The American Public Power Association has received Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Program funding that will help APPA members assess and improve incident response capabilities.
The funding will go to the Response Beacon program and will:
• Assist with the creation and updating of members’ incident response plans, policies and procedures based on alignment with industry frameworks;
• Provide training to address gaps in plans, policies and procedures;
• Offer exercises to test and improve plans, policies and procedures;
• Develop a toolkit that includes guidance, templates, etc. that will be available for all APPA members to use to improve incident response capacity.
Funding for the four-year effort is just under $2 million.
A total of 20 APPA members from across the country are participating in the program.
Administered by the Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER), the RMUC Program supports critical investments to harden utility systems, deliver crucial technical assistance, and provide cybersecurity training to the utility workforce.
House Reauthorized the Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act in June
The House on June 29 passed by voice vote H.R. 7266, the Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act. This bill would reauthorize the RMUC program through 2030 and authorize $250 million in appropriations.
“APPA is thrilled to report that House of Representatives passed today H.R. 7266, the Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act,” it said in a statement. “The RMUC grant program represents once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve the cybersecurity of under-resources, not-for-profit utilities. Thank you to its sponsors, Rep. Mariannette Miller Meeks (R-IA) and Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA) for their leadership,” APPA said.
At a House hearing in January, Adrienne Lotto, Senior Vice President of Grid Security, Technical and Operations Services at the American Public Power Association, said that APPA strongly supports reauthorization of the RMUC.
