commission also opened a docket to gather information on whether to launch a comprehensive investigation into similar cases involving railroads and co-ops.

This case arose from a conflict between Connexus Energy and BNSF a year ago after the railroad added requirements to its agreement for co-op work at a crossing in Coon Rapids, a northern suburb of Minneapolis, and tacked on a $2,500 fee for two days of flagging. BNSF further insisted the co-op buy more insurance and that a rail employee be onsite for construction to occur.

“We are lean organizations,” said Nick Loehlein, vice president of electric operations at the Ramsey-based co-op. “The obstructions and delays really impact our ability to serve our members. But cooperatives need to stand tall.”

After months of negotiations came to an impasse, Connexus took its case to the PUC.

The statute, upheld by a state court in 2018, clarified that railroads may charge a flat $1,250 fee for crossing work in a private right-of-way but no fees in a public space. The law limits requirements to those involving safe operations of the rail line.

Connexus credits the win at the PUC “to the cooperative spirit” that included the support of the MREA and telephone co-ops.

Cathy Cash is a staff writer for NRECA.

Second in a two-part series for Cybersecurity Awareness Month: The proliferation of electric vehicles into the U.S. market is only expected to accelerate in the coming decades as more and more car manufacturers expand their fleets into the EV space. But as utilities, including electric cooperatives, and other interests work to build EV infrastructure that can keep pace with the expected demand, this growing web of connected charging stations will create a host of new cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

To learn more about what those vulnerabilities are and how to mitigate them, we’re joined by Shannon Murry with the FBI’s Cyber Division along with Brian Sloboda, NRECA consumer solutions director and the association’s point person on EVs.

Listen to the episode below:

You can also listen and subscribe to Along Those Lines on your preferred podcast service:
Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube

Check out part 1 of our October cybersecurity series, in which cyber experts from the FBI and NRECA explain how co-ops can avoid becoming victims of ransomware and what they should do if they’re attacked.

Find out more about NRECA’s podcast. Questions or suggestions? Email us at AlongThoseLines@nreca.coop.

First in a two-part series for Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Ransomware became a household word earlier this year when the Colonial Pipeline, a major fuel delivery source on the East Coast, was shut down for several days after hackers attacked the company’s billing system.

These highly disruptive and costly network intrusions are on the rise in the United States and globally, and businesses across the spectrum are being targeted. How can electric cooperatives avoid becoming victims of this sophisticated malware? And what should they do if they are attacked? 

To answer those and other questions, we’re joined by Ryan Newlon, NRECA’s principal for cybersecurity solutions, and Dave Eisenreich, a special agent with the FBI in the Cyber Division and that group’s liaison to the energy sector.

Listen to the episode below:

You can also listen and subscribe to Along Those Lines on your preferred podcast service:
Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube

Check out part 2 of our October cybersecurity series, in which cyber experts from the FBI and NRECA discuss the cyber vulnerabilities that come with the rise in electric vehicles and how to mitigate them.

Find out more about NRECA’s podcast. Questions or suggestions? Email us at AlongThoseLines@nreca.coop.

Updated: Sept. 7, 3 p.m. ET

While electric cooperative crews have worked long, grueling hours clearing trees, dragging brush, setting poles and stringing lines to restore electricity to communities ravaged by Hurricane Ida, full restoration could still be weeks away in parts of Louisiana.

“Washington-St. Tammany Electric anticipates having everyone who can accept power fully restored within three weeks,” wrote officials from the Mandeville-based co-op in a weekend social media post.

WSTE has 650 broken poles and miles of downed conductor to replace, but with the help of hundreds of co-op mutual aid crews and contractors, the co-op has restored power to all but about 8,000 of its 52,000 meters.

“Lines with the largest number of members requiring the least amount of time will be restored first,” the co-op advised members. All seven transmission delivery points and 33 substations on its system are now energized, and distribution points are now the focus of restoration work.

“We must go from the source outward to the end,” said WSTE General Manager Charles Hill, comparing the systematic approach standard for power restoration to the design of a coin purse, wider at the bottom than at the drawstring securing the top.

“Groups will be energized before individuals,” wrote Hill, adding that crews will be shifted to other areas in need of help once work is completed, and service crews will ultimately be deployed to restore individual connections and smaller groups.

Off-road rights of way, cutting through muddy forested areas and marshland, continue to present challenges for crews working to restore power across south Louisiana.

With the help of 800 line technicians, vegetation management and support personnel, Dixie Electric Membership Corp. is battling back from near total system failure and now has 75% of its meters back in service.

“Transmission and distribution infrastructure were severely damaged or obliterated,” co-op officials wrote Monday. The Greenwell Springs-based co-op has 29,000 members still without power and is offering projections of a few days to up to four weeks for various parts of its service territory, contingent upon damage, accessibility and whether homes can safely receive power.

“Restoration estimates are based on knowledge we have at this time,” officials cautioned. “Unforeseen challenges are always possible and may alter these predictions.”

Where possible, the co-op is now rerouting power from other points to help get members back online. Up to 400 of its damaged poles still need to be replaced.

“Flooding, terrain and debris impede complete progress, and often require special off-road or amphibious equipment,” officials said Sunday.

Electric co-ops serving the region receive their power from transmission systems operated by other utilities actively working to rebuild structural steel towers toppled by the Category 4 storm’s 150 mph-plus winds. The transmission providers continue to beef up their restoration efforts, and with most damage assessments completed, transmission repairs are expected to be wrapped up by midweek.

“Without transmission we will not be able to energize any lines, this is out of SLECA’s control,” said Joe Ticheli, general manager of Houma-based South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Association. “We continue to ask for your patience during this long ordeal.”

But with 1,100 contract and mutual aid co-op personnel on the ground across its service territory, SLECA’s largest-ever restoration effort is in full swing.

“Crews are setting poles, stringing wire, removing debris and rebuilding SLECA’s electric infrastructure that took over 83 years to build, across two parishes,” Ticheli said. “Even with the progress being made and the army of ‘boots on the ground,’ it will be a long process.”

More than 19,000 of SLECA’s 21,000 meters were out in the hours after the storm. Some of the most challenging restoration work is still ahead, with more than 17,000 meters still out, over 1,000 broken distribution poles being replaced and tracked vehicles being used in off-road areas.

The Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives continues to coordinate mutual aid crews and is working to address fuel, lodging and logistics issues for visiting crews and contractors.

“Preparations are gearing up to fill a second round of mutual aid requests aimed at replacing out-of- state crews initially committed to assignments lasting up to two weeks,” said Addie Armato, acting CEO of the statewide association. “We are also working with our mutual aid partners to help locate and source materials that are hard to find.”

While most co-ops in Mississippi completed restoration work last week, Summit-based Magnolia Electric Power Association was still finishing repairs Tuesday, though outages were down to less than 200 of its 35,200 meters. Restoration is expected to formally conclude Wednesday, but local crews could spend weeks collecting broken poles and other debris and making permanent repairs to co-op infrastructure.

Derrill Holly is a staff writer for NRECA.

Cybersecurity has been an ongoing priority for electric cooperatives for decades. But in recent years, as electric utilities have deployed new connected technologies to monitor and maintain the grid, the need for strong cybersecurity on the operations technology side has grown exponentially.

To help co-ops with a solution that’s customized to their specific needs, NRECA worked with co-ops and other partners to develop Essence, a tool that began as an innovative way to quickly identify anomalies on downline systems and has evolved to become a robust method for detection, visualization and reporting of potential cyberattacks. In this episode, we’re joined by Emma Stewart, NRECA’s chief scientist, to learn more about this unique tool.

Listen to the episode below:

You can also listen and subscribe to Along Those Lines on your preferred podcast service:
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Find out more about NRECA’s podcast. Questions or suggestions? Email us at AlongThoseLines@nreca.coop.

A tropical storm landfall in New England isn’t something you see very often, but NRECA’s only rural electric cooperative in Rhode Island escaped with few outages and quick restoration in its close brush with Henri.

“We had a few windy, and kind of scary hours,” said Jeffery Wright, president and CEO of Block Island Utility District. “This was like a nor’easter except it didn’t last long and we had a full canopy of leaves in the trees.

Henri developed from a subtropical weather system that began forming northeast of Bermuda on Aug. 15. Steering currents carried the storm closer to the U.S. mainland, north toward the Mid-Atlantic, where it developed into a Category 1 hurricane. It lost some of its power dumping heavy rain over coastal areas of New York and Connecticut Saturday and officially made landfall as a tropical storm near Westerly, Rhode Island, early Sunday afternoon.

“We had a lot of tree damage because of the timing of the storm,” said Wright. “We might have seen a lot more broken trees had the storm stalled like many of our nor’easters tend to do.”

While the official National Weather Service landfall for Henri was 12:15 ET Sunday, the storm’s eye passed directly over Block Island, about 15 miles southeast of Westerly, 45 minutes earlier.

“We had sustained winds of 60 to 70 mph for about three and a half hours,” said Wright. “It was blowing hard enough to actually pull some of our solar panels off the roof of our office, and that’s never happened before.”

Crews from the co-op, joined by five contract personnel brought over from the mainland in preparation for the storm, began restoring power to affected meters during the lull that occurred as the eye passed over.

“We had outages affecting about 54 of our members,” said Wright, adding that crews did not have to replace a single pole on his 50 miles of line. “We had everyone on within about two hours.”

Wright says transmission faults on the undersea cable serving the island were intermittent for about three hours but lasted only about 30 seconds during any single occurrence.

While some tourists evacuated the island Saturday, most stayed throughout the storm and many businesses remained open.

Remnants of the storm continued to dump rain over parts of Vermont and Maine on Monday, and the weather system continued to dissipate as it veered east over open Atlantic waters.

Derrill Holly is a staff writer for NRECA.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency must fix policies and regulations that create financial hardships for electric cooperatives and their communities struggling to recover from natural disasters, NRECA said in comments recently filed at the agency.

The comments were submitted in response to FEMA’s request for information following a White House executive order on racial equity and federal support for underserved communities. They outline several areas of significant concern:

• FEMA’s policy change on emergency work.
• Slow disbursement of emergency funds.
• Inability to provide nonprofits direct access to certain disaster funds.
• Failure to implement provisions of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 to deliver aid.

FEMA should increase its focus on the most economically challenged areas after floods, hurricanes, ice storms and other catastrophes, said Martha Duggan, NRECA senior director of regulatory affairs.

Instead, FEMA’s move to redefine “emergency work” as opposed to “permanent work” for utilities may result in an additional $12.5 million in storm expenses for electric cooperatives slammed by Hurricane Laura last August, she said.

“In the wake of a disaster, electric cooperatives strive to restore their systems without raising rates to people who are already economically stressed pre-disaster,” said Duggan.

“Raising rates after a disaster simply exacerbates poverty in these communities. But raising rates is exactly what electric cooperatives will have to do absent fair, efficient, consistent and adequate FEMA reimbursement processes.”

More than 250 distribution co-ops and NRECA-member public power districts serve an estimated 4.2 million people in 92% of the nation’s “persistent poverty counties” as identified by the U.S. Treasury Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.

“Delays in financial assistance force electric cooperatives to borrow substantial amounts of money to bridge the time between disaster impacts and FEMA payment,” Duggan said. “The interest on these loans becomes a cost to the consumer-owners of the electric cooperatives who may be suffering tremendous financial setbacks themselves after the disaster.”

NRECA is encouraging FEMA to reimburse the interest on these loans as an eligible cost incurred after a disaster hits an electric co-op’s system, she said.

Earlier this year, NRECA provided input to FEMA in opposition to a proposed rule for cost assistance estimates in the disaster declaration process for its public assistance program. That proposal has been roundly criticized by other stakeholders, including state and local governments.

Cathy Cash is a staff writer for NRECA.

ARLINGTON, Va. – As the Biden Administration’s 100-day electric sector cybersecurity initiative concludes, an additional 52 electric cooperatives have committed to use NRECA’s Essence technology to share their anonymized cybersecurity and threat data with trusted government partners. This expands the commitment among electric cooperatives to join the public-private effort to enhance national cyberthreat detection, mitigation, and forensic capabilities.

As part of the 100-day initiative, NRECA and the Electric Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC) have consulted with DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) to inform future recommendations for protecting the U.S. electric system from persistent and sophisticated cyberthreats.

Fifty-seven electric co-ops will deploy the government-approved Essence 2.0 technology and anonymously share their security and threat data with trusted partners. Six other cooperatives will use another technology platform for a similar purpose.

“Information sharing, technology development and coordination among industry and government partners are essential for strengthening electric sector cyber defenses,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “Real-time visibility into what’s happening across several different systems is important as the government and private sector work together to minimize blind spots and identify attacks in their infancy.”

NRECA will continue engaging in the ongoing conversation about cybersecurity across the electric sector while also working with electric cooperatives and other stakeholders to expand the adoption of technologies like Essence highlighted during the 100-day initiative.

Essence 2.0 is an anomaly-detection platform that uses operational technology sensors to identify and warn of possible network breaches in real time. NRECA received $6 million from DOE last fall to further develop the technology and was recently awarded $3.9 million from DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to expand the program.

“As this groundbreaking technology is rapidly deployed, it will work in unison with a growing suite of platforms to pilot a heightened sense of awareness and cyber-readiness,” said Matheson. “We look forward to continuing this meaningful partnership with the federal government to meet our shared objective of enhancing cybersecurity in the electric sector.”

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing nearly 900 local electric cooperatives. From growing suburbs to remote farming communities, electric co-ops serve as engines of economic development for 42 million Americans across 56 percent of the nation’s landscape. As local businesses built by the consumers they serve, electric cooperatives have meaningful ties to rural America and invest $12 billion annually in their communities.

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Updated: July 12, 2021

Elsa, the first named tropical weather system to make landfall in the United States this year, knocked out power to thousands of electric cooperative members in Florida last week. But service was quickly restored with help from other co-ops and contractors.

“We sincerely appreciate the mutual aid we receive from co-ops within Florida and nationwide—that plays a key role in each co-op’s restoration plan,” said Mike Bjorklund, general manager of the Florida Electric Cooperatives Association.

Bjorklund praised the skill and speed of co-op crews who began outage repairs as winds subsided and restoration work could be undertaken safely. He also thanked co-op members and commercial-industrial account holders for their patience and support in the aftermath of the storm.

“Their individual storm prep is essential to recovery from any storm,” Bjorklund said.

Elsa formed in the central Atlantic and reached hurricane strength with sustained winds of 75 mph before pushing through the Windward Islands on July 2. After peaking at 85 mph, the system lost some strength over Cuba and entered the Gulf of Mexico on July 5 as a powerful tropical storm.

Packing highest-sustained winds of 65 mph, the storm moved ashore north of Steinhatchee on July 7, pounding communities served by Tri-County Electric Cooperative and knocking out power to nearly 5,400 of the co-op’s 18,000 meters.

“The height of the storm came through midday, and we were able to work through the storm. Power was restored to the majority of TCEC members by midnight,” said John Tuten, the Madison-based distribution co-op’s vice president of operations. Work was wrapped up before dawn July 9.

“The support from our neighboring co-ops, West Florida Electric Cooperative, Escambia River Electric Cooperative and CHELCO, made the difference in our restoration times,” said Tuten.

“We are grateful for their hard work, safety efforts and dedication to our members like they were their own.”

Co-op help and contractors also allowed Live Oak-based Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative to work through outages affecting over 12,700 of its meters, said CEO Mike McWaters.

Ninety people, including lineworkers, vegetation management and support personnel, helped with restoration efforts, said McWaters. “At times like this, it’s good to have friends who are willing to lend a hand.”

Co-ops and other utilities intensified their seasonal preparations as meteorologists warned the storm’s track would carry it inland through the Florida Panhandle and parallel to the Eastern Seaboard.

