CISA Director Jen Easterly testifies at Wednesday's hearing of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. | U.S. House of Representatives

Feb. 2, 2024

Happy Groundhog Day from ERO Insider! As fans of Bill Murray’s best movie, we tried mightily to have our editors send this at the same time every day for the next week. Sadly, our suggestion was turned down. Maybe instead we’ll turn in the same email every week for the next month. There is such a thing as wearing out a joke, though our kids don’t seem to think so. 

On to this week’s stories, and we start with a sobering warning from members of America’s intelligence community that the Chinese Communist Party is serious about causing “panic” in the U.S. in the event of a future conflict. Holden Mann brings you more from the congressional hearing this week that featured testimony from the heads of CISA, the FBI and U.S. Cyber Command. (See China Preparing to ‘Wreak Havoc’ on US, Cyber Officials Warn.) 

FERC approved NERC’s monthly spreadsheet notice of penalty last week, including a settlement between American Transmission Co. and MRO that will see the utility pay $75,000 for violating NERC’s facility ratings standards. Click through for more on the infringement and how ATC has worked to make things right. (See ATC to Pay $75K for Facility Rating Violations.) 

Speaking of reliability standards, FERC recently approved revisions intended to clear up confusion that was present in an existing standard. Follow the link for a rundown on what’s changing in the newest version. (See FERC Approves New Relay Standard.) 

Thanks for joining us, and we hope you have a great Groundhog Day (however many times you celebrate it). We’ll be back again next Friday with a roundup of the week’s stories, but do check back throughout the week to stay on top of things. Until then, have a great weekend! 

Upcoming Stakeholder Meetings:

• 2/5/24: NERC System Planning Impacts from Distributed Energy Resources Working Group Meeting
• 2/6/24: NERC System Planning Impacts from Distributed Energy Resources Working Group Meeting
• 2/12/24: Technical Talk with RF
• 2/14/24: NERC Board of Trustees/MRC Meetings
• 2/15/24: NERC Board of Trustees/MRC Meetings