Federal Power Act

Citation
Federal Power Act, Ch. 285, 41 Stat. 1063, codified at 16 U.S.C. §791a et seq., §824 et seq.

Overview
The Act established the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and gave it regulatory authority over interstate sale and transmission of electric power.

Concerns about the vulnerability of the electric grid to cyber attack have increased substantially over the last several years. Although the Energy Policy Act of 2005 gave FERC responsibility for developing reliability standards for power systems, limitations to that authority and to the usefulness of the standards-development process to respond effectively to rapidly emerging cybersecurity threats have raised concerns about the need for enhancing FERC’s authority to address those threats, especially in light of the development of smart grid technology.