FEBRUARY 2013

A POLICY FR A MEWOR K 

FOR THE 21ST CENT URY 

GRID: A PROGRESS REPORT

FEBRUARY 2013

A POLICY FR A MEWOR K 

FOR THE 21ST CENT URY 

GRID: A PROGRESS REPORT
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT 

NATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20502 

February 2013 

Dear Colleagues: 

I am pleased to transmit “A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid: A Progress 

Report,” an update to the original Policy Framework released in June 2011. This new report 

summarizes recent Federal Government actions to deliver on the promise of a 21st century grid 

while fostering job growth, innovation, and consumer savings. The report was prepared by the 

Subcommittee on Smart Grid of the National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on 

Technology.

In March 2011, President Obama laid out a blueprint charting a new era for American 

energy—one in which the National economy is fueled by a wide variety of domestic energy 

sources designed and produced by American workers. This commitment to an “all-of-the-above” 

energy strategy requires continued attention to and investment in America’s electric 

infrastructure. Among the actions recently taken in support of that commitment are: 

 investing in the development and deployment of smart grid technologies and transmission 

infrastructure to improve resilience—reducing the incidence of power outages and 

enabling quicker power restoration when outages occur; 

 empowering families and businesses with easy and secure access to their household or 

building energy data in a standard format; 

 establishing new interoperability standards to spur private-sector innovation; and 

 launching new programs to address critical grid security needs and strengthen the 

cybersecurity of critical infrastructure. 

Going forward, the Administration will continue to work with states, the electric sector, 

and other stakeholders to modernize grid infrastructure, develop new tools for a clean energy 

economy, empower customers, and foster innovation. In so doing, the United States will 

continue to lead the way toward a clean energy future.

Sincerely,

John P. Holdren 

Assistant to the President for Science and Technology 

Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy 

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About the National Science and Technology Council

The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) is the principal means by which the Executive 

Branch coordinates science and technology policy across the diverse entities that make up the 

Federal research and development enterprise. A primary objective of the NSTC is establishing clear 

national goals for Federal science and technology investments. The NSTC prepares research and 

development strategies that are coordinated across Federal agencies to form investment packages 

aimed at accomplishing multiple national goals. The work of the NSTC is organized under five 

committees: Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainability; Homeland and National Security; 

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Education; Science; and Technology. Each of 

these committees oversees subcommittees and working groups focused on different aspects of 

science and technology. More information is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/nstc.

About the Office of Science and Technology Policy

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) was established by the National Science and 

Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976. OSTP’s responsibilities include advising 

the President in policy formulation and budget development on questions in which science and 

technology are important elements; articulating the President’s science and technology policy and 

programs; and fostering strong partnerships among Federal, state, and local governments, and the 

scientific communities in industry and academia. The Director of OSTP also serves as Assistant to the 

President for Science and Technology and manages the NSTC. More information is available at 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp.

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Table of Contents

A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid: A Progress Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1. Enabling Cost-Effective Smart Grid Investments 2

2. Unlocking the Potential of Innovation in the Electricity Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

3. Empowering Consumers & Enabling Informed Decision Making . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

4. Securing the Grid 9

Conclusion 11

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A Policy Framework for the 

21st Century Grid: A Progress Report

In March 2011, President Obama laid out a blueprint charting a new era for American energy – one in 

which our economy is fueled by a wide array of domestic energy sources designed and produced by 

American workers. This commitment to an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy requires continued investment in a 21st century electric infrastructure.

Building a smarter, more modern power grid will: enable cleaner electricity generation; improve 

power reliability and resilience; support a growing fleet of electric vehicles; and increase opportunities 

for families and businesses to make informed choices about their energy use. A modernized electric 

system will also provide a foundation for innovative new products and services that can help families 

and businesses save money. 

