Sen Bingaman to push for expanded oversight of power grid in cybersecurity bill

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) announced he plans to offer legislation to increase federal oversight of the electric grid as an amendment to a larger cybersecurity bill.

The bill, S. 1342, would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the ability to set and enforce cybersecurity measures for the power grid in emergency situations. “The current reliability system that has emerged is cumbersome and overly complicated,” Sen Bingaman said in opening remarks at a hearing. “When it comes to cyber attacks, I’m concerned that the current system is not adequate.” But whether the bill, which expands the powers of the FERC and the Department of Energy, will attract Republican support remains unclear.