Facilitating NERC CIP compliance with secure unified remote IED access control

Recent regulatory requirements in the United States, and the growing complexity of transmission grids worldwide, have prompted the need for greater substation data communications security. Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) required a comprehensive security solution for providing and controlling access to intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) within its substations. Using a combination of commercial hardware and software, in conjunction with software developed by SUBNET Solutions Inc. (SUBNET), PG&E has begun a standardized rollout of the proposed solution to its critical transmission substations. This paper explores the challenges faced by PG&E and other utilities, and the subsequent development of a unified remote IED access control solution.