Georgia Electric Membership Corp. reported about 435 outages among the state’s co-ops Thursday morning, primarily in southeastern coastal counties. The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina reported outages affecting about 3,000 meters Thursday, but crews handled most repairs with local personnel.

Elsa maintained tropical storm status as it pushed through the Mid-Atlantic region into New England, dumping heavy rain over coastal areas and causing flash flooding, but storm-related outages in co-op-served areas were not severe enough to require major restoration efforts.

Early tropical weather activity in the Atlantic Basin has prompted researchers at Colorado State University’s Tropical Weather and Climate Research Center to revise their seasonal hurricane forecast of 18 named storms slightly upward, to 20.

“We anticipate an above-normal probability for major hurricanes making landfall along the continental United States coastline and in the Caribbean,” said Phil Klotzbach, lead researcher.

Derrill Holly is a staff writer for NRECA.

A group of electric cooperatives and other utilities are working with government researchers to improve power outage reporting by standardizing the way information is captured and displayed when major service disruptions occur.

NRECA, National Information Solutions Cooperative and several co-ops and public power districts are supporting development and deployment of the Outage Data Initiative Nationwide system, or ODIN. Widespread use of the technology could improve emergency operations response with more effective communications presented with standardized data.

“About 4,000 electric utilities in the United States now produce outage information developed in several different formats,” said Tony Thomas, a senior principal engineer with NRECA’s Business and Technology Strategies department. “ODIN is a single-pane data solution for public safety and emergency management personnel so that coordinating responses won’t require rotating through multiple screens and websites to get real-time status views from multiple utilities serving a threatened area or region.”

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Department of Energy have been working on ODIN for about six years. Several co-ops and public power districts were involved in development and beta-testing for the interface that’s designed to pull data from existing outage management systems.

The system, now available for deployment and use, provides details by county, postal code or geo-position, including data on repair and restoration estimates. ODIN was developed using NRECA’s MultiSpeak® standard. MultiSpeak, a software system that facilitates secure data-sharing, is used by most co-ops, other utilities, universities and the Department of Defense.

“It takes about 30 minutes to set it up so a member’s outage management system can provide data to the ODIN system,” said Todd Eisenhauer, vice president of quality and process assurance at NISC. “The local, state and federal agencies accessing the data get timely information to assist with evacuations, incident response and logistics planning during recovery periods.”

Eisenhauer said many NISC members are already providing data collected through their outage management systems to their statewide associations, state public utility commissions and other users, and inclusion in DOE’s ODIN portal is an easily added option.

Use of the ODIN system is expected to gain momentum during the current wildfire and hurricane seasons. The interface also has communications potential for polar vortex events, spring floods affecting broad areas, and demand incidents prompting emergency conservation or grid management measures.

“ODIN is designed to provide first responders and incident management teams with national or regional views that can be drilled down to focus on local conditions,” said Thomas. “Users will be able to quickly determine whether power is on or off in specific areas and if transmission and distribution lines are energized or not.”

Knowing that information on a real-time basis enhances safety for firefighters and emergency service crews. It also can help with management of evacuation routes and the location of relief services. The technology could prove essential against cyberattacks that might affect electricity service over broad areas of the country.

“ODIN is taking this to a higher level for all utility parties involved and aligning the data for various key stakeholders,” said Eisenhauer. “This will be useful whether displaced residents are looking for the locations of heating centers during widespread freeze events or essential services when service disruptions occur during wildfire events. Standardization of how the information is presented enhances its value for all users involved in managing event response.”

Derrill Holly is a staff writer for NRECA.

Nearly 60,000 western wildfires destroyed more than 10 million acres in 2020, making it one of the worst seasons ever. As another begins, battled-tested electric cooperatives are readying strategies to prepare and mitigate damage.

“It comes down to prevention and protecting our members,” said Dave Markham, president and CEO of Central Electric Cooperative in Redmond, Oregon.

Unlike tornados that devastate in single short spurts or hurricanes that may be predicted weeks in advance, wildfires can spark at any time and often go unnoticed until dangerously out of control. These fires gain strength and size as they consume woody debris and other fuel in their path and can spread destruction for weeks or even months.

In northern Colorado’s drought-plagued mountains, Poudre Valley REA experienced its greatest devastation ever from wildfires in 2020: 400 distribution poles and 20 miles of power line were destroyed, and a substation was severely damaged.

As what came to be known as the Cameron Peak Fire began to spread in August 2020, the co-op worked simultaneously to support first responders, protect infrastructure and restore electricity.

“Preparing for the fire and restoration was challenging due to the fire’s unpredictable nature,” said John Bowerfind, chief operating officer at the Fort Collins, Colorado-based co-op.

“We created and followed our plan while remaining flexible, with the ability to pivot and change course as the fire conditions changed.”

That meant lots of communication with fire authorities and members about when an area would be repaired and re-energized. The co-op used social media, livestreamed events and local media coverage to share the latest developments.

The blaze began about 15 miles from the Red Feather Lakes community served by PVREA. It roared into the co-op’s service area in waves, appearing to recede then raging back in short bursts when the weather turned drier and windy. The wildfire was not fully contained until December.

Fire incident command called for the largest public safety power shutoffs PVREA had ever experienced. Because the co-op had asked suppliers in advance to have materials readily available, damaged segments were repaired and lines were re-energized quickly.

“Every natural disaster is different—our response plan provides a starting point and must remain flexible,” said Bowerfind. “We were planning for the restoration and rebuilding efforts before facilities were destroyed by the fire.”

In Oregon, more than 1.5 million acres burned in 2020, making it one of the most destructive wildfire seasons in the state’s history. Flames along the Cascade Range whipped by 70 mph gales threatened CEC territory, but the co-op was spared when winds diminished.

“We dodged a potential catastrophe,” said Markham. “But we realize it is getting drier and hotter and there are more dead and dying trees.”

With more than half of CEC’s service territory across federal lands, Markham has testified before Congress on how delays in approvals for right-of-way upgrades, maintenance and improvements can have serious consequences. It took over a year to receive approval from the U.S. Forest Service to replace 131 aging power poles and remove encroaching vegetation along a 13-mile overhead power line route on federal land, he said.

“We are in a significant drought,” he said. “Going into summer, this is the time of year we will get lightning storms.”

CEC’s wildfire plan covers inspection and maintenance, operational practices, situational and conditional awareness, and response and recovery. Brad Wilson, who as director of operations and engineering heads the co-op’s wildfire mitigation efforts in the field, calls the plan “a living document.”

“While we will annually review the plan and update as needed, events in real-time may require some flexibility in its execution,” he said.

Listen to an August 2020 podcast episode on co-ops and wildfire mitigation:

Cathy Cash is a staff writer at NRECA.

An unprecedented Arctic blast and winter storm that hit the Midwest and the South in February caused widespread power supply issues, rolling blackouts and sustained outages. The event impacted multiple states, but Texas was hit the worst with several days of outages, crippling power supply shortages and nearly 200 deaths attributed to the storm. What happened in Texas, and why was it so much worse there?

Hear from Mike Williams, CEO of Texas Electric Cooperatives, as well as Mark Jones, a Rice University fellow who was part of a University of Houston research team that surveyed Texas power consumers in the immediate aftermath of the storm.

Listen to the episode below:

You can also listen and subscribe to Along Those Lines on your preferred podcast service:
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Find out more about NRECA’s podcast. Questions or suggestions? Email us at AlongThoseLines@nreca.coop.

NRECA is working with an industry group and the Biden administration on a voluntary 100-day initiative to enhance national cyberthreat detection, mitigation and forensic capabilities.

Led by the White House National Security Council with support from the Department of Energy and the Department of Homeland Security, the initiative’s first focus is on the industrial controls and operational technology systems of electric utilities with more than 50,000 customers.

“Federal agencies cite the need for enhanced cybersecurity technology options, driven by the growing risk to control systems and concern about the potential for adversaries to compromise systems essential to our daily lives,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson.

“Through NRECA’s role in the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council, we are working closely with the federal government as it implements this initiative, including providing input on how the government can provide assistance to electric cooperatives to meet the objectives of enhancing cybersecurity in the electric sector.”

The ESCC is a CEO-led organization that serves as the principal liaison between electric utilities and the federal government to prepare for, and respond to, national-level disasters or threats to critical infrastructure.

NRECA wants to ensure co-ops have a way to voluntarily engage in the 100-day initiative and is advocating for federal financial incentives to help utilities strengthen their cyber defenses through advanced sensors and software.

One technology that is being considered with this initiative is Essence, which was developed by NRECA with exactly these issues in mind. This sophisticated anomaly-detection tool can identify and warn of possible network breaches in real time. NRECA received $6 million from DOE last fall to further develop this groundbreaking cybersecurity tool and was awarded $3.9 million this week from the DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to expand the program. A large-scale co-op pilot is underway.

“With cost-effective technologies like Essence, co-ops can gain a level of monitoring and situational awareness that can improve the sector’s common operating picture,” said Bridgette Bourge, NRECA legislative director.

“If this initiative includes financial assistance for not-for-profit electric entities, we could greatly improve the industry and government’s ability to quickly identify trends or concerning activity around our critical infrastructure and respond,” Bourge said.

Cathy Cash is a staff writer at NRECA.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association has been awarded $3.9 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to expand the association’s Essence cybersecurity program. The award is the next step in a pilot partnership to expand cybersecurity information sharing and readiness announced by DOE last year.

“Partnerships like this are vital as we work to keep the electric grid secure and reliable,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “As threats and threat actors evolve, electric cooperatives consistently work to improve their defense capabilities. Collaboration and cooperation are two strengths that co-ops draw on as they work together to implement cybersecurity solutions. America’s electric cooperatives look forward to working with DOE and PNNL in this expanded opportunity and we look forward to bringing our cooperative approach to this partnership.”

The two-year, $3.9 million award will support the deployment of Essence, an information and operational technology sensor platform created by NRECA with advanced capabilities to detect industrial control system anomalies and threats with speed and precision. As part of the deployment process, Essence systems will be the first ones to connect to PNNL’s Cybersecurity Risk Information Sharing Program (CRISP), which leverages DOE resources to analyze, and distribute actionable threat information to the energy sector.

Essence and CRISP will work in unison to pilot a heightened state of awareness, information sharing, and cyber-readiness between the electric sector and the federal government. These award funds build on a powerful and growing suite of NRECA’s cyber resources developed to support the electric industry’s work to stay ahead of evolving cyberthreats.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing nearly 900 local electric cooperatives. From growing suburbs to remote farming communities, electric co-ops serve as engines of economic development for 42 million Americans across 56 percent of the nation’s landscape. As local businesses built by the consumers they serve, electric cooperatives have meaningful ties to rural America and invest $12 billion annually in their communities.

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Essence 2.0 is a proven, industry-ready solution to enhance America’s cybersecurity posture. The technology is used by cybersecurity teams and operating engineers to protect key systems against unknown, emerging threats. 

Essence 2.0 has been developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and NRECA’s development partners, BlackByte Cyber Security LLC. and Referentia Systems.

Download the full fact sheet to learn more.

New technology developed to rapidly identify and defend against emerging cybersecurity threats is being demonstrated at a growing number of electric cooperatives nationwide.

The technology is being developed by NRECA and its partners BlackByte Cyber Security LLC and Referentia Systems Inc. through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy. Essence 2.0 monitors for cyberthreats and instantly provides key indicators to utility experts to defend systems against emerging threats. Using a set of algorithms, Essence 2.0 continuously assesses power grids for anything out of the ordinary. When unusual circumstances are detected, the technology provides real-time indicators, which allows for informed decision making to counter the threat. 

“We are choosing partner electric cooperatives to help demonstrate and advance the capabilities of this platform,” said Emma Stewart, chief scientist at NRECA. “Being able to identify emerging threats in real time is the most important element of this approach so that electric cooperatives and other users can adapt quickly—not weeks later—to protect their systems.

“Our goal is to gain the most coverage from this technology for protecting the nation’s electric system and providing real-time situational awareness of the grid,” Stewart said. “Essence 2.0 can be used by cybersecurity teams and operating engineers to protect key systems against unknown, emerging threats. No other tool combines this capability for IT and OT collaboration with an awareness on both cyber and physical elements of the power grid.”

In 2020, DOE awarded NRECA $6 million to demonstrate that Essence 2.0 is an affordable resource for utilities to protect their operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) against cyberthreats.  NRECA has implemented the technology at a strategic set of electric co-op partners and seeks to expand its use to 55 additional co-ops under the DOE award. The expanded deployments are scheduled to begin this year. 

Don Bowman, vice president of engineering and operations at Wake Electric Membership Corp. in North Carolina, says the meld of informational and operational technologies “focuses on the data points that matter in a timeframe that allows us to act quickly—protecting our infrastructure from dangers on the network.”

“Knowing all of the actors in our networks, and recognizing the data flowing from point to point, gives us confidence to use new technology to deliver reliability and affordability to our member-customers,” he said.

As the Essence 2.0 platform capabilities continue to mature, NRECA and co-op partners are transitioning the research to have broader industry impact, says Doug Lambert, NRECA’s senior principal for grid solutions. “We are coordinating with DOE to support situational awareness on the electric grid and advance research that is forging commercial partnerships with industry for long-term sustainability.”

Essence 2.0 research is focused on advancing and integrating two technologies developed by NRECA and its technology partners—a “cybersecurity-collect-communicate-collaborate” (C4) platform and a real-time anomaly detection capability called GridState. Both technologies were proven effective against cyber and physical attacks in the Rapid Attack Detection, Isolation and Characterization System program using live environments sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. 

Essence 2.0 provides shared security resources to community-owned co-ops and other small utilities as part of a comprehensive strategy to ensure protection of the electric grid.

Read More:
Fact Sheet: Essence 2.0 Cybersecurity Technology

More than two dozen utility executives, including leaders of two electric cooperatives, testified at two marathon hearings in the Texas legislature last week to examine what went wrong during a February cold snap that paralyzed the state’s electric grid and left millions without power for days.

Residents of hundreds of Texas communities are still struggling to recover two weeks after one of the longest and most widespread power outages in the state’s history, and lawmakers are demanding assurances that the problems never happen again.

“This is the largest train wreck in the history of deregulated electricity,” said state Sen. Brandon Creighton of Conroe.

During the Feb. 13-19 event, Texas’ electric grid was impaired by the loss of generation from wind and solar energy, coal, natural gas and nuclear sources. Just under half of the state’s electric generation sources were offline at one point during the week.  

“When you lose almost half your generation, you are going to have a problem,” Bill Magness, president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, told a state Senate committee last Thursday.

ERCOT is the grid operator overseeing the generation and transmission assets of dozens of utilities in the state, including electric co-ops. Collectively, those utilities serve 26 million Texans in 70% of the state’s territory. Of the 620 generation units on the ERCOT system, at least 185 reported problems.

A combination of ice storms, subfreezing temperatures, mechanical failures, fuel challenges, stakeholder miscommunications and unprecedented demand compromised grid stability and left 4 million consumers without power. Had demand been allowed to outpace the available generation, damage to power plants, substations and other assets would have been extensive.

“We never want to black out the system, so that’s the problem, and there’s nobody that wants to solve it more than me,” Magness said Feb. 25 during a grueling and often contentious 10-hour committee hearing.

During the emergency, ERCOT called on transmission operators to implement controlled outages to prevent catastrophic failures.

“Even though we had sufficient generation to meet the needs of our members, we had to shed load like any other transmission provider,” said Mike Kezar, CEO of South Texas Electric Cooperative, a G&T owned by eight distribution co-ops.

