Protecting the nation’s energy infrastructure from all hazards, including the cyber threat, is fundamental to the mission of the Office of Electr...
March 31, 2015
minute read time
Protecting the nation’s energy infrastructure from all hazards, including the cyber threat, is fundamental to the mission of the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. Every day, we work closely with industry, our national laboratories, academia, and federal and state partners to reduce the risk of energy disruptions due to a cyber incident and, if one does occur, mitigate its effects without loss of critical functions.
Maintaining a robust pipeline of innovative technologies and techniques is crucial. Last week’s release of a new Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems research call for the research, development and demonstration of new technologies and techniques that will advance the state-of-the-art is another important step in our efforts to further strengthen resilience of the nation’s energy infrastructure. This research call focuses on eight cybersecurity-related areas, including cybersecurity for renewable and distributed energy resources, forecast data that can affect energy operations, and the use of “the cloud” in energy delivery. It is open only to Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) such as DOE-sponsored national laboratories. Responses are due by May 15, 2015.
When I talk with people about what my Office does, one of the things I always talk about is the vital importance of our partnerships with our private and public partners. With this lab call, we are emphasizing the critical importance of the partnerships DOE maintains with industry and its national laboratories, as embodied in DOE's Grid Modernization Laboratory consortium.
This year has already seen several strong steps in improving cybersecurity of the power grid. Earlier this month, we announced up to $27 million in funding for academic collaborations that will develop and transition advanced cybersecurity technologies to the energy sector. In January, we released guidance to help the energy sector establish or align existing cybersecurity risk management programs to meet the objectives of the Cybersecurity Framework released by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology. And our national laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee announced licensing of its Hyperion software, which helps detect software that has been maliciously altered, to a company that expects to make it available to the energy sector later this month. As the energy landscape continues to evolve, we will continue working with our private and public partners to further strengthen and refine protection of our critical energy infrastructure.
To learn more about the Department’s strategic approach to protecting the nation’s electric grid from the cyber threat, please visit the cyber section of the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability’s website.
Patricia A. Hoffman
Acting Assistant Secretary, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity
Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Electricity (OE) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Ms. Patricia A. Hoffman also served as Acting Under Secretary for Science and Energy from January 2017 until November 2017 when the U.S. Senate confirmed Mark Menezes as Under Secretary of Energy. Ms. Hoffman served as Acting Assistant Secretary for OE from January 2017 until October 2017 when the OE Assistant Secretary was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Ms. Hoffman was named Assistant Secretary for OE from June 2010 to January 2017, after serving as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary since November 2007. The focus of her responsibility was to provide leadership on a national level to modernize the electric grid, enhance the security and reliability of the energy infrastructure and facilitate recovery from disruptions to the energy supply both domestically and internationally. This is critical to meeting the Nation’s growing demand for reliable electricity by overcoming the challenges of our Nation’s aging electricity transmission and distribution system and addressing the vulnerabilities in our energy supply chain.
Prior to her this position, Ms. Hoffman served in a dual capacity as Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Research and Development (R&D) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) within OE. During her tenure as the DAS for R&D, she developed the long-term research strategy and improved the management portfolio of research programs for modernizing and improving the resiliency of the electric grid. This included developing and implementing sensors and operational tools for wide-area monitoring, energy storage research and demonstration, and the development of advanced conductors to increase the capacity and flexibility of the grid. She also initiated a new research effort focused on integrating and distributing renewable energy through the electric grid, such as promoting plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and implementing smart grid technologies to maintain system reliability. As COO, she managed the OE business operations, including human resources, budget development, financial execution, and performance management.
Prior to joining OE, she was the Program Manager for the Federal Energy Management Program within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at DOE. This program guides the Federal government to “lead by example” promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy, and smart energy management. Complementing her building energy efficiency experience, she also was the Program Manager for the Distributed Energy Program, which conducted research on advanced natural gas power generation and combined heat and power systems. Her accomplishments included the successful completion of the Advanced Turbine System program resulting in a high-efficiency industrial gas turbine power generation product.
Ms. Hoffman holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Ceramic Science and Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.