Electrical co-ops and public power utilities provide service to about a 100 million Americans, including many rural parts of the nation and counties with persistent poverty. They have many of the same concerns about both physical and cybersecurity as investor-owned utilities, but different challenges in terms of terrain, staffing and resources.

On this episode, we focus on those challenges and how utilities in rural parts of the country are coping. Our guests are John Ransom, director of regulatory affairs for grid security for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and Adrienne Lotto, senior vice president for grid security at the American Public Power Association. 

John and Adrienne discussed some of those unique challenges, how they work with state regulators and how something like high turnover in state energy offices can complicate their efforts. 

Resources

• American Public Power Association
• National Rural Electric Cooperative Association