Norwich – Norwich Public Utilities has embarked on a $350,000 cyber and physical security upgrade of the Bean Hill power substation at the Stanley Israelite Norwich Business Park to comply with federal security standards that take effect April 1, 2016.

NPU Program Office Manager Eric McDermott outlined the federal requirements and NPU's upgrade plan for the Board of Public Utilities Commissioners Tuesday night. The project includes both physical perimeter security upgrades and enhanced electronic security measures, said McDermott and Randy Black, NPU chief information officer and informational technology manager.

NPU started working on the project in February and is spreading the costs over two budget years. The project cost includes new equipment and software with increased security, new security policies and procedures and employee training. While only a few NPU officials will have top security electronic access, all employees will be trained on enhanced electronic security measures, McDermott said.

NPU General Manager John Bilda said the project will require some additional ongoing maintenance costs.

The Bean Hill substation, one of five NPU substations located throughout the city, is being done in response under the North American Electric Reliability Corp. Critical Infrastructure Protection federal standards designed to protect the “Bulk Electric System” nationwide. ISO-New England, the operator of the regional power grid, also serves as reliability coordinator, McDermott said.

The upgrades put a new layer of security around the Bean Hill substation, both literally and electronically, McDermott said.

The employee training, to be completed by January, is designed to make all NPU employees aware of the necessity for cyber security and to alert officials if any suspicious activity is detected, McDermott said.

c.bessette@theday.com

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