On February 16, NASEO issued a statement indicating our strong support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) announcement of the creation of a new Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER). This move was among the top national energy priorities included in NASEO’s Transition Recommendations to the Trump Administration in February 2017.
The longstanding and excellent work of DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability and its Infrastructure Security and Energy Restoration Team is a critical part of the federal-state-industry partnership to strengthen America’s energy emergency preparedness and response across the entire energy system – electricity, natural gas, petroleum products. The work of NASEO’s Energy Security Committee, led by the states, coordinates with DOE to inform federal actions, share best practices among the states, and provide energy emergency – cyber and physical – guidance to the states to address both the regulated and unregulated energy sectors. NASEO supports robust federal funding for these activities, and will work with the DOE, Congress, the energy industry, and other state and local government organizations to ensure the functions of CESER continue the energy-focused and practical approach DOE has brought to the state-federal energy emergency partnership.
The full statement can be found on NASEO’s website here.