EEI Joins Participants in NERC’s Energy Grid Security and Incident Response Exercise

Electric company leaders and federal and state government officials recently participated in GridEx VII, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC’s) biennial energy grid security and incident response exercise.

The two-day exercise on November 14 and 15 was designed to test cyber and physical security incident response protocols and coordination among electric power industry and government stakeholders from the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“The top priority of electric companies is protecting our nation’s energy grid,” said Edison Electric Institute (EEI) President and CEO Tom Kuhn. “Participating in NERC’s GridEx series with our government partners gives EEI and our member companies the opportunity to test our security measures as an industry. It also allows us to strengthen our coordination through our time-tested partnership, the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC). Together, we will continue to focus on prevention, resilience, and strategic redundancy to manage risk.”

The CEO-led ESCC serves as the principal liaison between leadership in the federal government and in the electric power industry, with the mission of coordinating efforts to prepare for and respond to national-level incidents or threats to critical infrastructure. The ESCC also facilitates and supports activities and initiatives designed to enhance the reliability and resilience of the grid, including the establishment of the Cyber Mutual Assistance program, which brings together cyber experts who stand ready to support other electric companies in the event of a major cyber incident.

Following the completion of GridEx VII, NERC will produce an after-action report outlining the newly identified opportunities for industry and government stakeholders to improve and enhance the collective security posture.