GDS Associates, Inc

On Thursday, Oct. 23, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright sent a communication to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission), directing that FERC take action no later than April 30, 2026 to issue rules to facilitate the “timely and orderly...

Given the frequency, breadth, and depth of attacks against our critical infrastructure, the importance of building a cyber-aware workforce in the utility sector cannot be emphasized enough. The statistics tell a sobering story: roughly 80–95% of all cyber-attacks link human...

Authors: James Fenstermaker, GDS Associates & Darrell Rinehart, Ci-Discern In today’s interconnected world, the utility sector faces increasing challenges from evolving cyber threats. As utilities adopt advanced technologies and transition toward smart grids, the need for...

FERC issued two separate NOPRs in regard to CIP on September 18, 2025, one pertaining to the CIP-003 Low Impact requirements (CIP-003-11) and one pertaining to CIP Virtualization. FERC issues NOPRs when they are proposing new or revised rules, seeking comment on the...

On September 18, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Reliability Standard EOP-012-3, marking a significant step forward in cold weather preparedness for the Bulk-Power System. Developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation...

A look at TPL-008: Boosting the Bulk Electric Power System Reliability As climate change continues to increase, extreme temperatures are intensifying and being recorded more frequently. As a result of these extreme temperatures, the Bulk Power System (BPS) can be...

As North America’s electric grid evolves with rapid load growth and increasing reliance on weather-dependent and just-in-time energy sources, traditional methods for ensuring system adequacy are no longer enough. NERC’s latest “Reliability Insights” report calls for a shift...

The 2025 NERC State of Reliability Technical Assessment provides a detailed analysis of the North American Bulk Power System’s (BPS) performance throughout 2024, revealing strong reliability despite facing numerous operational stresses. The report highlights how the grid...

The North American Electric Reliability corporation (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Standard CIP-003-9 has a new sub requirement that requires organizations to implement specific controls to manage and secure vendor electronic remote access to low-impact...

Rising electricity demand forecasts, generation growth, and the increasing pace of change in the resources are key factors to the summer risk profile. The NERC Summer Reliability Assessment evaluates generation resources and transmission system adequacy for the upcoming...