i nitr ares 0%rnatt WASHINGTON DC 20510 March 26 2019 Mr James Robb President and Chief Executive Of cer North American Electric Reliability Corporation 1325 Street NW Suite 600 Washington DC 20005 Dear Mr Robb We write to request information regarding the North American Electricity Reliability Corporation s NERC efforts to protect the reliability of the nation s bulk power system from supply chain vulnerabilities particularly those posed by vendors from Russia and China The Energy Policy Act of 2005 PL 109 58 and subsequent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission certi cation in 2006 require NERC to establish and enforce reliability standards for the bulk power system We are deeply concerned about companies from Russia and China in light of recent statements by the Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats Director Coats noted that China and Russia are more aligned than at any point since the mid-19503 and the relationship is likely to strengthen in the coming year 1 China according to Director Coats has the potential to take down a natural gas pipeline and Russia has the ability to disrupt an electrical distribution network Unfortunately China and Russia have signi cantly expanded their cooperation especially in the energy military and technology spheres since 2014 2 The federal government has taken some action On September 13 2017 the Department of Homeland Security DHS issued a Binding Operational Directive3 which barred products from the Russia-based Kaspersky cybersecurity rm from being used across all federal government information systems DHS explained its actions by noting that the Department is concerned about the ties between certain Kaspersky of cials and Russian intelligence and other government agencies and requirements under Russian law that allow Russian intelligence agencies to request or compel assistance from Kaspersky and to intercept communications transiting Russian networks 4 We understand NERC alerted its members immediately after DHS issued its release of the risks posed by using Kaspersky products With respect to speci c Chinese companies the statement of an ally is telling The Director- General of the Australian Signal s Directorate Mr Michael Burgess noted that Australia banned 1 2 119161 3 4 Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE from being able to participate in Australia s new 5 mobile network because such participation would prevent the electricity grid and other infrastructure from being protected 5 The Federal Communications Commission has proposed action that would discourage Huawei and participation in our nation s new 5 network 6 Finally Congress acted in the John S McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 PL 115-232 effectively banning Huawei and ZTE from all federal contracts for telecommunications equipment or services and effectively prohibiting Huawei and ZTE from doing business with US government contractors We fear the same risks posed to the country s federal agencies and departments telecommunications networks and military assets also threaten to impair the reliability of our nation s energy infrastructure As a result we request answers to the following questions 1 Since August 2017 has NERC undertaken efforts to determine whether the bulk power system includes any components or software provided by Kaspersky ZTE or Huawei If so what were the results If not why not 2 Has NERC issued guidance or recommendations to the users owners and operators of the bulk power system for mitigating the potential risks posed by components or software provided by Kaspersky ZTE or Huawei 3 What are next steps to mitigate the potential risks posed by components or software from Kaspersky ZTE or Huawei Your assistance in this matter will continue to ensure the reliability of our nation s energy assets which are critical to the safety security and economic well-being of the country Please provide your response to this letter within 30 days We would be pleased to receive your response in either a letter or a private brie ng Thank you for your consideration Sincerely Angus S K g Jr 0 Joe Manchin 111 United States Senator Ranking Membe enate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 5 spy-chief-says 6