Regulatory Affairs news highlights: October 2025

 

Recent regulatory headlines we’re tracking include:

FERC issues NOPRs proposing to approve revisions to 11 NERC CIP Standards

In two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) issued at its September open meeting, FERC proposed to approve 11 new NERC CIP Standards intended to allow utilities to use virtualization technology, along with a further modification to one of those standards that would improve cyber security at low-impact grid-connected cyber systems. Along with four new and 18 revised definitions for the NERC Glossary of Terms, the NOPRs touched almost every CIP Standard including:

• CIP-002-7 (Cyber Security – BES Cyber System Categorization)
• CIP-003-10 (Cyber Security – Security Management Controls)
• CIP-004-8 (Cyber Security – Personnel and Training)
• CIP-005-8 (Cyber Security – Electronic Security Perimeters)
• CIP-006-7 (Cyber Security – Physical Security of BES Cyber Systems)
• CIP-007-7 (Cyber Security – Systems Security Management)
• CIP-008-7 (Cyber Security – Incident Reporting and Response Planning)
• CIP-009-7 (Cyber Security – Recovery Plans for BES Cyber Systems)
• CIP-010-5 (Cyber Security – Configuration Change Management and Vulnerability Assessments)
• CIP-011-4 (Cyber Security – Information Protection)
• CIP-013-3 (Cyber Security – Supply Chain Risk Management)

NERC stated in its filings that the current versions of these standards prevent entities from taking advantage of security advances made possible by virtualization techniques. The new versions of these standards will allow entities to adapt to emerging risks with forward-looking security models. The NOPRs are available here: CIP-003-11 (Cyber Security – Security management Controls) NOPR, NOPR on Virtualization Reliability Standards.

 

U.S. House of Representatives passes GRID Power Act

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the GRID Power Act (H.R. 1047) on Sept. 18. The legislation would direct FERC to initiate a rulemaking to reform interconnection request procedures to “ensure that new dispatchable power projects that improve grid reliability and resource adequacy can interconnect to the electric grid quickly, cost-effectively, and reliably.”

The bill would also require FERC to update its Large Generator Interconnection Procedures and Agreements to allow transmission providers to submit proposals to FERC to prioritize dispatchable power projects in their queues. These proposals would demonstrate the need for the prioritization and how it would support grid reliability.

The bill would also require public comment and stakeholder engagement before proposals are submitted to FERC and would require FERC to approve or deny the proposals within 60 days of their submission. There is also a companion bill in the U.S. Senate that must be passed, and President Trump must sign before the bill becomes law.

 

U.S. House of Representatives introduces State Energy Accountability Act

A new House bill called the State Energy Accountability Act (H.R. 3157) would, if passed, amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) to require any state regulatory authority that implements an intermittent energy policy to conduct and publicly release an evaluation of that policy’s effects. The evaluation must assess:

• The effects of implementing the policy on the reliability of the Bulk Power System in the State, including an assessment of the adequacy of available electric energy resources over a 10-year period
• The ability of intermittent resources to meet demand during emergencies, high demand periods, and extreme weather
• The effects on electric utility rates
• Whether reliable generation facilities removed from service to comply with the policy can be replaced with resources of equivalent accredited capacity
• The extent to which utilities must rely on out-of-state generation to maintain reliability

The bill says that states would “determine whether to adopt this standard” within one year of enactment and then publish the public evaluations within one year of that determination or the state’s adoption of an intermittent energy policy.