STEC’s five power plants, two wind farms and a pair of hydroelectric facilities, owned or under contract, performed well throughout the emergency, he said. But the G&T’s transmission was still subject to ERCOT-ordered cyclical power interruptions, which averaged 3.5 hours each.

The loss of generation, particularly from natural gas pipeline failures and curtailments of industrial generation sources, prompted ERCOT to activate a $9,000-per-megawatt-hour price cap mandated by the Texas Public Utility Commission. The typical cost of power on the ERCOT grid is around $26 per MWh.

Similar control measures have been used previously for short periods of time to help manage peak summer demand costs, but extended application of the capped rate is unprecedented.

A $2.1 billion February power bill forced Waco-based Brazos Electric Power Cooperative to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 1, citing the need to insulate its 16 distribution co-ops and their members from “unaffordable electric bills,” said CEO Clifton Karnei in a statement.

“This court-supervised process will provide us with the protections and mechanism to protect and preserve our assets and operations and satisfy obligations to our creditors,” he said.

Amarillo-based Golden Spread Electric Cooperative belongs to both ERCOT and the Southwest Power Pool and saw costs balloon in both power markets during the cold weather event.

“Estimates are that the power bill for the month of February 2021 will exceed the cost of power paid in previous years,” said D’Ann Allen, the G&T’s manager of member relations. “Whatever Golden Spread’s share of that expense is will be high and, unfortunately, borne by our members.”

Allen said the co-op is working with its board to determine how to soften the blow for member co-ops. “More than likely, it will take years,” she said.

Some Texas co-ops are adopting measures to ease the impact on consumers, including suspending late fees and disconnects for non-payment, relaxing deposit requirements, offering deferred payment plans and delaying planned electricity rate changes that were scheduled to go into effect this spring.

Derrill Holly is a staff writer at NRECA.

As extreme cold weather and a series of winter storms continue to impact electricity customers across the country, investor-owned electric companies, electric cooperatives, and public power utilities are working together to ensure that power is restored to customers safely and as quickly as possible.

In Texas, more than 2 million customers are without power as the state’s primary grid operator—the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)—continues to order electricity providers to interrupt power delivery. A historic arctic cold snap across the state has impacted electricity generation, and there is not enough energy supply to meet customer demands.

“Most electricity providers in Texas are transmission and distribution companies and do not generate electricity,” said Edison Electric Institute (EEI) President Tom Kuhn. “The shortage of generation capacity is not something electric companies, electric cooperatives, and public power utilities can directly address. They must follow directives from ERCOT and other grid operators. Our frontline employees who operate the transmission and distribution systems are actively keeping that system operational and in balance, while restoring power to customers as soon as generation resources become available.”

Customers in other states also have experienced outages if their electricity providers have been directed to interrupt power as system operators grapple with an overwhelming demand for electricity and limited supply due to the historic weather that has affected all forms of electricity generation.

“Electric utilities in several states in the middle of the country are facing serious challenges due to extreme cold weather conditions and related power constraints,” said American Public Power Association (APPA) President & CEO Joy Ditto. “The electric power industry is united in responding to this situation in order to protect the grid and get the power back on for everyone as quickly and safely as possible.”

In addition to extreme cold, several states—including Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, and West Virginia—have been hard hit by devastating ice and winter storms. In these areas, mutual assistance networks are activated, and crews continue to work around the clock to restore power to customers who lost power due to downed wires and other infrastructure impacts.

“Electric co-ops are working as swiftly and safely as possible to restore power in the wake of record-cold temperatures,” said National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) CEO Jim Matheson. “As the arctic cold persists and work continues, the continued cooperation of federal, state and local communities is vital as we work together to protect the electric system and restore outages. This historic storm serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of a diverse fuel supply, robust transmission infrastructure, and effective coordination between grid operators and electricity providers.”

Electricity providers in all impacted areas are encouraging their customers to remain vigilant against scams targeting utility customers and are reminding customers that portable generators and grills never should be used indoors or in other enclosed areas where lethal fumes quickly can accumulate.

With another winter storm in the forecast this week, electric companies, electric co-ops, and public power utilities in the path are preparing and in close coordination with emergency response officials, state leaders, and customers.

“We know that being without electricity creates hardships and presents additional challenges in extreme cold,” added Kuhn. “We greatly appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding.”

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About the American Public Power Association

The American Public Power Association is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide. It represents public power before the federal government to protect the interests of the more than 49 million people that public power utilities serve, and the 93,000 people they employ. The association advocates and advises on electricity policy, technology, trends, training, and operations. Its members strengthen their communities by providing superior service, engaging citizens, and instilling pride in community-owned power.

About the Edison Electric Institute

EEI is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. EEI’s members provide electricity for more than 220 million Americans,and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to our U.S. members, EEI has more than ​65 international electric companies, with operations in more than 90 countries, as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.

About the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national service organization representing the nation’s more than 900 private, not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which serve 42 million people in 48 states.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Department of Energy today awarded the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association a $6 million grant to expand ongoing research and development into electric co-op cybersecurity tools.

Known as Essence 2.0, the three-year project will deploy a revolutionary cyber monitoring tool to NRECA’s member cooperatives. Essence 2.0 enables machine-to-machine learning and is designed to quickly detect and share information about anomalies in utility network traffic that may be the result of a cyber breach. The technology also provides specific information that allows for isolation and definition of the breach characteristics for sharing with others in the industry to determine if a breach is a larger, coordinated attack by adversaries. 

“As cyber threats and threat actors continue to evolve, so must electric co-ops’ capability to defend against them,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “Maintaining the security and resilience of the grid, and protecting consumer data, requires a flexible approach that draws on a variety of tools, resources and options. The Department of Energy recognizes the importance of this tool to our sector’s cyber readiness. We believe it will be a valuable resource in our members’ cache of cybersecurity preparedness resources.”

The Essence 2.0 project builds on NRECA’s existing cyber readiness and prevention tools and will be deployed to electric cooperatives early next year. Click here for more information and background about the award.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing nearly 900 local electric cooperatives. From growing suburbs to remote farming communities, electric co-ops serve as engines of economic development for 42 million Americans across 56 percent of the nation’s landscape. As local businesses built by the consumers they serve, electric cooperatives have meaningful ties to rural America and invest $12 billion annually in their communities.

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Electric cooperatives across the South have already seen massive storm damage across their systems, and the 2020 hurricane season is just now getting started. When outages are  too much for one co-op to handle, neighboring co-ops from within their state and across state lines are quick to lend a helping hand to get power back up and running quickly and safely.

Martha Duggan, who oversees NRECA’s state and national coordination initiatives, and Michael Kelley, safety and loss director at the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives, talk us through how co-op mutual aid is coordinated and what it looks like on the ground, even with the added challenges of a global pandemic.

You can also listen and subscribe to Along Those Lines on your preferred podcast service:
Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube

Related Content:

Michael Photo Gallery: Scenes from Co-ops’ Storm Response

Find out more about NRECA’s podcast. Questions or suggestions? Email us at AlongThoseLines@nreca.coop.

As Americans reduce direct contact with one another to slow the spread of the coronavirus, generation and transmission cooperatives are working to keep electricity flowing to homes, businesses and institutions.   

“Our transition to working at home for those [employees] who are doing so was very smooth,” said Mike McFarland, director of enterprise risk management for Great River Energy. The G&T activated its pandemic response plan on Feb. 28 and told employees whose duties allow them to work from home to begin doing so March 12.

“Getting it done before this week, when more companies are facing the transition to offsite operations, has placed us ahead of the curve,” McFarland said, March 18.

Utility-scale power plants are critical infrastructure and the North American Electric Reliability Corp. requires that some essential activities be conducted by onsite personnel. McFarland said that for circumstances like this, GRE maintains a backup control center.

“We’ll go to the point where it will segregate totally to separate our shifts,” he said, adding that social separation has been part of GRE’s pandemic response plan since 2009. “One 12-hour shift is working in one facility; the other shift is working in another facility.”

Dairyland Power Cooperative has instructed staff to forgo face-to-face meetings in favor of phone calls, emails or teleconferencing. Many of Dairyland’s employees are also working remotely. 

“We invoked our business continuity plan as a measure of precaution to protect our workforce while ensuring reliable operations,” said Dairyland President and CEO Barbara Nick. “We are doing our part to ‘flatten the curve.’” 

At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday designated electric utility crews as essential critical infrastructure workers during the COVID-19 response.

The guidance gives certain employees the authority to continue their normal work schedule and includes workers who maintain or restore generation, transmission and distribution assets, including call centers, utility workers, mutual assistance personnel, IT/OT staff, cybersecurity engineers and vegetation management crews.

Keeping Communications Open

G&Ts say they are apprising their distribution co-op members and other wholesale power customers as to how business continuity measures might impact routine operations.

“Dairyland teams are communicating regularly with other utilities and NERC as we monitor conditions to ensure we continue to take prudent actions for safety and reliability,” Nick said. 

Power plants and other operational facilities used by G&Ts are always secure facilities, but the pandemic threat has led to more restrictions. Those include suspension of vendor visits and relocation of services not required to be performed onsite.

Sunflower Electric Power Corp. has implemented the first phase of its pandemic threat mitigation plan, said Communications Manager Cindy Hertel. “Many of our staff, depending on their responsibilities, have the capability to work remotely and are being given the option to do so.”

Sunflower Electric’s staffers have access to current information and updates via the G&T’s intranet, she said. “We’ve also restricted most in-person staff meetings and visits to our facilities, asking vendors and service providers to communicate with us electronically.” 

Hertel said senior managers are monitoring conditions and will adjust the G&T’s operating procedures as warranted.

Electric utilities have spent years planning for these kinds of emergencies in tabletop training exercises.

Scenarios used to test responses in real time have included bioterrorism events and seasonal pandemics. Senior managers and key operations personnel have worked to develop situational awareness responses, which are now being harnessed to manage coronavirus challenges.

Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation and Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc. have implemented their pandemic plans, said Rob Roedel, a spokesman for the statewide association and its member-owned G&T.  

“These plans, that are reviewed and tested often, are designed to ensure that AECC’s generation and power distribution delivery processes and AECI’s statewide services are not disrupted by the pandemic situation,” he said.

With many power plants operating with only essential staff onsite, IT security has been enhanced and cyberattack monitoring has been increased.

The Cybersecurity Risk Information Sharing Program is helping G&Ts stay ahead of suspicious activity.

“We’re constantly aware of potential spikes in cyberthreat activity,” said GRE’s McFarland. 

“CRISP is a public-private data sharing and analysis platform that provides energy sector stakeholders with faster threat identification and mitigation capabilities. We’ve all got to keep an eye on things, so we’re phish testing our employees even as they work remotely. We’re clearly on the lookout for heightened activity at this time.” 

Derrill Holly is a staff writer at NRECA.

Read more on the electric co-op response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

See NRECA’s COVID-19 hub on cooperative.com for key resources for co-ops, including guidance on business continuity planning and communication, as well as event schedule changes.

ARLINGTON, Va. – National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) CEO Jim Matheson today issued the following statement on efforts by electric cooperatives to maintain reliability throughout the coronavirus outbreak.

“Electric cooperatives have been taking steps to prepare for the evolving Coronavirus challenges, while maintaining their commitment to the consumer-members and communities they serve,” Matheson said. “Electric co-ops have a strong track record of preparing for many kinds of emergencies that could impact the ability to generate and deliver electricity to one in eight Americans. Planning for this situation is unique from other business continuity planning. It requires co-ops and their business partners to prepare to operate with a smaller workforce, potential disruptions in the supply chain, and limited support services for an extended period of time.” 

To support these planning efforts, America’s electric cooperatives are reviewing staffing with an emphasis on maintaining the availability of key personnel and supplies to ensure business continuity and the reliability of their energy systems. Co-ops and others in the electric sector operate with a well-developed mutual assistance program that enables shared resources and expertise during emergency situations. Continued close coordination between co-ops, local, state and federal officials will be essential during the next several weeks.

Electric co-ops regularly practice and review emergency preparedness plans. In response to COVID-19, co-ops have implemented their business continuity and pandemic response plans. Additional preparations at many co-ops include:

• Increased communication between key stakeholders, including federal, state, and local governments.
• Cancelling planned public meetings and non-essential business travel.
• Closing offices to the public to prevent the spread of the disease.
• Purchasing cots, food and supplies for essential employees in the event they need to be sequestered to ensure generation and delivery of electricity.
• Reviewing staffing needs to ensure continuity of critical business functions.
• Implementing temperature screening protocols before entering certain areas.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing more than 900 local electric cooperatives. From growing suburbs to remote farming communities, electric co-ops serve as engines of economic development for 42 million Americans across 56 percent of the nation’s landscape. As local businesses built by the consumers they serve, electric cooperatives have meaningful ties to rural America and invest $12 billion annually in their communities.

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When scoping out how military bases can receive the most resilient electric service with cost in mind, the Department of Defense turned to NRECA to develop a scalable planning tool for developing microgrids.

NRECA, the prime winner of the $1.9 million DOD contract, will lead three diverse electric cooperatives in creating and testing a standardized microgrid design framework. The tool is expected to reduce “soft costs” like data analysis, mapping, software and design work.

“America’s electric co-ops and the more than 90 military facilities that they serve are evolving together,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “By developing and field-testing software that can reduce the cost of microgrids, this project marks a significant step toward improved resilience at military installations across the nation.”

The three-year project is expected to launch later this year. NRECA will partner with Chelco, headquartered in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, Rio Grande Electric Cooperative in Brackettville, Texas, and Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative in Sussex, New Jersey, which already have contracts to own and operate a distribution grid on a military installation.

The bases’ energy demand and resources are as diverse as their geography. Some have renewable energy and microgrids; some have no generation or microgrid components at all.

That’s where the value of co-ops and their history of reliable service to military bases comes in, said Lauren Khair, NRECA senior analyst for economics and industry.

“We have access to numerous cooperatives that serve military bases and can build on shared lessons learned,” she said. “NRECA and member co-ops also have made investments into cutting-edge data analytic technology that can be used to meet these goals and be scaled.”

The microgrid tool ultimately will help automate the modeling process and standardize planning so they can be used at any installation or campus-type settings, such as hospitals, industrial parks and universities, Khair said.

Cathy Cash is a staff writer at NRECA.

Jacek Szamrej, a leader in cybersecurity for electric cooperatives and utilities large and small, most recently as vice president at SEDC, died Oct. 13 from a heart attack. He was 61.

Szamrej joined Atlanta-based SEDC in 2016 and helped launch its Cyber Resilience Initiative. In announcing his hire, SEDC President and CEO RB Sloan said Szamrej “really brings a holistic approach to cybersecurity.”

“He has left an enduring mark on SEDC, on the NRECA community, and on utilities everywhere. His mentorship and his love of sharing knowledge ensure that his work in cybersecurity will continue to grow and benefit us all for decades to come,” SEDC said in a statement marking Szamrej’s passing. SEDC provides utilities with software solutions for billing, accounting, engineering, cybersecurity and operations.

Prior to SEDC, Szamrej devoted 13 years to building cyber defenses at Vermont Electric Cooperative, where he expanded his expertise in IT, utilities, network and communications technologies.

Born in Torun, Poland, Szamrej took his first U.S. job as an electrical engineer at the cooperative in Johnson, Vermont, in 2003 after decades of acclaimed work in computer models at the University of Warsaw.

Known for his wit and humor, Szamrej joked in a 2017 interview about which was more difficult, the move from Poland to Vermont or from Vermont to Atlanta.

Szamrej offered a simple truism for improving cybersecurity that he found rooted in the spirit of co-ops: “The bad guys are collaborating; we need to collaborate too for good defense.”

He also emphasized the importance of creating a “culture of cybersecurity” built on three key pillars: a well-trained staff, sound policies and the latest tools. 