In June 2011, the Obama Administration released “A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid: Enabling 

Our Secure Energy Future,” which highlights the benefits of a modernized electric system in the United 

States. Produced by the Cabinet-level National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), the Policy 

Framework sets four guiding principles to ensure that all Americans benefit from investments in the 

Nation’s electric infrastructure:

1. Enabling Cost-Effective Smart Grid Investments

2. Unlocking the Potential of Innovation in the Electricity Sector

3. Empowering Consumers and Enabling Informed Decision Making

4. Securing the Grid

This report summarizes Federal Government progress in these four areas and the range of recent steps 

taken to deliver on the promise of a 21st century grid, including: investing in the development and deployment of smart grid technologies and transmission infrastructure; improving access to household or building energy data in formats useful to families and businesses; establishing new interoperability standards 

to spur private-sector innovation; and launching new programs to address critical grid security needs.

The President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2013 recognizes that full modernization of the electric grid will 

require sustained effort over years and decades and that there is no “one-size-fits-all” technology solution 

to modernizing the grid. That is why the fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget maintains strategic investments 

in smart-grid research and development (R&D), standards development, and cybersecurity that focus 

on finding diverse, cost-effective solutions for a more intelligent, flexible, secure, and reliable electricity 

infrastructure. The Administration will continue on this path forward while seeking new and innovative 

ways to work with states, the electric sector, and other stakeholders. The sections that follow describe 

progress to date toward advancing the four principles laid out in the June 2011 Policy Framework.
A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid: A Progress Report

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1. Enabling Cost-Effective Smart Grid Investments

To maintain a competitive edge in the global economy, the United States must act strategically to ensure 

the quality of its critical infrastructure, including the electric grid. Upgrading the Nation’s transmission 

and distribution infrastructure offers improved reliability, resilience, and efficiency of the Nation’s power 

supply; greater consumer empowerment; and more opportunities for innovation in the energy domain. 

Investing in these improvements—which include nearly 11,000 miles of new or improved distribution 

and transmission lines in FY 2012 and 10.8 million smart meters installed since the beginning of this 

Administration—provide both immediate and long-lasting economic benefits for local communities 

and America as a whole. The examples below represent just some of the significant steps taken to foster 

investment in a smarter grid.

Modernizing the grid: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) provided 

the single largest smart grid investment in U.S. history ($4.5 billion matched by an additional $4.5 

billion from the private sector), funding both the Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) and Smart Grid 

Demonstration (SGD) programs, among other programs, to spur the Nation’s transition to a smarter, 

stronger, and more efficient and reliable electric system. As in other areas of the economy, Federal 

investments in the energy sector provide support and incentives to industry stakeholders. The resulting 

upgrades will improve energy-savings choices for consumers, increase operational efficiency and grid 

reliability, and foster the growth of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. 

Strategic investments made through the Recovery Act continue to help:

• Avoid and recover from blackouts. The 2003 Northeast blackout started when a high-voltage 

power line brushed against overgrown trees to cause a local outage, which ultimately spread 

to affect 55 million people, contributed to six deaths in New York City, cost an estimated $7-$10 

billion, and caused four million Detroit residents to boil their drinking water for four days. This 

event would have likely been contained to Northern Ohio if advanced grid sensors were in 

place. Recovery Act funds have helped enable the deployment of hundreds of such sensors (343 

since June 2011). In total, 800 advanced grid sensors will eventually be deployed, compared to 

only 166 that were in place before the Recovery Act. Collectively, these sensors will allow grid 

operators to track, in real-time, nearly 100 percent of the grid system—allowing them to better 

manage power fluctuations across the transmission system, reduce disruptions, and keep the 

