Securely and Reliably Leveraging Cloud Computing for Grid Operation, Planning, Control & IoT

Cloud computing technology has become mature and highly commercialized in the past decade. It is now a critical infrastructure as vital as power, gas, and fresh water supply. However, power industry is reluctant to adopt it due to common concerns over cyber security and lack of understanding in this state-of-the-art technology. Ironically, many business sectors which are deeply involved with cloud computing, such as healthcare, finance, insurance, and e-commerce, have no less rigid requirements on cyber security than power industry. To adapt to the industry trends and bring emerging technologies to help power grid tackle future challenges, FERC held a technical conference in June 2019 which initiated extensive discussions upon the use of cloud services in utilities. In February 2020, FERC issued a Notice of Inquiry to seek additional comments and suggestions regarding the same topic. FERC also directed NERC to make an informational filing that evaluates possible modifications to the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards to facilitate the voluntary use of cloud computing to perform BES operations by the end of 2021 Despite not being prohibited by regulatory authorities, convincing the electric energy sector to adopt the cloud is still not an easy job. To help the power industry members build confidence on the use of cloud services, it is the time to dispel their misconceptions and address those commonly seen concerns. The objective of this panel is to bring together leading cloud users in power industry, cloud service providers/partners, and other related entities to share their experience and exchange opinions about cloud adoption in power systems, with a focus on how to address the concern over security compliance.