“People, processes and technologies,” he said.

Before leaving Vermont Electric, Szamrej worked for three years to put together a full-scale physical and cyber management drill sponsored by the U.S. Northern Command of the National Guard. The exercise involved 20 co-op staffers, the Guard and state emergency officials tackling natural disasters as well as cyber and grid attacks.

“He was visionary and insightful. Jacek had a great sense of humor and he got things to happen,” said Cynthia Hsu, NRECA Business & Technology Strategies principal for cybersecurity solutions. “His passing is a great loss for the co-op community.”

Cathy Cash is a staff writer at NRECA.

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, so Season 2 of Along Those Lines kicks off with a look at co-ops’ role in protecting the national electric grid.

The grid plays an essential role in the lives of all Americans, and a strong emphasis on cybersecurity is vital to keeping it safe. Electric co-ops, which control 42% of America’s electric lines spread over 56% of the country’s landmass, do their part by training staff and partnering with national organizations to maximize their cyberpreparedness.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Co-Mo Electric Cooperative’s Ryan Newlon, who’s also a member of the Missouri National Guard. He’s been working with the Guard on two projects that focus on understanding real-life threats and defense strategies for cybersecurity. We’re also joined by NRECA’s Barry Lawson to discuss how the association and its member co-ops work with key government agencies on cybersecurity.

Listen to the episode below:

You can also listen and subscribe to Along Those Lines on your preferred podcast service:
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Find out more about NRECA’s podcast. Questions or suggestions? Email us at AlongThoseLines@nreca.coop.

Read More About Co-ops and Cybersecurity:

• Government and Industry Cybersecurity Experts Agree That Partnerships Are Key to Protecting Grid
• GridEx Gives Co-ops Chance to Flex Cybersecurity Muscles
• Issues & Policy: Reliability and Security
• Rural Cooperative Cybersecurity Capabilities (RC3) Program

The House has passed a $733 billion defense bill that could allow electric cooperatives that serve military bases to benefit from new infrastructure grants. The action comes about two weeks after the Senate approved a different version of the legislation that makes it easier for co-ops to pursue carbon-capture projects.

A compromise still must be worked out by a conference committee of negotiators from the House and Senate, which will decide which provisions are included in the final National Defense Authorization Act. The bill, which empowers the Pentagon to spend money in fiscal year 2020, will then go back to both chambers for a vote, likely sometime between mid-July and the end of September.

The House voted 220-197 on Friday to pass its version of the legislation, which includes a provision to amend the definition of “community infrastructure” to permit co-ops to participate in the Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program. The 10-year program authorizes the secretary of defense to make grants to states and local governments to improve infrastructure that benefits military bases or the communities that support them.

Co-ops serve more than 80 military bases and other Department of Defense facilities in 38 states, according to NRECA research. They also own, operate and maintain the electric distribution grid at 24 military installations through utility privatization contracts. Nearly a third of the Army privatization contracts and 45% of Air Force privatization contracts are held by co-ops.

The grant program has been open only to state or local government-owned facilities, such as municipal utilities, since it was authorized about a year ago. With the House-approved change, not-for-profit co-ops would be on par with those utilities. The pilot program requires grant recipients to contribute at least 30% of the total project cost, but that requirement is waived when the infrastructure improvements are made in rural areas or when the projects are “related to national security.” Rural areas are defined as cities, towns or unincorporated areas with less than 50,000 residents.

“Electric co-ops are a key provider of services to our military installations, esp. those in rural areas like southern NM,” tweeted Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, D-N.M., on June 12. “With my amendment, electric co-ops will now be able to use fed. grants to update their infrastructure & improve our nation’s readiness.”

The Senate version of the bill includes legislation supported by NRECA that would make it easier for co-ops to get federal approval for carbon capture, utilization and sequestration projects. The bipartisan legislation, known as the USE IT Act, also would make it easier to get permits for CO₂ pipelines.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative CEO Paul Sukut told a Senate panel in February that he supports efforts to help co-ops develop technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants and turn them into useful products.

Sukut testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in support of the bill by Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. The bill would spur new strategies to remove CO₂ from the air and store it permanently underground or transform it into marketable commodities.

Basin Electric, which is based in Bismarck, North Dakota, is a partner with NRECA and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association in the Integrated Test Center at Dry Fork Station in Wyoming. The test center, overseen by the state, provides a place for researchers to “explore new and innovative solutions” to reduce CO₂ emissions, Sukut testified.

“The USE IT Act will support the type of great research already happening in Wyoming at the Integrated Test Center and around the country,” Barrasso said in a recent statement.

The Senate bill also would codify an executive order issued in March by President Trump to protect the nation against electromagnetic pulses and geomagnetic disturbances. The House bill simply calls for the elimination of the current EMP Commission since Trump’s order addresses the issue the panel was created to help solve.

EMPs are caused by the detonation of a nuclear device miles above the Earth’s surface and can affect electronics within its impact area. A geomagnetic disturbance can be caused by solar flares hitting the earth, primarily affecting the electric and telecommunication sectors if the flares’ currents travel along the utility wires.

The executive order calls for a government-wide effort to prepare for and mitigate the national security threat from EMPs and GMDs. It also calls for the government to work with electric utilities and other private stakeholders to develop best practices to address the potential threats.

A three-year study by the Electric Power Research Institute, released in April, concluded that America’s electric transmission system would largely survive an EMP caused by the high-altitude explosion of a nuclear warhead.

The U.S. electric transmission system would largely survive a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse event caused by a nuclear warhead atmospheric explosion, an intensive investigation by the Electric Power Research Institute has found.

EPRI released its three-year study, “High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) and the Bulk Power System—Potential Impacts and Mitigation Strategies,” on April 30.

Researchers conducted laboratory testing and analysis to determine the effect on the transmission grid from an EMP triggered by the unlikely event of a nuclear warhead detonated approximately 30 kilometers—about 18 miles—above Earth’s surface.

An EMP is a series of fast-moving waves of electromagnetic energy that can damage or destroy electronic components and equipment and also possibly result in voltage stability challenges and high-voltage transformer damage.

There are concerns that an EMP triggered at the right altitude could bring down the U.S. transmission grid as well as other critical infrastructures like telecommunications, emergency services and hospitals.

But EPRI’s study found that, while direct exposure to the initial pulse could damage or disrupt some transmission electronics, existing resiliency built into the grid would likely prevent catastrophic failure. Recovery from an EMP would be similar to that from other large-scale power outages, EPRI said.

“An EMP is an extremely unlikely event, but one that the electric industry needs to clearly understand and ensure that cost-effective potential mitigation measures do not result in unintended consequences or impacts,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “This comprehensive study by EPRI will be a vital tool in that process.”

The study outlines potential strategies to mitigate EMP impacts, including shielding cables with proper grounding, installing low-voltage surge protection devices and filters, and using fiber-optics-based communications.

More than 60 U.S. utilities, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Department of Energy, three national laboratories, and the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council contributed to the report.

“EPRI’s research represents the largest utility collaborative on this issue focused on understanding the technical facts using both laboratory testing and advanced modeling,” said Michael W. Howard, president and CEO of EPRI. “The results also provide a cost-effective pathway to enhance the resilience of the grid and accelerate recovery.”

The study comes as President Trump called on federal agencies, in collaboration with the private sector, to prepare for the effects of an EMP event. An executive order in March called for the federal government to warn industry of an impending EMP attack and provide protection and recovery “through public and private engagement, planning, and investment.”

Cathy Cash is a staff writer at NRECA.

ARLINGTON, Va. – NRECA CEO Jim Matheson today issued the following statement after President Trump announced a new infrastructure executive order that will expedite the permitting process for power line right of way maintenance on federal lands.

“Today’s announcement paves the way for electric co-ops to enhance system reliability and reduce wildfire risk by improving access to maintain and upgrade electric systems located on federal lands,” Matheson said. “Permitting delays often pose long-term safety and reliability challenges for electric co-ops that need approval to conduct vegetation management and power line maintenance on federal lands.  By reducing bureaucratic red tape, today’s announcement helps prevent permitting delays and promotes the safety and reliability of our power supply.”

The new infrastructure executive order includes language directing the secretaries of Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce to collaborate on the development of a master agreement that expedites renewals to federal land rights of way to enable maintenance and vegetation management.

Electric cooperatives constantly work to improve system reliability, including on federal land. But federal permitting delays pose serious restrictions. For example, Benton Rural Electric Association (BREA) in Prosser, Washington had a Special Use Permit that allowed them right of way access through federal land to prevent danger trees from contacting the co-ops’ power lines. Despite submitting an application for renewal in August 2015, BREA’s permit expired that December. USFS officials took 15 months to review the renewal application and propose that the co-op pay for an expensive new environmental assessment. Benton REA is currently operating under a temporary permit but is still seeking a resolution for the long-term permit issue.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing more than 900 local electric cooperatives. From growing suburbs to remote farming communities, electric co-ops serve as engines of economic development for 42 million Americans across 56 percent of the nation’s landscape. As local businesses built by the consumers they serve, electric cooperatives have meaningful ties to rural America and invest $12 billion annually in their communities.

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Story Updated: April 16, 2019

Congress has taken the first step to protect electric cooperatives from losing their tax-exempt status when they receive government grants to help restore power after a storm or bring broadband service to rural communities.

Reps. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., and Adrian Smith, R-Neb., introduced legislation April 16 to correct an unintended consequence of the sweeping Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that Congress passed in 2017. It’s a companion bill to the one introduced in the Senate on April 4 by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Tina Smith, D-Minn.

The 2017 tax law inadvertently put nonprofit co-ops in the position of having to decide whether to risk their tax-exempt status to accept grants, including those from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to restore power after storms, floods, fires, earthquakes or other disasters, said Paul Gutierrez, an NRECA lobbyist who has been working with lawmakers to fix the problem.

Co-ops also would have to think twice before taking grants that help provide broadband service or fund economic development, energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.

“Our rural communities depend on reliable infrastructure, access to broadband and secure energy sources for their local economies to thrive,” Sewell said. “We must do more to provide high-speed internet—and the opportunities and resources that it brings—to the 22.4 million Americans living in rural parts of our country without quality internet access.”

The 2017 law contains a provision that counts federal, state and local grants to co-ops as non-member income rather than capital, which is how grants had previously been defined, Gutierrez said.

The statute threatens the nonprofit business model of co-ops, which must receive at least 85 percent of all income from consumer-members to keep their tax-exempt status under federal law. Defining grants as non-member income makes it more difficult for co-ops to meet that requirement.

Tim Johnson, CEO of Otsego Electric Cooperative, said the Hartwick, New York, co-op is choosing to use state broadband grants but is risking its tax-exempt status in the process. The co-op is applying for grant reimbursements from the state that will put Otsego well over the 15 percent limit for non-member income in 2019. It will lose its tax-exempt status if the tax bill fix is not passed by the end of this year, Johnson said. What’s more, 21 percent of the grant money will have to be used to pay taxes on the grants, he said.

“The combined penalties of paying income tax on grant funds and the loss of tax-exempt status will significantly reduce our ability to build as many locations as we originally projected, depriving many households of the intended and direct benefits of public grant funding for the broadband project,” he said. “This is clearly not good public policy and the inadvertent mistake that has caused this situation must be fixed.”

The new bipartisan legislation—the Revitalizing Underdeveloped Rural Areas and Lands (RURAL) Act—would solve the problem by changing the tax code to exempt federal, state and local grants from being defined as income for electric co-ops.

“While continuing to ensure rural electric co-ops are largely funded by their membership as a condition of their tax-exempt status, we should also ensure funds received from grants or for pole usage do not affect their tax status,” Adrian Smith said.

Without the legislation, Portman said, “many co-ops may miss out on grant income or disaster assistance, hurting our efforts to promote economic development and job creation in these rural areas.”

Tina Smith said Congress “should take any action we can to help us get more Minnesotans and Americans in rural areas connected.”

“So when I heard from several Minnesota cooperatives at risk of losing their tax-exempt status, I wanted to reverse that,” she said.

NRECA hopes that Congress will act on the legislation “in the very near future,” Gutierrez said.

“This is an urgent issue for a number of members that will lose their tax-exempt status this year if Congress doesn’t act on this unintended consequence,” he said.

Erin Kelly is a staff writer at NRECA.

Officials from electric cooperatives and public power districts in Nebraska say it could take months to clean up and repair the damage to homes, farms and ranches from recent floods—and years for those hit hardest to recover.

“There’s been extensive damage to roads and bridges, and that will have a tremendous impact on how soon our co-ops and PPDs will be able to see just how extensive the damage is,” said Kim Christiansen, general manager of the Nebraska Rural Electric Association. “Some areas are going to have to dry out before we are physically able to get there and check out our infrastructure.”

State officials are already estimating damage at more than $1.5 billion. The total is expected to climb as agricultural, industrial and commercial losses are tabulated.

“Our member utilities may see their numbers increase and many of our farmers and ranchers have suffered losses of both livestock and topsoil washed away by flooding,” said Christiansen. “Those impacts will be felt for years, so those will be long-term problems.”

Assessing damage and making permanent repairs remains challenging even as floodwaters continue to recede in some areas.

One of three bridges collapsed following a dam failure on the Niobrara River, prompting detours of 50 miles to reach co-op served areas. (Photo By: Joe Janousek/Niobrara River EMC)

“A dam on the Niobrara River was taken out by flooding along with three bridges downstream,” said Joe Janousek, director of member services for Niobrara Valley Electric Membership Corp. “It took out our feeds across the river, so three substations and every meter north of the river was without power.”

O’Neill-based Niobrara Valley EMC estimated the flood took out 800 to 1,000 meters. Restoration of service to all members who could safely receive power was completed by March 19.

“We’re currently driving about 125 miles or more to reach locations that would normally be 18 to 20 miles away, said Janousek. “The nearest bridge is about 45 to 50 miles west of us, and then we have to head east to reach northern portions of our three-county service territory.”

Some heavily flooded communities remain disconnected at the request of public safety personnel who are still involved in search, rescue and damage operations.

“We have three community lakes surrounded by cabins, and authorities asked that power be disconnected,” said Wade Rahn, customer and technical services coordinator for Butler Public Power District.

“Two communities have been restored, but we have also heard from more than 70 customers who cannot get to their properties to see the damage, and they have asked that we leave the power disconnected,” said Rahn.  “About 95 percent of our 6,500 meters now use automated metering infrastructure, so we’ve been able to disconnect them remotely, if requested.”

David City-based Butler PPD has contracted a drone operator to begin pole inspections in still-flooded rights of way, said Rahn. “We have at least 30 poles that have been heavily damaged or knocked down as a result of the flooding.”

Gov. Pete Ricketts requested expedited consideration of a federal disaster declaration, and Vice President Mike Pence was in Nebraska to inspect flood damage on March 19.

The statewide association is already working with the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency to help member utilities assemble the documentation for Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement applications.

“Dealing with FEMA can be a lengthy and involved process,” Christiansen said.  “It takes a while to tabulate all of the damage and get covered projects completed, before you can get reimbursed.”

Derrill Holly is a staff writer at NRECA.

Torrential rains have caused major flooding in the upper Midwest, and public power districts in Nebraska, now under a federal disaster declaration, could spend weeks repairing equipment and straightening poles.

“Early estimates of the damage from the flooding is more than $700 million and is likely to increase,” said Kim Christiansen, general manager of the Nebraska Rural Electric Association.

“The impact on Nebraskans’ lives is dramatic,” said Christiansen. “People have lost their homes, farmers and ranchers have lost their cattle, entire towns have been evacuated or completely cut-off from their neighbors.” Officials in the state have described the flooding as the worst to occur in a generation.