Case Study: Electric Power Board (EPB) of Chattanooga

EPB of Chattanooga is installing approximately 1,200 advanced automated feeder switches as well as 

sensor equipment for 164 distribution circuits. When completed in 2013, EPB of Chattanooga expects that 

the $226 million effort will result in a 40 percent or greater decrease in customer-minutes lost to power 

outages, saving local businesses and homeowners at least $35 million a year. These benefits are already 

beginning to materialize. For example, after a strong, unexpected storm knocked out power to millions of 

people on the East Coast in June 2012, EPB of Chattanooga found that the outages were cut by at least half 

due to smart grid investments, and the utility had a 55 percent reduction in duration of outages (58 million 

avoided minutes of customer interruption). EPB of Chattanooga calculates that the expedited restoration 

saved the utility $1.4 million, which does not include savings from a broader community perspective.
1. Enabling Cost-Effective Smart Grid Investments

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lights on for more Americans. To maximize the benefits of this investment, the Department 

of Energy (DOE) and National Science Foundation (NSF) are co-funding research to develop 

analytics and visualizations for the information generated from these advanced grid sensors.

• Improve efficiency of the grid. Using digital technology to automate and improve the management of the grid can help reduce the amount of electricity that is lost in the transmission 

and distribution system as waste (which is currently estimated at around five percent of the 

total amount generated). As of September 2012, approximately 5,000 distribution circuits have 

been upgraded with digital technology and are already improving the value and performance 

of the electric grid for homes and businesses nationwide. Roughly 3,000 of these circuits have 

been upgraded since June 2011.

• Increase intelligence of electric meters. Smart meters, which generally record energy usage 

in hourly or 15-minute increments (compared to monthly usage records provided by older 

meters), securely provide consumers with potentially useful data, such as when and how they 

are using electricity. This enables consumers to more actively participate in the management of 

their energy use. Advanced metering systems can also help utilities improve outage management, including by providing information on the location and extent of outages. More than 12.9 

million smart meters have been installed during this Administration under the Recovery Act, 

with 6.2 million of those meters coming online since June 2011. By the end of 2014, Recovery 

Act funding will have supported the deployment of 15.5 million smart meters.

• Add energy storage capacity. Investments in new energy storage technologies are increasing 

the Nation’s ability to store electricity for use during times of increased demand. Advanced batteries and innovative storage technologies such as flywheels and compressed air energy storage 

are being developed and optimized for grid-relevant applications. These technologies will grant 

grid operators greater flexibility to incorporate electricity from renewable sources and help them 

manage the national electric grid more efficiently. The Recovery Act has invested $185 million 

and leveraged extensive private sector funding (valued at $585 million) in 16 energy storage 

projects across 10 technologies. Three of these projects are already operational, with five more 

likely to be up and running by the end of 2013.

• Train new workers. Maintaining a sufficiently large and appropriately skilled workforce is 

a significant challenge for the electric sector. Under the Recovery Act, smart grid workforce 

training awards comprising nearly $100 million across more than 50 projects are creating training opportunities for individuals to gain skills for grid-related career tracks. These grants have 

benefited military veterans by helping them connect to well-paying civilian opportunities. To 

date, all the projects have been initiated, two awards have been completed, and $46.2 million 

has been distributed.

Supporting rural infrastructure: The Administration has taken significant steps to improve the lives 

of rural Americans and support rural communities. In their capacity to support clean energy, energy 

efficiency, and economic growth, smart grid technologies are a central part of this commitment. The 

Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service (USDA-RUS) is a major source of infrastructure financing for more than 600 rural utilities, including electric cooperatives. USDA-RUS loans to support smart 
A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid: A Progress Report

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grid investments in rural America reached $250 million in FY 2012. The 54 loans cover projects across 

24 states and include investments to support over 11,000 miles of new and improved distribution and 

transmission lines, as well as smart meters, geographic information systems, control systems, and other 

technologies. In total, since 2011, more than $3.7 billion in USDA-RUS loans to rural electric systems 

have financed the expansion of smart grid infrastructure to increase operational efficiencies and help 

manage costs for consumers in rural and remote communities.

