FERC Chair Jon Wellinghoff: Federal Cyber Authority Over Utilities Needed
It is up to Congress to give approval for new federal regulatory oversight of electric grid cybersecurity, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff said Wednesday, according to The Hill newspaper.
Wellinghoff made the remarks at a media event hosted by The Energy Daily in Washington, Zack Colman reports.
He claimed he cannot confidentially communicate cyber threats to utilities and does not have enforcement authority, according to the report.
Not only can he not communicate threats, he said, but there was little he could do the next day to ensure target utilties effectively mitigate that threat, Colman reports.
Wellinghoff also reportedly reiterated previous remarks that he does not care who has the authority, just that someone has it.
Another top FERC official recently told the Senate Energy Committee that agency does not have federal authority over systems in Hawaii, Alaska and in large cities like New York.
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