“All of our major rivers have been having flooding problems over the past several days,” said Neal Suess, president and CEO of Loup Power District. The Columbus, Nebraska-based PPD serves about 20,000 meters, including many farmers and ranchers who depend on the PPD’s canal to water stock and irrigate crops during their growing seasons.

“We have two breaches that are allowing uncontrollable water flows into the Loup River right at our intake structure,” said Suess. “One of them is a gap of 50 to 75 feet, and the other is a gap of about 200 yards.”

A co-op-owned caretaker’s home on the facility’s grounds and several other support structures have been washed away by rising floodwaters, and Loup Power has had to reduce hydroelectric power production at the site.

“Downstream from there we have five to seven breaches in our canal system, and that water is running into fields and forested areas,” said Suess. “Since the canal is breached we won’t have water to generate electricity from our power house.”

The flooding occurred before the spring thaw, prompting water to accumulate over still-frozen fields. While farmers will be able to adjust their planting schedules, they may have to find other water sources to irrigate their crops, Suess said.

“Livestock has been stranded, and I know of a number of people who have lost quite a few animals,” Suess said. “We’ll be straightening and reinforcing poles for at least a few weeks, and repairing the canal could take a few months or longer.”

The affected public power districts have reported minimal outages, although many roads remain impassable, slowing damage inspections in some areas.

Lexington-based Dawson Public Power District reported about 700 of its 24,000 meters offline for several hours due to flooding in exurban areas near Kearney.

As floodwaters receded, PPD crews moved in and quickly repaired damaged ground-mounted transformers so service could be restored, said Marsha Banzhaf, manager of customer service for Dawson PPD. “We’re compiling reports on our damage because a federal disaster declaration has been issued.”

About 150 miles north, Cuming County Public Power District disconnected 18 meters for members in low-lying areas in anticipation of flooding last week.

“We’ve also had evacuations in some co-op-served communities, including parts of West Point, although the town has not flooded,” said Nikki White, communications manager for the West Point-based PPD.  “We’ve had extensive flooding west of town and there are a lot of poles washed out.”

Other public power districts across the state also reported problems, but determining the full extent of the damage is delayed because many areas remain inaccessible.

“Many of our member-systems have sustained damage to their lines and poles but are having to wait for the waters to recede before being able to do a full assessment of the destruction,” said Christiansen. “The Nebraska Rural Electric Association is working to help our member-systems during the recovery.”

Derrill Holly is a staff writer at NRECA.

The Alabama electric cooperative that serves communities hardest hit by deadly storms wrapped up major power restoration work on March 6—but with funerals continuing and rebuilding ahead, recovery is just beginning.

“We’ve gotten calls and emails from electric co-ops across the nation, and we really appreciate the prayers and concern,” said Louie Ward, general manager of Tallapoosa River Electric Cooperative.

The Lafayette-based distribution co-op restored service to its members who could safely receive power three days after two tornadoes touched down and straight-line winds strafed portions of Alabama’s Lee County.

“We had about 900 members without power at the peak,” Ward said Wednesday.

Throughout damage assessment and restoration, Ward worked in the field with co-op crews and contractors, pitching in to assist.

“I’ve been delivering food to the crews, pulling wire, pulling meters from destroyed homes and helping to fill pole holes with dirt,” Ward said. “It’s been grunt work, but I’m doing anything I can.”

Tornadoes and straight-line winds caused substantial damage to homes in Alabama’s Lee County on March 3. (Photo By: Louie Ward/TREC)

Damage to the co-op’s system was primarily in six areas where National Weather Service meteorologists reported that tornadoes touched down or the strongest winds occurred. At least 100 poles have been replaced since March 3.

Prattville-based Central Alabama Electric Cooperative and Ozark-based Pea River Electric Cooperative provided mutual aid assistance.

Tallapoosa River EC serves about 26,000 meters.  Severely damaged homes could require code inspections and work by licensed electricians before power can be restored.

The storms left at least 23 people dead. Co-op employees and their families did not lose homes or suffer serious injuries as a result of the storms, said Ward. “The co-op’s directors and several members of the staff have worked with area churches since the storm occurred to assist victims.”

Derrill Holly is a staff writer at NRECA.

An electric cooperative serving portions of three Oregon counties from the Pacific Coast to the Cascade Mountains has been working for more than a week to restore service following a major winter storm.

Douglas Electric Cooperative is urging members to be patient and warning that it could take another three weeks in some areas before restoration is completed.

“We are talking about thousands of trees, hundreds of poles and miles of power lines on the ground,” said Todd Munsey, the co-op’s director of member services.

“We have three different options to feed Elkton, Oregon, and all of those are down,” Munsey said March 3. “Redundancy in our service territory is currently nonexistent. In this devastated state, all of our safety valves and options are gone. It is a part of why this will take so long.”

Outages were down to about 4,900 late March 4, from more than 9,700 systemwide. Douglas Electric crews are getting help from contractors, state road crews and utility crews from investor-owned Pacific Power, Baker City-based Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative and area municipalities.

“Douglas Electric now has over twice as many electric utility contractors, tree crews, flaggers and excavators as we have normal employees,” said Munsey. “Many crews are working 40-hour shifts before they get a rest period. This outage is being worked 24 hours a day.”

Heavy, wet snow and blustery Pacific winds knocked down trees towering eight to 10 stories over Oregon’s 30-foot-wide utility rights of way, causing the initial outages on the co-op’s system Feb 24.

Then major transmission lines went down, leaving most of the co-op’s members without power. In the following days, toppled trees and snow hindered damage assessments as the co-op waited for investor-owned Pacific Power and the Bonneville Power Administration to restore transmission lines feeding its system.

A damage assessment conducted by helicopter March 1 found portions of the Elkton transmission line littered with downed lines and poles. Replacement supplies will have to be airlifted into the area now clogged in some areas with 3-foot snowdrifts.

But crews have been busy, replacing lines, setting new poles and constantly cutting through masses of tree limbs, shattered poles and tangled lines in mountainous snow-covered terrain.

“Trees too numerous to count have brought down an incredible amount of our system,” said Munsey. “Some areas can be repaired, while others will need to be rebuilt.”

Fir trees, many more than 80-feet tall, fell across entire sections of the co-op’s distribution system, and replacement of poles and lines could potentially be slowed by supply shortages.

“Our operations department is coordinating efforts with the warehousemen to search far and wide for poles, wire and other equipment necessary to complete restoration,” Munsey said.

Derrill Holly is a staff writer at NRECA.

Patti Metro, Senior Grid Operations and Reliability Director, Business and Technology Strategies, NRECA

Job Role: Senior Grid Operations and Reliability Director

Department: Business and Technology Strategies

What is your favorite thing about your job and NRECA?

Working with the members.

What inspires you?

The eagerness of people to learn new things.

What does it mean to you to be working in your current field?

It allows me to work with people who enjoy making a difference.

Explain a little bit about your career at NRECA. What is the core function of your current role and how does it support the mission of the organization?

I have been at NRECA for almost 12 years. I act as the primary technical advisor for NRECA staff, cooperative members and external organizations on mandatory reliability standards, grid reliability real-time operations and associated risks and impacts. My work helps influence internal and external regulatory strategies, which advocate positions that allow cooperatives to provide reliable service while complying with mandatory reliability standards.

How did you get here? Has your background always been in STEM fields, or was it something you discovered later in your education or career?

I have over 30 years of extensive utility experience in grid reliability compliance, energy policy, regulatory issues, customer service, engineering, operations, project management and training. I have always been interested in math and the sciences which led me to majoring in electrical engineering at Clemson University.

How did you become interested in your area of expertise?

I am always looking for a new challenge. After almost 20 years of working in a real-time operations role for several electric utilities, I wanted to use my expertise to influence change in this industry. Working at NRECA allows me to do this.

If you had a piece of advice for someone who wanted to explore a role in Tech or another STEM field, what would it be?

Your ability to learn difficult concepts allows you to be successful in this exciting field. School is the hard part, applying what you have learned is the fun part.

Read more NRECA Women in STEM profiles

With the latest winter storm causing widespread power outages from Missouri to the Carolinas, electric cooperative crews worked through the weekend restoring service and were still in the field Monday.

“The storm caused nearly 20,000 outages scattered around the state,” said Jim McCarty, editor of Rural Missouri magazine. Snow and ice began falling in the state late Friday, with the heaviest accumulations occurring the following day.

More than 20 inches of snow was reported in the Kansas City area, as co-op crews and contractors reduced the number of outages to about 12,000 Saturday.

“By early Sunday morning, those numbers had shrunk below 8,000 as reinforcements from other electric cooperatives relieved those who had been working for as long as 24 hours,” McCarty said.

Line crews working in the service territory of Butler, Missouri-based Osage Valley Electric used track vehicles to pull trucks through muddy terrain. Members of Co-Mo Electric pitched in with tractors, trucks and other equipment to help crews from their Tipton, Missouri-based co-op reach areas where downed lines and broken poles needed to be replaced or repaired.

The Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives said reported outages had been reduced to just 170 Monday afternoon.

Crews from 10 electric co-ops are assisting Virginia’s Southside Electric Cooperative with restoration work following a weekend winter storm. (Photo By: Southside EC)

Freezing rain and snow caused widespread problems in parts of North Carolina, particularly for co-ops serving members in the Appalachian region. State officials reported more than 130,000 electric meters out of service between Saturday night and Sunday morning, including members of electric co-ops and investor-owned utility customers.

Crews were busy restoring service to about 3,300 co-op meters Monday.

In Virginia, several co-ops serving members primarily in the western part of the state reported weather-related outages Saturday and Sunday.

Southside Electric Cooperative received help from 10 other co-ops as crews worked to restore service to about 11,000 of its members. Crews were working their way through outages affecting about 5,000 meters Monday afternoon.

“Snow and ice have caused trees and limbs to fall, breaking equipment and infrastructure,” said Ronald O. White, vice president of member and public relations for Crewe, Virginia-based Southside EC. He warned members Sunday that some might face extended outages due to the amount of damage and challenging access to rights of way in certain areas.

Derrill Holly is a staff writer at NRECA.

It was the perfect setup—remote, rustic and with a real electric grid ripped by sabotage.

The question for NRECA was how Essence, a tool it developed to monitor the grid, would facilitate a so-called black-start, restoring power amid a ruined transmission network where cyber mayhem lurks.

To find out, NRECA’s chief scientist, Craig Miller, and senior research engineer Stan McHann, along with other electric utility technology experts, participated in a drill organized by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on Plum Island, New York.

The 840-acre island, about three miles off Long Island’s coast, has its own utilities and a dozen high-voltage substations. It holds shuttered federal defense facilities dating back 100 years and a mid-century laboratory to test diseases in farm animals.

“It was not a tabletop exercise. It was a physical problem with small substations and utility control centers. We needed to restore power to them and synchronize them to the grid,” said Miller.

DARPA created Rapid Attack Detection, Isolation and Characterization Systems (RADICS) to explore ways to resolve prolonged outages wrought by disasters like earthquakes, floods, fires, hurricanes or cyberattacks, where networks are destroyed and utility crews are gone.

November’s RADICS exercise was a key test of the technology.

“DARPA is very interested in Essence as part of the solution to deal with catastrophic failure of the grid across a large region of the country,” said Miller. “This exercise focused on how Essence can help restore a massive outage.”

Essence provides a constant monitor of activity on the electric grid. Sensors gather thousands of data points. Anything abnormal shows up quickly.

“Essence tells us what’s up and what’s not and what’s behaving accurately or atypically. It monitors voltage for stability and the physics of the grid. Malware could show up and it detects it instantly on the network,” he said.

NRECA plans to release Essence to potential commercialization customers for evaluation in April, Miller said. Before that, adjustments will be made to make the tool more “utility-friendly” by delivering only the most salient information to utility staff, enabling them to respond faster to grid incidents.

Battling Under a New Intensity

NRECA has been working with electric co-ops in developing Essence to provide “situational awareness on both the electrical- and the cyber-front of the grid,” Miller said. Through tests with co-ops, the tool has prevented cyberattacks, overloading of transformers and possible fires.

That’s what co-ops face every day—the reality of keeping the lights on while keeping threats at bay.

NRECA has been involved in each of RADICS’s four exercises, but Miller said the recent Plum Island test brought “a new intensity.”

“It tasked us with learning what the utility people want to know and when. There were no coffee breaks. You did not get lunch. You were under pressure,” he said.

Pummeled with wind and rain, McHann, the only member of the NRECA team on Plum Island, arrived by ferry and hiked the island to install Essence equipment on substations and do local analysis of devices and sensors. He had to pack enough gear and food in case inclement weather kept him on the test site overnight.

On top of the sheer physical reconstruction of the grid, participants also had to battle cyberattacks that pushed misinformation and fouled communications.

“Whatever DARPA threw at us, we had to keep that critical asset electrified,” said McHann.  “Our job is to take those hard problems and break them down and design technology to solve them. It was not a simulated environment. It was a very real environment.”

As part of the exercise, one goal was to maintain power to a building that had previously been used for government research. “The building had been abandoned and sealed for over 50 years. Our job was to ‘restore power’ to it,” said Miller, who worked from a control center in Long Island.

Red, yellow and green air dancers, often seen flailing at car dealerships, puddled beside buildings targeted for power restoration. “When power came on, they stood up,” said Miller. “It was fun.”

Cathy Cash is a staff writer at NRECA.

NRECA advocates on many public policy issues on behalf of electric cooperatives. As the new Congress kicks off, here’s a look at several electric co-op policy priorities for 2019.

Energy Policy/Infrastructure

The potential for energy and infrastructure legislation presents a significant opportunity as electric cooperatives work to meet the growing needs of their communities. NRECA will work to ensure that any infrastructure package focuses on more than roads and bridges, including opportunities to modernize the electric grid and expand rural broadband access.

Environment

NRECA will promote and encourage bipartisan support for energy research and development programs—including on renewables and programs that focus on finding a viable use for carbon capture, utilization and storage.

Broadband

Expanded rural broadband access remains a priority for NRECA. As electric co-ops engage the new Congress, we will work to ensure that all rural broadband discussions include the electric co-op perspective.

Employee Benefits

NRECA provides benefits to 56,000 electric cooperative employees nationwide. We will continue working to protect electric cooperative employee retirement benefits by supporting legislation to substantially reduce the insurance premiums that co-ops pay to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Tax Policy

The 2017 tax reform law included a provision that treated federal grants as income, threatening the tax-exempt status of some electric cooperatives. NRECA will seek to fix this unintended consequence of the tax law.

Grid Resilience

Protecting our nation’s vast power grid is a national priority and focus for electric cooperatives. Ensuring appropriate information sharing and preserving existing partnerships and structures are essential to these efforts.  We will advocate for resources and technologies that meet the unique cybersecurity and recovery needs of small and medium-sized utilities to help protect our systems.

Listen to our podcast episode on how NRECA works with Congress to advocate for co-op priorities: 

Electric cooperative line crews in several states are keeping cold weather gear and coveralls close by as they restore power to members knocked offline by a series of winter storms.

Since mid-November, four major winter storms have brought ice, snow and blasts of frigid cold weather to co-op-served territories east of the Rockies. The latest storm knocked out electricity to more than 50,000 co-op-served meters in the Carolinas and Virginia on Sunday.

Many of those outages affected some of the same co-ops that spent days restoring service following an early season snowstorm that swept across the region Nov. 15.

North Carolina’s 26 electric co-ops reported 45,000 outages as of Sunday afternoon, but that number was down to about 4,700 Tuesday morning, said Lisa Crawley, a communications specialist with North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives. Improved weather conditions are expected to help keep restoration efforts on track.