Leveraging Department of Defense (DOD) capacity: DOD is the Nation’s top energy user. In FY 

2011, the cost of electricity to operate 160,000 vehicles and power 300,000 buildings on DOD installations—including barracks, data centers, offices, and hospitals—totaled $4 billion. This makes DOD 

an appropriate place to promote energy technology innovations, including smart grid technologies, 

which reduce costs, promote efficiencies, and increase the security of facilities. At the same time, DOD is 

uniquely positioned to overcome traditional boundaries in this high-risk domain because it can use its 

own facilities as test-beds for promising new technologies and quickly scale-up innovations that prove 

effective. For example, through the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program, DOD is 

demonstrating advanced micro-grid technologies on some of its military installations. Microgrids link 

small, stand-alone electricity-generation sources to small distribution systems in order to reduce day-today energy costs by allowing for load balancing (the ability to store excess power during low demand 

periods for use at later times) as well as demand response (using customer incentives to lower energy 

use during periods of high demand). These mechanisms allow facilities to shed non-essential loads to 

help utilities avoid overall outages; and enable facilities to maintain mission-critical loads if and when 

the grid goes down.

Case Study: Tri-State Electric Membership Cooperative (Tri-State)

Tri-State, a distribution rural electric cooperative serving Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, has 

replaced conventional electromechanical meters with solid-state smart meters and implemented 

advanced service programs to give customers greater control over their energy use and costs.

With its newly installed smart metering system, Tri-State is able to provide several new service options, 

including: (1) two-way communications that allow customers to monitor their electricity consumption and 

take steps to better manage their electric bills; (2) a voluntary, pre-payment program that replaces high 

deposit costs with affordable new service fees; and (3) a web portal that provides daily alerts to help customers save money by making informed decisions about their electricity usage. Research indicates that the 

daily alerts help residential consumers reduce their electricity consumption by an average of 10 percent. 

The Tri-State project has also helped customers detect and troubleshoot faulty appliances and equipment.

Tri-State’s smart meters have reduced the company’s operation and maintenance costs by providing better 

system information and tools to improve outage management. With the new metering system, the company knows instantly when and where outages occur. As a result, Tri-State spends less money to provide 

more reliable service and ultimately passes along the savings to its customers.
2. Unlocking the Potential of Innovation in the Electricity Sector

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In FY 2011, a DOD investment of $4 million supported four micro-grid projects, and in FY 2012, an investment of $9 million funded nine such projects. Proposals are currently under review to select additional 

projects to begin in FY 2013. Taken together, these projects will improve the energy security of our 

military operations and save taxpayer dollars.

2. Unlocking the Potential of Innovation 

in the Electricity Sector

Government entities provide both basic resources and a level playing field for grid-related innovations 

that empower citizens and grow the Nation’s economy. For example, the Federal Government actively 

supports the development of consensus-based electric industry standards; promotes efforts to make 

energy data more readily and widely available; ensures rigorous protection of privacy for consumers; 

and continually seeks out greater energy efficiencies and improved environmental stewardship. Some 

of the recent steps taken by the Administration to catalyze innovation in these domains—including 

by fostering the creation of new tools and services and supporting entrepreneurship in the electric 

sector—are described below.

Developing new tools and services: Open data from the Federal Government and other sources can 

be a powerful tool for private-sector innovation. In 2012, the Administration launched the Energy Data 

Initiative to provide entrepreneurs and innovators with newly available and previously underutilized 

data, and to catalyze the development of new products and services to ensure a reliable energy future. 

Also in 2012, DOE launched the “Apps for Energy” challenge that resulted in 57 ideas for new and innovative web-based and mobile applications. The challenge resulted in a number of winning submissions in 

Case Study: The Department of the Navy’s Grid Modernization Efforts

With nearly 25 percent of the Department of the Navy’s shore budget spent on utility bills, management of 

its energy resources requires modern tools and analysis. That’s why the Navy is deploying advanced smart 

meters across 102 bases worldwide. Deployment and installation projects have already begun. Current 

pilot projects will support the development of best practices and cost-effective solutions that are replicable across the Navy’s remaining installations. By September of 2014, the Navy expects to deploy 26,900 

smart meters, thereby enabling intelligent management of the consumption of electricity, water, gas, and 

steam at each base. To date, 10,983 smart meters have been installed at 53 bases, with 9,145 installations 

occurring since June 2011.

