(Washington, DC) As smart grid technologies take hold, two key technical challenges, maintaining consumer privacy and network security, will require constant diligence by utilities, experts told attendees today at UTC's Smart Grid Policy Summit. "I've told people to focus on what is unique to the smart grid," National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Senior Cyber Security Strategist Annabelle Lee said. NIST is charged with developing cyber security requirements that will be adopted as industry requirements by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

"The difference with the smart grid is the granularity of the information," she said. "The functionality will not change with the smart grid. We'll still get electricity and a bill every month."

"Privacy is about control," Lillie Coney, Associate Director, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), said. "Control over information about ourselves." Coney urged the industry to adopt fair information practices in order to protect privacy and instill consumer confidence. "Transparency is key to customer trust in the grid."

Establishing security and protecting privacy is an uphill battle. "I'm painfully aware of how daunting these challenges can be. The best regulations in the world can't protect consumers from criminals," Orjiakor Isiogu, Michigan Public Service Commissioner said. In protecting consumers and the grid, "we should seriously consider the possibility of worst case scenarios."

The privacy issues are relevant to not only consumers, but also businesses. "There will be a lot of information about lives in the home but also about businesses and what make them competitive," former Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Suedeen Kelly said. "Who should decide these [security and privacy] questions? I actually don't have an answer to this question but I'm hoping that you do," Kelly told the attendees.