Brunswick EMC lineworkers hoist new lines into position during power restoration efforts in the service territory of Surry Yadkin EMC. (Photo By: Jim Robertson/ Surry-Yadkin EMC)

In South Carolina, electric co-ops were working to restore service to about 3,600 co-op-served meters on Monday, primarily along the Blue Ridge Mountains. Outages were also reported by co-ops in Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky, and the same weather system caused problems in parts of Virginia.

About 1,300 members of Southside Electric Cooperative remained without power early Tuesday, said Ronald O. White, vice president of member and public relations for the Crewe, Virginia-based co-op. “At the peak of the event, nearly 10,000 members were impacted,” White said.

Heavy snow caused problems with falling and leaning trees, which damaged electrical equipment across the co-op’s service territory, White said. Crews from Warsaw, Virginia-based Northern Neck Electric Cooperative and Choptank Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Denton, Maryland, joined contractors to help Southside EC repair its lines.

Derrill Holly is a staff writer at NRECA.

The nation’s top cybersecurity watchdog and industry experts concur: When it comes to protecting the electric grid from cyberthreats, public-private partnerships are vital.

“We can all agree our nation’s security depends on safe, reliable energy infrastructure,” said Jeff Baumgartner, senior adviser at the Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER). “It is critical that we out-innovate our adversaries.”

Baumgartner addressed an Oct. 1 congressional staff briefing on Capitol Hill organized by NRECA, the American Public Power Association and the Edison Electric Institute to kick off National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

DOE has a multiyear plan for CESER to heighten cybersecurity for grid resilience along with research and development and demonstration of technologies involving the department’s national laboratories, universities and industry, Baumgartner said.

A panel of cybersecurity experts emphasized the importance of the federal government working with utilities and the value of sharing information.

“Collaboration is king to protecting our nation from the variety of threats we now face,” said Ron Keen, a senior adviser at the Department of Homeland Security. “Whatever the threat of tomorrow is, we must begin preparing today, and we must do it together.”

“Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility between industry and government,” said Puesh Kumar, DOE director of preparedness and exercises. “We see this as a public-private partnership.”

Fritz Hertz, director of legislative and regulatory affairs at the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC), noted that only the electricity sector is subject to mandatory cybersecurity standards. NERC’s critical infrastructure protection, or CIP,  standards cover generation and transmission cooperatives among other entities that interact with the electric grid.

Ben Waldrep, senior vice president and chief security officer at Duke Power, underscored the importance of tabletop exercises and cyberthreat simulations. Owners and operators of the bulk power system participate in NERC cybersecurity drills dubbed GridEx. To keep up with cybersecurity, utilities and other parties involved with the bulk electric power system “must drill, drill, drill,” he said, and “follow up on tests.”

Public-private partnership efforts in the electric utility industry are strongly supported by the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC). Electric cooperatives are members of the 31-seat ESCC, the principal liaison between the power sector and leaders in the federal government.

CEOs serving on the ESCC include Jim Matheson of NRECA, Duane Highley of Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp., who is also one of three co-chairs, Greg Ford of Georgia System Operations Corp. and Jay Bartlett of Wabash Valley Power Association. A fifth co-op CEO will be named to the ESCC soon.

Additionally, generation and transmission co-ops participate in the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC), which is part of NERC. The E-ISAC in its information-sharing role provides further support of the public-private partnerships.

Cathy Cash is a staff writer at NRECA.

Read More:

RC3 Leverages ‘Cooperation Among Co-ops’ to Confront Cybersecurity Challenges

New Federal Risk Center Will Help Co-ops, Other Sectors Coordinate Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a never-ending battle, with online criminals constantly adapting their tactics to outsmart the latest patch or protocol.

Fortunately, electric cooperatives have a partner in the fight: NRECA’s Rural Cooperative Cybersecurity Capabilities Program (RC3).

RC3, now entering its third and final year of funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, is aimed at helping co-ops create a culture of cybersecurity with resources, tools and trainings tailored to their unique needs.

“Size, location, access to cybersecurity experts, these are all critical issues for electric cooperatives confronting cybersecurity challenges,” said Cynthia Hsu, NRECA cybersecurity program manager and RC3 lead. “One way cooperatives can balance the scales is through our commitment as co-ops to help one another. The RC3 program is designed to facilitate and build on our cooperative culture.”

Since its inception in 2016, RC3 has provided cybersecurity training to more than 200 leaders at 36 co-ops through the RC3 Self-Assessment Research Program. These cooperatives have in turn helped the RC3 team build a self-assessment toolkit for all NRECA members to use.

In 2017, RC3 held six cybersecurity summits around the country where co-op staff exchanged experiences and knowledge. Nearly 200 attendees from 152 co-ops participated. RC3 also is providing vouchers to 40 co-ops for training at the SANS Institute, a nationally recognized information security educator.

“Bringing co-ops together to talk about the difficulties they face and creative solutions they use has been a key to the success of the RC3 effort,” Hsu said. “There’s really no substitute for one-on-one interactions. And the feedback for summits was so overwhelmingly positive we are organizing another series of five summits.”

In addition, the RC3 team is writing a series of seven cybersecurity guidebooks to help co-ops understand the unique cybersecurity responsibilities associated with each job role, such as communications and member services, human resources and benefits administration, finance and billing, and attorneys and legal staff.

“Cybersecurity is not just an IT problem,” said Hsu. “Every staff member in a co-op has a responsibility and opportunity to help defend their cooperative.”

Hsu says since the launch of RC3, she’s seen a steady elevation of the issue of cybersecurity among electric cooperatives. “People have begun to understand that there’s no such thing as too small or too remote,” says Hsu.

“Like safety, cooperatives are interested in building a culture of security. Our job in the RC3 program is to help them along the way, providing training, tools and resources to build stronger cybersecurity programs.”

For questions, contact Cynthia Hsu, NRECA cybersecurity program manager, cynthia.hsu@nreca.coop, or the RC3 team at CyberSecurityRC3@nreca.coop.

Read More:

Cybersecurity Responsibility Belongs to Every Co-op Employee

Sydney Covitz interned for NRECA’s Business and Technology Strategies department in summer 2018.

A tornado is like a blender, tearing apart objects in its grasp with spinning force, but a derecho is like a closed fist, delivering punishing body blows to anything it hits. Six years ago, the Ohio Valley/Mid-Atlantic derecho knocked out electricity to 5 million people, earning it a spot on The Weather Channel’s Top 10 list of severe weather outbreaks.

“When the derecho hit in June of 2012, CVEC had just under 35,000 total accounts that we were serving at the time,” recalled Gary Wood, president & CEO of Central Virginia Electric Cooperative.  “About 18,600 went out, so a little over half of our customers were out of power that night.”

The Colleen-based distribution co-op was one of dozens of electric cooperatives in 12 states that reported power outages as a result of the storm that swept eastward from the Midwest June 29-30, 2012.

A Weather Channel production crew visited CVEC’s headquarters earlier this year to hear firsthand accounts from co-op crews involved in rebuilding lines, restoring service and re-energizing communities buffeted by winds in excess of 58 to 74 mph. The derecho story is set to air on TWC’s “Top Ten” show in November, during the series’ fourth season.

“We tell the stories of not only what happened, but also tell human interest stories through the eyes of those that were in the middle of the violent events,” said Howard Sappington, vice president of original productions for The Weather Channel. “The 2012 derecho is the only one of its kind on our list.”

“The story of the derecho will always be a story about the heroic job done by line crews from all of our electric cooperatives,” said Richard Johnstone, CEO of the Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives.

Johnstone’s praise not only included co-ops directly affected by the event, but also those that responded with help under NRECA’s mutual aid agreements, codifying the concept of cooperatives helping cooperatives.

“We had 150 poles broken. On a normal day, it takes three or four men anywhere from four to eight hours to put a pole up,” Wood told the crew. “We replaced 150 poles that week. We had close to 150 cross arms broken and over a mile of conductor on the ground. It took us seven days to get power back on—seven tough days.”

Derechos are by definition widespread, long-lived wind storms that can include bands of fast-moving heavy rain showers, tornados, hail and straight-line winds. Originally identified as a weather phenomenon in 1888, they did not begin gaining widespread attention until technology improvements in radar and forecasting improved tracking and analysis in the late 1980s.

The June 2012 weather system initially developed over eastern Iowa and western Illinois. It drew convective energy from triple-digit temperatures in the region as it moved more than 700 miles eastward in 12 hours at speeds topping 60 mph.

The hourlong episode includes interviews with Talmage Eubank and Jason Prechel, two CVEC journeyman line technicians involved in power restoration in the days after the derecho struck.

“The whole video experience was a lot of fun,” said Prechel, the CVEC crew foreman who, like Eubank, admitted he was nervous about his moment in the spotlight.

“It’s not something I’m used to,” explains Eubank.

“We were able to run through questions with him and get him up to speed before he had to sit in front of the camera and answer questions,” said Melissa Gay, communications and member services manager for CVEC, who helped coordinate the video shoot. “It was a great learning experience for me and it was an honor to be a part of it.”

Watch: A behind the scenes look at Central Virginia Electric Cooperative on The Weather Channel’s “Top 10.”

Updated: Sept. 18, 8:45 a.m.

When electric cooperative employees and their consumer-members remember the storm known as Florence, many will likely talk about it as two events that hit back to back, with winds and heavy rain first, followed by flooding that pushed streams and rivers into subdivisions and neighborhoods.

“All the water that came in when Florence was a hurricane or tropical storm is now headed back toward the coast as stormwater runoff,” said Gay Johnson, director of corporate communications at Four County Electric Membership Corp. “We have a lot of flooded roads and debris, including broken limbs and uprooted trees that are blocking the roadways, so we still can’t get to many of the areas we need to reach to repair the lines.”

The Burgaw, North Carolina-based co-op had 17,000 meters out as of Tuesday morning.

“We’re answering calls 24/7, with member service reps working 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., before they are relieved by the night shift that covers phones until morning,” said Johnson. “We’re all staying here, because our headquarters is like an island, with everything flooded around us.”

While flash flooding has been the problem in many areas, the focus is now on river and stream flooding, with dozens of major waterways still days away from cresting. As electric cooperative crews work nonstop to restore power, co-ops are warning their members that more outages could come.

With the Northeast Cape Fear River already out of its banks and inland flooding still getting worse, some co-op-served communities that suffered days of torrential rains and gale-force winds are likely to see waters rise again in the days ahead.

“The rivers have not crested yet, so if we were even able to get home, we might not be able to get back,” said Johnson. “This is a catastrophic event that we could be facing like this for as long as two weeks.”

• North Carolina co-op outage map
• South Carolina co-op outage map

Slow-but-Steady Progress

Power restoration efforts have quickly reduced the numbers of co-op meters out of service as a result of wind damage over the weekend. Outage numbers in co-op-served territories in North Carolina were down to 112,000 on Tuesday morning from a high of 326,000 on Friday.

For Newport, North Carolina-based Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative, ongoing transmission issues still being repaired by investor-owned utility crews have kept the co-op from restoring service to about two-thirds of its overall membership.

“We’ve been able to power up several substations from our transmission substation,” said the co-op’s communications director, Lisa Galizia. “We’ve done that to get power on where we can, but there are still some places we still can’t reach.”

But across the co-op’s service territory, more than 280 lineworkers and tree crew members have been busy rebuilding the system so that when the substations are re-energized, more subdivisions and neighborhoods will be quickly put back online.

“We’ve got a crew on every circuit coming out of every substation,” said Galizia. “While they’re running into some issues, the water is starting to recede. Conditions are soggy, but they’re working in there to do what they can.”

With parts of many roads closed in North and South Carolina, including some stretches of Interstate 95, crews in many hard-hit areas have faced detours reaching areas where they safely can restore power.

The Perils of More Flooding

Co-ops are warning that more outages are possible particularly in areas that include newer commercial and residential developments served by buried power lines and ground-mounted transformers.

“Underground systems are not directly affected by toppled trees,” said Rob Ardis, an electrical engineer and CEO of Santee Electric Cooperative in Kingstree, South Carolina.

“The buried wires are heavily insulated for years of safe, dependable service, and the transformers sit above ground, covered from rain but in unsealed cabinets,” said Ardis, whose cooperative serves about 44,000 members in four counties. “We can’t seal the transformer cabinets, because the heat they generate needs a way to get out.”

Floodwaters can inundate the transformer cabinets, damaging internal components, and saltwater from storm surge can damage switch gears and other equipment, causing more outages.

Officials in South Carolina have warned that flooding could persist for several more days as waterways rise and fall as part of the natural drainage process. Some rivers in the Carolinas are rising more quickly than hydrologists forecast, and as many as 50 rivers in the Southeast and parts of the mid-Atlantic region could be pushed to or above flood stage in the days ahead.

Record rainfall in parts of the mid-Atlantic region this summer means trees there, still heavy with leaves, are at risk.

Co-ops Helping Co-ops

Mutual aid has been the muscle backing up the bone structure of the co-op network in areas hit by Florence. Co-op crews and their longtime contractors have logged thousands of miles to reach hard-hit areas and then taken guidance from co-op retirees, staking technicians, engineers and meter techs to make sure they are working where they can make the most impact getting service restored to as many members as possible.

“In the electric co-op world, teamwork means linemen and crews rally to support those without power,” said Kristie Aldridge, director of communications for North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives. “Hundreds of crews, some from as far away as Alabama, Florida, Indiana and Minnesota, are assisting our North Carolina co-ops to form teams that will not stop until every light is on.”

Electric co-ops from more than a dozen states, including those from parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia that originally kept their crews available for local response, are now involved in power restoration where they are needed.

“Arkansas cooperatives have sent approximately 100 pieces of equipment that include service bucket trucks, bucket trucks, digger derricks, pickups and pole trailers,” said Rob Roedel, a spokesman for Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc., adding that more crews remain available should they be needed.

“Personnel from the Alabama Rural Electric Association are keeping in close touch with their counterparts in North Carolina so plans can be made to shift crews from one area to another, as the need arises,” said Lenore Vickrey, the association’s vice president of communications. She added that if they are needed, “the crews can expect to spend a week to 10 days helping restore power.”

About 175 co-op staffers from Georgia are also committed to the rebuilding effort, with equipment from 22 of the state’s co-ops now in the region.

“We have a network of cooperatives across the country that will spring into action and help a fellow co-op during emergencies and times of crisis,” said Harry Reeves, vice president of training, education and safety for Georgia Electric Membership Corp. “We have an unwritten agreement that says if we’re in trouble, they help us. In return, we help them.”

That mutual aid force is making a huge impact toward cutting outage numbers, and crews are being shifted around as work is completed.

“Thirty-three Missouri electric co-ops sent 182 cooperative lineworkers to the Carolinas to assist with storm cleanup,” said Jim McCarty, a spokesman for the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. “Missouri sent both construction and service crews to help with the power restoration efforts.”

National Response to Power Outages

NRECA continues to work with the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and top executives from the electric utility industry supporting a co-op response that could involve mutual assistance from across the nation for weeks to come.

“Major storms like Florence test our resolve, but also bring out the best in electric cooperatives as they work around the clock to reconnect local communities,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson.

“Daily phone calls with folks on the ground and those planning to travel to help restoration are coordinated by the statewide storm coordinators,” said Martha Duggan, NRECA’s regulatory issues director. “The information from those calls is helpful as we provide situational awareness to our federal partners.”

“This is a long-duration event, and we appreciate the ongoing leadership from DOE, DHS, and FEMA in helping to coordinate the industry’s response with federal, state, and local officials,” said Duane Highley, president and CEO of Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp.

Highley co-chairs the Electric Subsector Coordinating Council, which works with federal partners and other stakeholders to help maintain and secure the nation’s power grid and other critical infrastructure.