The Navy is also piloting a flagship Smart Power Partnership Initiative to leverage existing and planned 

energy investments inside installation fence lines; enhancing partnerships with energy suppliers; responding quickly to grid outages; and increasing the use of alternative energy to increase combat capability, 

reduce overall dependence on petroleum, and mitigate energy security risks. Cost savings have come 

largely from reduced demand and from participation in significant utility demand-response programs in 

emergencies or when prices peak. Initial findings from San Diego-area installations will be used to validate 

the concept and potentially export it to other large Navy and Marine Corps base areas.
A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid: A Progress Report

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a range of important sectors, including residential and commercial utility customers, electric vehicles, 

ENERGY STAR buildings, and others. DOE also provided nearly $3.2 million in Phase I award funding to 

projects that will demonstrate tools and services to help consumers make more informed decisions 

about their own energy consumption through improved access to their own electricity consumption 

data. For Phase II, DOE will select one Phase I award recipient and apply the tools and software to an 

entire service territory, region, or community. 

Setting common standards: Interoperability standards make markets more efficient, help open new 

international markets to U.S. manufacturers, and reduce the costs of providing reliable, safe power to 

U.S. households and businesses. The Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP), which was initiated by 

the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and consists of more than 750 domestic and 

international member organizations, has developed and continually maintains a catalog of standards 

relevant to smart grid implementation. The SGIP convenes smart grid stakeholders to build consensus 

in the standards-making process and make progress on identified priority actions. Since June 2011, 41 

new standards have been formally added to the new SGIP Catalog of Standards—with robust support 

from state regulators. Also, in October 2011, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted 

an order to affirm its rules for Accessing Broadband over Power Line (BPL) Systems. Electric utility companies use BPL to manage elements of their power distribution operations. The affirmed rules provide 

increased clarity and certainty, and help balance the needs of BPL users (including utility companies 

and others interested in smart grid and other broadband applications) with the need to protect radio 

service users from potential radio frequency interference from BPL systems.

Setting national-scale frameworks: In July 2011, FERC and DOE submitted to Congress a proposal to 

implement a National Action Plan that would help the Nation realize its demand-response potential—

the potential to lower energy consumption during periods of high use through customer incentives 

and other mechanisms. Per Congressional direction, the proposal identifies actions that can be taken 

by Federal, state, and private-sector organizations to maximize the amount of cost-effective demand 

response achieved in the Nation; design requirements for a communications program and materials to 

support demand response; and analytical tools for demand-response design, evaluation, and analysis. 

As part of FERC’s National Action Plan on Demand Response, and with funding from DOE, FERC and DOE 

have convened working groups of experts to determine in four key areas what remains to be done to 

allow demand response to achieve its intended benefits. Reports from all four groups will be issued in 

the first quarter of 2013. ERC is also continually working to ensure that new technologies are included 

in competitive energy markets; rates are designed to reward utilities for their speed and accuracy; and 

there is greater flexibility for customers as they face changing system conditions. Finally, the U.S. Energy 

Information Administration (EIA) is currently modifying its data collection strategy to begin robustly 

tracking aggregate, national deployment of smart grid technologies such as advanced meters and 

distribution automation equipment. EIA anticipates implementing these changes in January 2014 when 

it initiates a call to collect retrospective 2013 data. Once collected, the data will provide deeper insight 

into the Nation’s ongoing transition to a more modern grid.

