Latin America and the Caribbean Partnership
NREL is supporting USAID's Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean with enhancing energy security in the region through cybersecurity planning.
Power sector utilities and energy-focused entities across Latin America and the Caribbean
face a range of cybersecurity challenges, from ransomware attacks to the need for
stronger awareness and training programs. To address these challenges and develop
a more secure grid, USAID's Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean partnered with
NREL through USAID's Caribbean Energy Initiative and Strengthening Utilities and Promoting
Energy Reform (SUPER) program to offer technical training and assistance.
NREL's efforts focus on strengthening regional capacity for managing cybersecurity
risks by working closely with island-specific utilities, energy authorities, and the
regional utility association, Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corp. (CARILEC)
to provide technical assistance and promote peer learning. Knowledge and insights
from these efforts are shared via the Resilient Energy Platform, enhancing cybersecurity resources for both regional and global application.
Country Support
In addition to working with USAID's regional Latin America and Caribbean bureau to strengthen cybersecurity resilience, NREL is also partnered with other country-level USAID missions across Latin America and the Caribbean to address other advanced energy and energy resilience needs:
Regional Support
In coordination with USAID's SUPER program, NREL conducted cybersecurity assessments in Latin America and the Caribbean using NREL's open-source Distributed Energy Resource Cybersecurity Framework (DER-CF) tool. The DER-CF assessment process equips organizations with actionable insights to fortify their cybersecurity measures, offers recommendations on stronger protection practices for vital power infrastructure, and supports USAID's goal to enhance energy security in Latin America and the Caribbean. With a comprehensive understanding of their cybersecurity needs, energy-focused entities can create a roadmap for future improvements.
NREL helped facilitate DER-CF assessments with:
- Barbados Fair Trading Commission
- Grenada Electricity Services Ltd
- Guyana Power and Light
- St. Kitts Electricity Co.
- Trinidad & Tobago Electricity Commission.
In 2024, NREL provided targeted technical assistance to USAID's SUPER utility partners, building on the insights gained from their DER-CF assessments and implementing partner Deloitte's governance-focused workshop series.
“The DER-CF was very valuable because it gave us a point to get started on a known
standard with a known framework with advice behind it. Before and after we finished,
we could talk to people about it and say, ‘here is what we found and here is what
you should do.' This was very valuable to me personally and my team—to get good direction.”
—Vijay Datadin, divisional director of Informational Technology for Guyana Power and
Light.
In collaboration with CARILEC and the Cybersecurity Working Group, NREL and USAID's SUPER program provide capacity building and technical training as requested by interested stakeholders. Key initiatives include:
- A June 2024 webinar on cybersecurity assessments, hosted by USAID, NREL, CARILEC, and the CARILEC Resilient Energy Community (CAREC) for a cybersecurity working group aimed at regional utilities and other power sector stakeholders
- Support for the launch of the Caribbean Cybersecurity Working Group as a knowledge-sharing platform for cybersecurity issues relevant to the Caribbean energy sector
- Ongoing updates from NREL to USAID SUPER's utility partners on opportunities related to gender and energy sector workforce development
- The May 2022 Caribbean Energy Sector Cybersecurity Forum, hosted by USAID's SUPER program with CARILEC and NREL. (Explore NREL's presentation from the forum: Modernizing and Securing the Grid.)
In partnership with CARILEC and the Caribbean Cybersecurity Working Group, NREL hosted a webinar series aligned with the Resilient Energy Platform's cybersecurity building block, developed by NREL and USAID. Working group members shared insights, challenges, and experiences related to these building blocks during the webinars.
Explore the webinar recordings on YouTube and the Resilient Energy Plat
Governance: A Building Block for Power Sector Cybersecurity (2021)
Cybersecurity Awareness Training: A Building Block for Power Sector Cybersecurity (2021)
Cybersecurity Incident Response (2021)
Technical Controls With a Focus on Operational Technology Network Security (2021)
Issues of Compliance (2021)
Organizational Security Policy (2022)
Risk Management (2022)
Operational Technology (2022).
Additional Resources
USAID and NREL Help Energy Utilities Secure Island Infrastructure, NREL News (2024)
Contact
Share