ESCC officials have said the industry, its contractors, and state and federal agencies have committed about 40,000 people to the Florence response for the electric grid.

Read more:

Information Hub: Electric Co-ops and Florence
NRECA Supporting Co-ops in Affected Areas
Photo Gallery: Scenes From Co-ops’ Storm Response
Co-ops’ Social Media Outreach

Electric cooperatives serving members in coastal areas from the Carolinas to the mid-Atlantic region are preparing to handle outages and other emergencies that could come with Hurricane Florence.

The storm, which has the potential to strengthen before its predicted landfall along the Carolina coast later this week, prompted governors in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Maryland to order mandatory evacuations of barrier islands and coastal communities on Sept. 10.

North Carolina’s 26 electric cooperatives have activated emergency plans and stepped up preparations for the storm.  Line crews are using this time to stock their trucks with materials needed for repairs and are testing equipment to make sure it is ready for use. Staff meetings and conference calls are also being held to coordinate response efforts and support from co-op crews in other states if needed.

“We will do everything we can to minimize disruption to service while keeping members informed and safe,” said Nelle Hotchkiss, chief operating officer for North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives. “We urge everyone to prepare now by making a plan, assembling an emergency kit and following the instructions of local officials.”

In South Carolina, “though we don’t know the exact path of Florence, we are expecting that some of our co-ops will be impacted by the storm,” said Todd Carter, vice president of loss control and training at The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina.

“As soon as a damaging weather event becomes a possibility, we activate a long-standing, formal agreement with multiple surrounding states,” said Carter. “We reserve repair crews and plan for them to be close to at-risk areas after a storm passes.”

Co-ops in Georgia committed personnel and equipment to restoration work in South Carolina as soon as crews are needed.

National Weather Service forecasters have warned that the massive weather system could produce damaging winds at any point within 140 miles of its center. They also have forecast heavy sustained rains topping accumulations of 20 inches to 40 inches in some areas between Wednesday and Saturday.

Florence is potentially the worst storm to threaten the Carolina coast in nearly 30 years.  Hurricane Hugo struck just north of Charleston, South Carolina, as a Category 4 storm on Sept. 22, 1989.

Concerns about hurricane damage extend both northward and inland into the Appalachian region, with co-ops in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware preparing for outages and other potential damage to their transmission and distribution systems.

“With the ground already saturated, additional heavy rain and strong winds could result in widespread, prolonged power outages,” said Casey Hollins, director of communications and public relations for Fredericksburg, Virginia-based Rappahannock Electric Cooperative.

“Impacts could be felt as early as late Wednesday, and heavy rain and wind could continue through the weekend,” said Hollins, adding that significant flooding is possible.

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative issued similar warnings to its members on its website and social media outlets.

“Personnel are preparing to respond to outages that may result from falling trees and flooding,” said Tom Dennison, a spokesman for the Hughesville-based distribution co-op. “With the ground already saturated from recent rainfall, the likelihood that trees will fall on power lines is increased.”

Co-ops in all of the affected states are committed to keeping members informed about the outages, and many are now offering real-time outage maps that note affected areas and can include projections on restoration time.

Read more:

NRECA Supporting Co-ops in Affected Areas Ahead of Hurricane Florence

Derrill Holly is a staff writer at NRECA.

Electric cooperatives and other key sectors on the frontlines of cyberattacks from Russia and other nation states will get a boost from the federal government as key agencies form a new National Risk Management Center under the Department of Homeland Security.

The center will serve as “the focal point for threat information facing telecommunications, financial services and electricity,” said Duane Highley, CEO of Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. & Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc.

“Our federal partners are making the first commitments to creating a true coordinated multisector response to the growing cyber threat, bringing together electric utilities, telecom, and the financial services sector through unprecedented cooperation.”

DHS, the FBI and the Energy, Defense and Treasury departments launched the center during the National Cybersecurity Summit in New York City on July 31. Highley, co-chair of the Electric Subsector Coordinating Council, participated in a CEO roundtable at the event. The ESCC is the principal liaison between the federal government and the electric utility sector leadership for coordinating preparation to national disasters or threats to critical infrastructure.

The federal agencies committed to “work together, along with CEOs from each sector, to share threat information and to coordinate response across sectors in the event of a physical or cyber event,” Highley said in an interview following the summit.

He said that the federal effort is a welcome development, but that electric cooperatives must continue to enhance their own resources and build a dedicated defense.

“Our partnership with these federal agencies is one way to leverage our resources, but we cannot rely on that alone,” Highley said. “Our members expect us to keep their power reliable and affordable. A cyberattack hurts both of those objectives.”

He noted the electric utility sector is held in high regard by the federal agencies for its cybersecurity practices, but he cautioned that now is not the time to ease up.

“We were told a number of times by both DHS and DOE leadership that the electric sector has been the model sector in terms of CEO engagement, public/private coordination and development of standards and best practices,” Highley said. “That said, there is still much more we can do.

“The enemy is continually testing our critical infrastructure and looking for any gap. They would delight in compromising even the smallest utility systems.”

Among other requests, the ESCC and industry leaders have asked the federal government for timelier processing of classified clearances for key personnel and more cost-effective cyber-solutions for small utilities such as municipals and co-ops, Highley said.

“We need insight from our federal partners on the classified threats they see developing, and we need to share information with them about the threats we are seeing to help us both connect the dots, anticipate and deflect the next wave of cyberattacks.”

After a raging California wildfire took out its only transmission line, Anza Electric Cooperative harnessed mobile generators to maintain service.

“Southern California Edison reports approximately two to five miles of line down in extremely rugged country,” said Kevin Short, CEO of Anza Electric. “We’ve suffered the complete loss of our incoming transmission feed.”

The Cranston Fire has scorched more than 13,000 acres, destroyed more than a dozen buildings and prompted the evacuation of hundreds from the area since July 25. Authorities arrested an arson suspect in California’s Riverside County. The fire was 82 percent contained as of July 31.

“All of the losses to homes and property were suffered by residents outside our service territory,” said Short. The co-op hosted an emergency meeting at its Anza headquarters July 26 so regional officials could provide an update and Short could share his plans to restore and maintain service.

While initially the co-op expected to rotate power through its substations for about one hour, two or three times a day, four trailer-sized generators were deployed by midday July 27. Together, they’ve provided enough power to handle between 50 percent and 68 percent of the co-op’s demand.

The Generation and Transmission Cooperatives of Arizona has been assisting its member distribution co-op since service disruptions began July 25.

“We worked on a plan to add mobile generation to their system, and how and where the units should be connected at what voltage,” said Barry Brown, the Benson, Arizona-based G&T’s executive director of engineering and transmission maintenance. “Then we found the vendors and secured the equipment and cabling we needed, and shipments began arriving Friday.”

Engineering and substation specialists from Arizona helped with the interconnection, and distribution lines were re-energized July 28.

“We have 12 megawatts of onsite generation and are able to provide 75 percent of our load with 90 percent reliability,” said Short. “We must rotate circuits in two areas due to limitations of generation interconnection, but we can get everyone power for most of the time.”

Anza Electric has also received a lot of help from Southern California Edison, which owns the transmission line damaged by the blaze.

“They have helped us by getting us in touch with their transmission repair contractor, and crews are already helping us with repairs to our transmission lines,” said Short. “SCE has also extended help with telecommunications, food for our staff, and a contact for diesel fuel for our emergency generation.”

The investor-owned utility is using the co-op’s headquarters to stage repair and relief efforts, which could take two weeks.

“We’re importing 15,000 to 24,000 gallons of fuel per day to run the generators, which is the single critical link for us to be able to deliver energy to our members,” said Short.

A co-op subsidiary, Connect Anza, temporarily lost its fiber connection when its investor-owned telecommunications provider lost power to a backup generator. The co-op’s internet subscribers lost service, and telecommunications to Anza EC’s offices were temporarily disrupted until the co-op dispatched fuel to the provider to get its generator running.

“We have donated generators and fuel to several critical infrastructure points in the community,” said Short. While daytime temperatures in the high desert area have hit the triple digits, overnight lows have dipped below 50 degrees.

The fuel assistance has been provided to a warming/cooling center, a temporary emergency shelter and a temporary animal shelter for displaced horses and pets, said Short. “We have brought bottled water to the area multiple times and are continuing to do so.”

A cyberattack on the electric grid, widespread misinformation on social media, isolated blackouts, communications failures and active shooters.

Is it ever too early to plan for the barrage of emergencies?

The answer is a resounding “no” from electric co-op veterans of GridEx IV.

“GridEx focuses attention on continuous improvement to our cyber- and physical security efforts as we strive for operational excellence,” said Mike Kraft, senior engineer at Basin Electric Power Cooperative in Bismarck, North Dakota.

The biennial exercise organized by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) gives utilities large and small the opportunity to flex their security muscles under extreme simulated emergencies.

“The lessons learned from GridEx assist Basin Electric in protecting our critical infrastructure. This helps us provide reliable power to our members,” said Kraft.

About 6,500 individuals and 450 organizations across industry, law enforcement and government agencies participated in the simulation exercise last November. NERC recently released a report with details and findings from the exercise.

Twenty-six G&Ts and 24 distribution cooperatives participated in GridEx IV. Co-op participation has grown significantly. In 2015, a total of 18 G&Ts and distribution co-ops took part in GridEx III.

“We do internal drills several times a year, but GridEx gives us the opportunity to participate in an exercise of this magnitude with large-scale coordination of entities,” said David Revill, vice president, power technology at Georgia System Operations Corporation (GSOC) in Tucker, Georgia. “We take cyber- and physical security extremely seriously, and believe that practice makes perfect.”

Tri-State Generation & Transmission also conducts “several internal and external exercises to validate and improve our processes,” said David W. Sayles Jr., business resiliency manager for G&T in Westminster, Colorado. “GridEx IV reinforced the importance of coordinating with external partners during a cascading coordinated national attack scenario.”

GridEx V is slated for Nov. 13-14, 2019.

Putting Communications to the Test

GSOC has participated in all four NERC GridEx drills. Basin Electric took part in GridEx III and GridEx IV. Each year the exercise creates more challenging scenarios, forcing participants to strengthen their security strategies.

Brian Haggard, GSOC’s lead planner for GridEx IV, noted that the exercise “really put communication and coordination methods to the test.”

GridEx IV emphasized social media, where the public and the utility try to communicate as malevolent actors use the platform to spread false messages to trigger mayhem.

“Spending time on social media may not be what you think of as work, but, when responding to a cybersecurity event, both internal and external communications are essential,” said Haggard.

Kraft urged co-ops to “identify who needs to know what, when do they need to know it, and how the communication will occur.”

“Communications are a key component to success during a crisis,” he said. “Recognize that and have a plan to deal with communication barriers.”

The co-ops plan to tweak their internal drills using lessons learned from the NERC exercise.

“Adversaries keep changing their methods,” said Haggard. “We need to evolve with them.”

Defending co-ops starts now

GridEx participants said keeping their co-ops safe doesn’t end with this exercise, and they encouraged other co-ops to get involved as soon as possible.

Tri-State G&T first got involved as an observing organization during GridEx III.

“That prepared us for full participation in GridEx IV,” said Sayles. “Observing the exercise helped us set meaningful objectives and identify the Tri-State departments to participate in 2017.”

Co-ops that have never participated should use the NERC report “as a punch list against their cybersecurity strategy,” said Kraft. Basin Electric invited member co-ops to be observers during the recent GridEx.

Kraft also recommends co-ops join NERC’s Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC) and NRECA programs such as the Rural Cooperative Cyber Security Capabilities Program (RC3).

GSOC’s Revill noted that there is a “significant investment” of time involved in planning and participating in the two-day exercise. But co-ops can tailor their participation to fit their organization, he said. “Whether you’re a large or small co-op, there’s something for you in this exercise.”

The calendar says spring, but electric cooperatives in several states have been busy tackling power outages caused by blizzards, wildfires, nearly three feet of rain in some areas, and hurricane force winds.

In western Oklahoma, where many co-op-served communities have had no measurable rainfall in more than six months, tinder-dry vegetation has burned thousands of acres.

A crew from Northwestern Electric Cooperative rebuilds lines burned by wildfires near Camargo, Oklahoma. (Photo By: Clint LeForce/Northwestern EC)

“Northwestern Electric Cooperative has lost more than 800 distribution poles, and damages are in excess of $2 million,” said Sid Sperry, director of public relations, communications and research for the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives.

Sperry added that crews from the Woodward-based co-op have responded to fire-related outages since April 11. With humidity in the single digits and seasonal winds of 25 to 40 mph, fire risks remain high.

“Western Farmers Electric, a G&T co-op based in Anadarko, has lost more than 100 transmission assets in counties served by Northwestern,” said Sperry, adding that four other Oklahoma co-ops have also suffered wildfire damage.

In the upper Midwest, bitter cold temperatures and arctic winds pushing south from Canada have brought late-season blizzards to parts of the Dakotas, Minnesota and Nebraska.

“We had 70 transmission poles down,” said Carrie Law, director of communications and government relations for Sioux Valley Energy in Colman, South Dakota. “Winds in our area hit 80 mph.”

About 1,500 of the co-op’s 22,000 meters were without power following an April 13 blizzard. Restoration work concluded April 16, but permanent repairs continue.

Co-op and public power district crews working restoration in the region have had to periodically stand down as high winds pick up and new storms develop.

“At times you couldn’t see more than about 20 feet,” said Earl Reilly, operations superintendent for Sidney, Nebraska-based Wheat Belt Public Power District.

“The majority of our system was out at one time,” said Pam Weiser, Wheat Belt PPD’s business manager. She added that the PPD’s response was an “all hands on deck” event.  CEO Tim Lindahl pitched in much of the weekend to help keep members informed on restoration progress through social media updates.

“We may continue to have short outages in the coming weeks to continue the repairs,” Lindahl wrote in an April 15 Facebook posting. He said that portions of the system remained fragile and more outages could occur, with crews busy for weeks making permanent repairs.

Crews from Great Lakes Energy spent days restoring power after a spring snowstorm. (Photo By: Great Lakes Energy)

Frigid winds, picking up moisture from the Great Lakes, spread a wintry mix of snow, ice and heavy sleet to co-op territories in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio.

“We got heavy snow throughout the weekend,” said Shari Culver, vice president of communications, marketing and energy optimization for Boyne City, Michigan-based Great Lakes Energy Cooperative. “We cover 26 counties, and had outages in 22 of those.”

A combination of howling winds and heavy snow slowed restoration work as crews dealt with downed trees and deep snow drifts. Total accumulations over two days topped 31 inches. While power was restored to most areas April 17, disruptions continued for members.

“Schools across our service territory were closed two days this week, which is unheard of for April,” Culver said.

Rain has been the problem in the Southeast, where trees leafing out with spring growth are heaving their roots in soaked soils.

Heavy rains in the Southeast have softened ground in some areas, causing some co-op poles to shift out of alignment. (Photo By: Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative)

“Large trees are falling onto our lines from outside of the rights of way,” said Renee Whitener, director of public relations for Blue Ridge Energy. Crews from the Lenior, North Carolina-based co-op have been busy clearing limbs and downed trees from forested rights of way, restoring outages and repairing pole foundations along washed out roadways.

Meanwhile, Hawaii’s only electric cooperative has crews responding to outages across its service territory after more than 32 inches of rain fell over Kauai Island in 48 hours.

Kauai Island Utility Cooperative crews have been working closely with other first responders since rescue and relief efforts geared up April 16.

“A KIUC pickup truck was airlifted [Tuesday] morning by military helicopter to Wainiha for use by KIUC personnel to assess damage above the landslides,” said Beth Tokioka, communications manager of the Lihue-based co-op.