Promoting public, private, and peer-to-peer collaboration: To better catalog and share best practices 

and information, DOE has hosted six regional Smart Grid peer-to-peer workshops across the country in 

partnership with local utilities. The workshops bring together utility representatives and other stakehold-
3. Empowering Consumers & Enabling Informed Decision Making

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ers to engage in dialogue to identify lessons learned and best practices for technical implementation and 

customer engagement. As a result of these workshops, DOE has established a community of practice 

and a growing repository of lessons learned that can improve project execution, encourage accountability, and reduce duplicative experimentation. DOE also continues to provide technical assistance to 

state public utility commissioners on smart grid topics through its use of independent experts as well 

as through a collaborative project involving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the 

National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). The FERC/NARUC Smart Response 

Collaborative provides a forum for Federal and state regulators to discuss smart grid and demandresponse policies, share best practices and technologies, and address other issues.

3. Empowering Consumers & Enabling 

Informed Decision Making

This Administration has sought to empower consumers with the information and tools needed to make 

informed energy decisions. When armed with data about their own energy use, homeowners and 

building owners have more opportunities to save on their bills while also saving energy and reducing 

pollution.

Increasing access to customer data: In order to save energy, consumers must first understand how 

they use energy. That is why the Obama Administration has partnered with the utility industry to make 

it easier for electricity customers to get secure online access to their own household or building energy 

use in computer-friendly formats.

• The Green Button: Through industry commitments, the Green Button provides consumers 

with easy-to-understand information about their own energy use. These data are empowering 

families and businesses to make better-informed decisions about their energy use. As of October 

2012, more than 16 million homes and businesses have access to Green Button functionality to 

download their data. Utilities and service providers serving an additional 20 million customers 

plan to make the feature available shortly, and the number continues to rise. With the 35 current utility commitments, more than 36 million households and businesses will have access to 

Green Button data and be able to use web and smartphone apps to, for example, pick the best 

rate plan for them; take advantage of customized energy efficiency tips; and better use virtual 

energy-audit software that cut costs and helps get energy upgrades started sooner. Going forward, the Administration will continue working with utilities, regulators, and the private sector 

to enable Green Button Connect My Data—a functionality that helps customers automatically 

and securely transfer their Green Button data to authorized third parties. Utilities in California 

and the Mid-Atlantic serving more than 11 million customers, as well as three utility vendors, 

have already committed to this innovative opt-in feature, which makes it easy for families and 

businesses to take advantage of energy-saving opportunities and services, and catalyzes further 

customer-centric innovation by utilities.

• Mapping access to energy data: In March 2012, DOE launched a set of maps that show the 

access that consumers in different regions have to their own utility bill data, in consumer-friendly 

formats. More than 796 utilities have already completed the data access questionnaire that 

allows their data to be added to the maps.
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• Smart disclosure: In September 2011, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued 

guidelines on smart disclosure, an initiative to encourage timely release of complex government information and data in standardized, machine-readable formats to help consumers make 

informed decisions. Similar to nutritional labeling or automobile fuel-economy labeling, smart 

disclosure is a way for the Federal Government to ensure that consumers know what they are 

purchasing and are able to compare alternatives. In many cases, smart disclosure also enables 

third parties to build tools that help individual consumers make more informed choices in 

the marketplace. The NSTC has established a task force to develop guidelines for making data 

from consumer markets available and useful for consumer decision-making in this domain. 

In addition, the U.S. Open Government National Action Plan committed the United States to 

build on this work in order to promote better disclosure policies. And, in early 2013, a new smart 

disclosure data community was launched on data.gov to provide centralized access to more 

than 400 smart disclosure data sets and resources from dozens of agencies across government.

Protecting customer privacy: As part of a comprehensive blueprint to improve consumer privacy 

protections, strengthen trust in companies that handle personal data, and ensure that the Internet 

remains an engine for innovation and economic growth, the Administration released, in February, 2012, 

a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. By adapting Fair Information Practice Principles to the digital economy, 

the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights provides companies with clear rules of the road and serves as a guide 

for consumers to understand what they can and should expect of companies that handle personal data.

Improving user experience: There is no one-size-fits-all smart grid. Consumers make different choices 

based on their own cost, comfort, and energy preferences. Understanding consumer behavior and decisions in the context of these preferences can help optimize the operation of the smart grid. To that end, 

with support from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, DOE is supervising 11 consumer behavior 

studies that examine customer acceptance of and response to smart-grid-enabled programs, such as 

time-based pricing (in which rates vary depending on the timing of energy use), and investigating 

whether behavioral responses are sustained or diminish over time. DOE will analyze project results and 

disseminate interim and final conclusions within the 2013- 2015 timeframe. In another effort to improve 

end-user energy experiences, EPA is exploring the potential benefits of strategically connecting ENERGY 

STAR product functionality to the smart grid. EPA and its ENERGY STAR partners are focusing initially on 

Case Study: Gulf of Maine Research Institute – Portland, Maine

In Maine, all 7th- and 8th-grade public school students are issued laptop computers with Internet access as 

part of their educational experience. The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) will leverage that program and the rapidly growing network of smart electrical meters in Maine households, to help put energy 

conservation at the center of science and math learning in that region. Through its PowerHouse program, 

GMRI will give 7th- and 8th-grade students access to their families’ electricity consumption data. The 

objective is to test innovative digital learning and energy saving strategies, thereby affecting household 

attitudes and behaviors towards energy consumption and patterns. GMRI has begun testing the effectiveness of the PowerHouse concept with students and teachers and, thanks to its selection as a DOE Smart 

Grid Data Access award recipient, GMRI will expand the program during the 2012-2013 school year.
4. Securing the Grid

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residential refrigerators and freezers, room air conditioners, climate controls, and pool pumps, which, if 

connected to the smart grid, could potentially communicate with other devices in a home and enable 

information-sharing between and access control from networked devices such as personal computers, 

televisions, and smart phones. In the future, such connectivity could enable preferential operation of 

electricity systems when costs are lower or when renewable sources of energy are more plentiful.

4. Securing the Grid

Cybersecurity is a significant and evolving challenge for the electric system given the wide variety of 

deployed technologies and the dependency of so many sectors and networks on electricity. Protecting 

this critical system from cyber-attacks and ensuring that it can recover quickly in the event of an attack is 

vital to national security and economic well-being. To address this concern, the Administration is taking 

several preemptive measures to enhance the safety and resilience of the grid.

Improving critical infrastructure cybersecurity: In February 2013, the President signed an Executive 

Order to strengthen the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure industries, including the electric power 

sector. The Executive Order strengthens the Federal government’s partnership with critical infrastructure 

owners and operators to address cyber threats through (1) new information sharing programs to provide 

both classified and unclassified threat and attack information to U.S. companies and (2) the development of a framework for cybersecurity practices to reduce cyber risks to critical infrastructure, led by the 

National Institute of Standards and Technology in collaboration with industry partners. Alongside the 

Executive Order, the President also released the Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Presidential 

Policy Directive, reflecting the Federal government’s commitment to partner with owners and operators 

to secure our Nation’s critical infrastructure against evolving threats. This Presidential Policy Directive is 

focused on clarifying Federal roles and responsibilities; integrating physical security and cybersecurity 

analysis and situational awareness; improving information sharing; and increasing the Federal government’s effectiveness, so that it can better partner with critical infrastructure owners and operators.

Promoting a performance-based cybersecurity culture: In January 2012, under DOE’s leadership 

and in coordination with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and electric industry partners, the 

Administration launched the Electricity Sector Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model Initiative. By 

combining elements from existing cybersecurity efforts into a common self-evaluation tool that can 

be used across the industry, the Maturity Model enables the prioritization of network protection investments and provides valuable insights to inform investment planning, research and development, and 

public-private partnership efforts in the electric sector. In addition, in May 2012, DOE, NIST, and the North 

American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), released the Electricity Subsector Cybersecurity Risk 

Management Process (RMP) Guideline, which provides utilities and their vendors a flexible approach 

to managing cybersecurity risks across all levels of an organization. Then, in September 2012, FERC 

established the Office of Energy Infrastructure Security (OEIS)—a new center for identifying and reducing potential risks from cyber-attacks and such physical threats as electromagnetic pulses. Both the 