A military helicopter also helped transport a fiberglass replacement pole to an isolated location, but flooded roads and mudslides have kept the co-op from moving heavy equipment to areas where repairs are needed.

KIUC crews have also temporarily de-energized lines in some areas to reduce risk to air rescue operations, and they’ve restored service to public works facilities so pumping stations could move fresh water to island communities.

A $1.3 trillion spending bill that includes a number of electric cooperative priorities passed Congress and was signed into law by President Trump on March 23.

“This bill strengthens programs that are essential to the economic health of rural America while also emphasizing the need to continue pursuing innovative solutions to future energy and economic needs,” NRECA CEO Jim Matheson said of the measure, which keeps the federal government running through Sept. 30, the end of fiscal 2018.

One key provision provides a boost to electric co-ops that want to bring broadband to their members. The bill authorizes $600 million for the Agriculture Department to make loans and grants for rural broadband, which Matheson called “a positive step towards connecting the rural economy and closing the digital divide.”

“High costs and low population density remain the biggest obstacles to expanding rural broadband access,” said Matheson.

Other provisions benefiting electric co-op operations include $5.5 billion for the Agriculture Department’s electric loan program. Co-ops that borrow to make infrastructure improvements repay the government with interest.

The bill will streamline government red tape that impedes the ability of electric co-ops to manage vegetation near utility rights of way on public lands. Better land management access will allow co-ops to bolster system reliability.

There’s also funding for cybersecurity research and development—a key ingredient as co-ops work to stay ahead of evolving cyber threats. The Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems (CEDS), from which NRECA currently receives funding for the Rural Cooperative Cybersecurity Capabilities Program (RC3), went from $62 million to $75 million.

LIHEAP, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, will receive $3.64 billion, up from the current $3.39 billion. The increase follows the annual LIHEAP Action Day on March 13, which NRECA supported, and the March 16 release of a bipartisan letter, signed by 171 House members, urging “no less than $4.7 billion” in LIHEAP funding for fiscal 2019.

The spending bill is also notable for what’s not included. Congress opposed a Trump administration proposal to sell off the transmission assets of three federal Power Marketing Administrations. The bill also avoids drastic cuts to the Rural Economic Development Loan & Grant Program (REDLG).

Michael W. Kahn is a staff writer at NRECA.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—If there’s one thing Cynthia Hsu wants co-ops to know, it’s that cybersecurity is everyone’s job.

“I guarantee you, every single person has a role to play,” said Hsu, cybersecurity program manager in NRECA’s Business and Technology Strategies unit, at a breakout session during the association’s 2018 annual meeting.

Hsu spearheads NRECA’s Rural Cooperative Cybersecurity Capabilities Program, known as RC3.

“This is a program focused on what a lot of the co-ops are facing, which is very limited IT staff and, for some, no IT staff at all,” she said. “How do we build tools to help those co-ops improve their cybersecurity?”

Thanks to a $7.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, Hsu and her team have developed a soon-to-be-released self-assessment toolkit to help co-ops begin or enhance their cybersecurity efforts. The toolkit starts with a self-assessment “maturity model,” which is a list of questions guiding co-op staff from the CEO’s office and each department to help them identify their current cybersecurity capabilities.

“The best way to start is understanding what you’re good at now, and where you can improve,” Hsu said.

Thirty-six co-ops field-tested the self-assessment maturity model via a day-and-a-half facilitated session. At the end of the session, the team gets “an understanding for themselves of what their role is,” Hsu said. Again, she reminded the audience, every employee has a role to play in protecting their co-op.

The self-assessment maturity model yields scores in five categories that co-ops can use as a benchmark to measure improvement.

“Our smallest co-op had seven staff and was able to make progress,” Hsu said. “It doesn’t always take a lot of money. Sometimes it just takes focus, and resources, in terms of time and governance.”

Another leg of RC3 is training. Hsu’s team has hosted six cybersecurity summits for co-op employees outside of IT—two were at national labs, two with academic institutions, and one with the American Public Power Association and the Electric Power Research Institute. The RC3 Program plans to hold five more summits in 2018.

To attend an upcoming cybersecurity summit, or learn more about RC3, visit the RC3 page on cooperative.com or contact the RC3 Program team at CyberSecurityRC3@nreca.org.

Need cybersecurity help before the release of the RC3 toolkit? This RE Magazine story can help.

Magen Howard is a contributing writer for NRECA.

Hurricane-force winds knocked out electricity to nearly 2.5 million people from the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic regions and in New England late last week, and electric cooperatives in some of the hardest-hit areas still have crews working to restore service.

“This is the worst weather event to hit our service territory since Superstorm Sandy,” said Chris Reese, CEO of New Jersey’s Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative, which lost about 5,000 of its 12,000 meters.

New Jersey’s only electric co-op had crews out early March 5 restoring service to just over 100 members who were still without power, but in some cases, 400 to 600 feet of new line will have to be installed and energized before service is restored.

The first outages began before noon on March 2, and operations had already arranged for mutual aid crews from co-ops in western and central Pennsylvania.

“We had 10 broken poles, and Asplundh tree crews needed a 70-foot-tall bucket truck to deal with one tangle of downed trees before crews could restore power,” said Reese.

Several co-ops in Virginia reported widespread outages.

“We had more than 40,000 meters out Friday afternoon,” said Casey Hollins, director of communications and public relations for Rappahannock Electric Cooperative. “Winds snapped dozens of poles and downed trees, making it difficult for crews to reach some locations.”

Crews from the Fredericksburg, Virginia, co-op received mutual aid from co-ops in Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina. Restoration was stalled in some areas until the Virginia Department of Transportation could clear tree debris and reopen roads.

“We still have about 8,000 meters out, but hope to wrap up restoration by Wednesday,” Hollins said March 5. Member services representatives and social media posts urged members to check the co-op’s outage maps for information on specific trouble locations across the co-op’s 22-county territory.

Virginia’s Northern Neck Electric Cooperative reported nearly 6,500 of its meters out March 2, said Jay Garner, manager of public relations for the Warsaw-based co-op. “With the help of co-op crews from Kentucky and Georgia, our crews worked day and night, and wrapped up the work Sunday afternoon with all members restored.”

Crewe, Virginia-based Southside Electric Cooperative lost nearly 20,000 meters to high winds and falling trees that splintered 35 poles and shredded power lines.

Crews worked around the clock from late Thursday night restoring power until Sunday evening, said Ronald White, vice president of member and public relations for SEC.

The storm, blamed for at least five deaths, disrupted flight schedules and rail transportation along the East Coast before winds subsided March 3. Electric utility crews were still working March 5 to restore service to nearly 500,000 meters in several states.

Co-ops expressed relief that total system damage was not more extensive.

Many compared the winter event to Superstorm Sandy, a massive weather system that began as a tropical depression in October 2012 before becoming a hurricane and morphing into a subtropical weather event. That storm brought high winds, freezing rain, snow and major flooding to parts of 21 states, knocking out electricity to 8.5 million meters that took months to repair.

“We had 5,000 members out at the height of the storm,” said Jeremy Tucker, manager of communications for Delaware Electric Cooperative in Greenwood, Delaware.  “We had 10,000 meters out after Hurricane Sandy, and 20,000 after Hurricane Ike.”

While co-op officials are pleased at how their systems held up under the 60- to 70-mph sustained winds, winter is not over, and high winds are forecast for the Mid-Atlantic region by late this week.

“This was essentially a 24-hour event for us,” said Tucker, noting that all affected members had power restored March 3. “Our crews train for this, it is what they do, and they do it well. Hopefully, this next storm won’t cause major problems.”

Derrill E. Holly is a staff writer at NRECA.

NRECA CEO Jim Matheson told U.S. senators examining cybersecurity that the electric power sector is well prepared to combat cyber threats, but said the federal government should pursue greater R&D for small and medium-sized utilities and improve information sharing to bolster the industry’s cyber defense.

“Protecting the electric grid from threats that could affect national security and public safety is a responsibility shared by both the government and the electric power sector,” Matheson told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at a March 1 hearing.

“Maintaining the resilience and security of the electric grid requires a flexible approach that draws on a variety of resources and options. As threats and threat actors continue to evolve, so must government and industry’s capability to defend against them.”

Matheson outlined ongoing cybersecurity measures by the electric sector, including participation in federal exercises such as the Department of Energy’s Clear Path and the North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s GridEx.

“The possibility of a cybersecurity attack impacting grid operations is something for which the electric sector has been preparing for years,” he said, noting the industry has bolstered its defenses by partnering with the DOE, national laboratories and other federal agencies on cybersecurity research.

Matheson pointed to the Rural Cooperative Cybersecurity Capabilities Program, or RC3, a cost-shared partnership between DOE and NRECA that has provided cybersecurity assessment and training to more than 150 member co-ops and developed resources for small and mid-sized utilities.

“It’s really a toolbox of different options they can use to identify vulnerabilities and risks and share best practices with each other,” Matheson said in response to a question by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., about which cybersecurity efforts are working.

RC3 also involves a continuous improvement process. “We all know wherever we are today, we’ve got to get better by tomorrow,” said Matheson.

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., praised electric co-ops as representing a “true cross section of our state” and for their efforts in cybersecurity.

“I do believe our rural co-ops are on the front line in defense of our grid, especially in rural states like Montana,” said Daines. “The co-ops you represent don’t have a lot of excess cash to spend on research or new expensive technologies. Further, there isn’t one single solution we know.”

Matheson agreed that America’s electric cooperatives face diverse circumstances when it comes to protecting against cyberthreats. About 120 co-ops that connect to the bulk electric system must comply with NERC reliability standards and audits to stem operational threats. Meanwhile, smaller distribution co-ops encounter hackers going after personal information.

“We try to create a peer-to-peer relationship where co-ops can compare, consolidate and share assets,” said Matheson. “We have a really coordinated effort to make sure we are sharing best practices with each other to take on the cybersecurity threat.”

Daines also asked about ways his Cyber SAFETY Act, which among other things provides liability protections for private-sector cybersecurity tools and services, might help electric co-ops.

Matheson said rural co-ops and the rest of the electric utility sector support the bill for removing impediments. “Efforts to produce more innovations in this area are something we strongly support and a step in the right direction,” he said.

Cathy Cash is a staff writer at NRECA.

Arlington, Va. – Tomorrow on Capitol Hill, NRECA CEO Jim Matheson will highlight electric co-op cybersecurity efforts and encourage Congress to continue supporting programs that strengthen cyber preparedness. Matheson will testify Thursday before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources at 10:00 a.m. in Room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

“The possibility of a cybersecurity attack impacting grid operations is something for which the electric sector has been preparing for years,” Matheson said. “Maintaining the resilience and security of the electric grid requires a flexible approach that draws on a variety of resources and options.  As threats and threat actors continue to evolve, so must government and industry’s capability to defend against them.”

Matheson will encourage Congress to continue funding cybersecurity research and development through the U.S Department of Energy. He will also ask the Committee to pursue legislation that provides for voluntary, enhanced FBI background checks to improve the ability of co-ops to prevent insider threats.

Electric co-ops are working in partnership with DOE through the Rural Cooperative Cybersecurity Capabilities (RC3) Program to promote cyber awareness at small and medium sized co-ops.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national service organization that represents the nation’s more than 900 not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide service to 42 million people in 47 states.

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President Trump’s budget proposal for fiscal 2019 would boost funds for rural broadband and grid cybersecurity but eliminate funding for the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program and LIHEAP, which helps low-income Americans pay to heat and cool their homes.

It also proposes to sell the transmission assets of the power marketing administrations.

“NRECA will respond to these budget proposals as we have in the past, by strongly supporting ideas that are in the best interest of electric cooperatives and vigorously opposing suggestions that negatively impact our members,” said Kirk Johnson, NRECA senior vice president, government relations.

“Through a lot of hard work, Congress has rejected proposals in the past to sell PMA assets and eliminate funding for rural development programs. We’re going to spend the next several months making sure that trend continues.”

The Feb. 12 proposal (PDF) outlines Trump’s ideas for deep budget cuts in FY19. It was developed before Congress passed the $300 billion deal Feb. 9 that increased spending for the next two years. The budget proposal included a brief “addendum” suggesting where the higher spending should occur.

The president’s FY19 plan maintains the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service electric program at $5.5 billion and includes $23.1 million for broadband loans and $30 million for broadband grants.

No funds are proposed for the Rural Business Cooperative Service, which includes REDLG and the Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program. Further, RUS would no longer provide interest payments to co-op borrowers on future deposits to their “cushion of credit” account. Congress already rejected similar suggestions from last year’s budget proposal.

Electric co-ops help meet their rural communities’ needs by obtaining loans from REDLG and then passing the money on to local businesses and projects, ranging from firetrucks to libraries to job-creating initiatives.

Trump also would abolish the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which mostly serves the elderly, the disabled and low-income households with children. Congress funded LIHEAP at $3.4 billion last year. Many electric co-op members rely on the program during economic downturns or severe weather.

In a move opposed by electric co-ops, the budget recommends divesting the Tennessee Valley Authority, Bonneville Power Administration, Southwestern Power Administration and Western Area Power Administration of their transmission assets. The budget also would allow them to charge market-based rates, which could boost electricity bills for millions of co-op members and result in more volatile power prices.

To bolster cybersecurity and grid modernization, the proposed budget would apply $96 million to create the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response at the Department of Energy. The Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems office would see its budget double to $70 million. NRECA receives DOE funding for its Rural Cooperative Cybersecurity Capabilities Program (RC3).

The budget also seeks to ease access to federal lands and resources under the Department of the Interior by providing $1 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation. It further calls for streamlining the permitting and review process to facilitate infrastructure projects.

A proposed 30 percent cut in State Department development assistance programs also would result in a major setback for NRECA International electrification programs that bring power to developing countries.

Cathy Cash is a staff writer at NRECA.

With a new study showing that a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse attack could have regional or local effects on power delivery, electric cooperatives and the electric utility industry are working with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to protect the grid.

The Electric Power Research Institute released a report on Dec. 20 that analyses the impact on the grid of certain simulated high-altitude electromagnetic pulse, or HEMP, events.

“For years, the electric sector has been preparing for the possibility of events that could impact grid operations,” said Jim Spiers, NRECA’s senior vice president for Business and Technology Strategies. “Simulations and analyses like this help the electric industry enhance preparedness, safety, grid resiliency and reliability. America’s electric cooperatives work closely with EPRI. Their research will help the industry continue exploring safe, reliable and cost-effective EMP mitigation strategies.”

Co-ops are also partnering with the North American Electric Reliability Corp. and the Department of Energy to have preparations in place for electromagnetic pulse incidents.

For its report, EPRI collaborated with DOE and the national labs in conducting simulations of 11 HEMP incidents across the United States. In one, an “E3” attack, strong enough to displace Earth’s magnetic field, they simulated a 1.4-megaton bomb being detonated about 250 miles above Earth.

None of the E3 simulations led to a nationwide grid failure or failures affecting the entire Eastern or Western interconnections, the report notes. Five would have triggered a regional power failure, potentially affecting several states. Two would have led to more localized failures, the researchers found.

The report’s authors identified measures that could limit the impact of a HEMP attack, including technologies that can reduce or block the flow of geomagnetically induced currents or controls that automatically disconnect power system loads during an event.

Two other types of electromagnetic pulse events tested for the report were a high-magnitude, short-duration pulse (E1) and an intermediate pulse similar to lightning (E2).

EPRI will conduct further research in 2018 to determine the combined impacts of all three pulse events on the power grid.

“We will continue on this path as we identify and test cost-effective measures to reduce grid vulnerability to a HEMP event,” said Michael Howard, EPRI president and CEO.

Cathy Cash is a staff writer at NRECA.