Maturity Model Initiative and RMP Guideline align with the Roadmap to Achieve Energy Delivery Systems 

Cybersecurity, which was developed by industry, facilitated by DOE, and released by the Administration 

in September 2011. The Roadmap provides a strategic framework to achieve the vision that, over the 

next decade, resilient energy delivery systems are designed, installed, operated, and maintained to 

survive a cyber-incident while sustaining critical functions.
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Setting cybersecurity guidelines for the smart grid: Cybersecurity for the Nation’s electric grid is 

a shared responsibility that requires constant vigilance, commitment, and cooperation among the 

public and private sectors. Since July 2011, DOE and North American utilities have worked together 

to augment a library of security profiles for smart grid functionality through the Advanced Security 

Acceleration Project for the Smart Grid (ASAP-SG), an industry-government collaboration to accelerate 

smart-grid security standards development. In addition to the previous years’ security profiles covering 

advanced metering infrastructure, third-party data access, and distribution management, ASAP-SG 

in 2012 developed and released security profiles for Wide-Area Monitoring, Protection, and Control 

(Synchrophasors), and a security profile for Substation Automation. The ASAP-SG has also published a 

Smart Grid Security Profile Blueprint and a white paper entitled “How a Utility Can Use ASAP-SG Security 

Profiles” that help clarify the frameworks, tools, and methods needed to create and customize smart 

grid domain-specific security profiles that should be applied to the procurement, implementation, and 

configuration of smart grid systems. Complementing this work, NIST’s Cyber Security Working Group 

has completed over 65 reviews of identified smart grid standards and requirement documents, and 

has published recommendations to incorporate cybersecurity throughout the smart grid systems’ 

development lifecycle. These recommendations help promote secure and interoperable smart grid 

technologies and implementation methods. The compiled standards will facilitate the development 

and implementation of secure, interoperable smart grid systems and the design of effective mitigation 

plans for managing cybersecurity risks.

Promoting Physical Preparedness and Resilience: The Administration is also acting to better understand and manage physical threats to critical electricity assets. For example, DHS is working extensively 

to identify and prepare for risks that electromagnetic pulses (EMP) pose to the Nation. Specifically, DHS 

is working internally and with external stakeholders to reduce risks associated with EMP by exercising 

various response scenarios and developing plans to help address these evolving threats. In addition, 

to improve the recovery response of the grid in the aftermath of physical disruptions to extra-highvoltage (EHV) transformers, a critical component of our Nation’s transmission grid, the DHS Science 

and Technology Directorate developed the Recovery Transformer (RecX) program that has designed, 

built, and recently demonstrated a small and light modular prototype EHV transformer that is easier to 

transport and install than conventional units. In a March 2012 demonstration, one RecX prototype was 

transported, installed, commissioned, and energized in less than one week—a dramatic reduction in 

potential recovery time compared to conventional solutions. The prototype is currently in operation in 

the grid and being monitored for performance validation. The program is currently working with various 

stakeholders, Federal and private, to determine the best path forward for transitioning the technology 

to industry to increase the resilience of our power grid. 
★ 11 ★

Conclusion

Smart grid technologies and programs represent an evolution in how the Nation’s electricity system 

operates. Going forward, the Administration will continue to support grid modernization efforts that 

benefit all Americans by remaining committed to the four guiding principles laid out in the 2011 Policy 

Framework: enabling cost-effective smart grid investments; unlocking the potential of innovation in the 

electricity sector; empowering consumers and enabling informed decision making; and securing the 

grid. With tools for a clean energy economy, opportunities for consumers to engage and save money, 

efficiency benefits for utilities, and new areas for innovation, a smarter, modernized, and expanded 

grid can serve as a platform for American leadership in a clean and secure energy future and power a 

National economy that is built to last.