Pilgrim seeks to skip cybersecurity rules
PLYMOUTH — Despite reports of hackers attempting to breach networks connected to U.S. nuclear power stations, one of the nation’s worst performers is looking for a pass from federal cybersecurity requirements.
Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station hopes to skate through its final year and a half of operation without all required cybersecurity measures in place. Entergy Corp., the plant’s owner and operator, submitted a request in March to push out the December 2017 deadline for completion of federal cybersecurity requirements to December 2020.
Operations are set to cease at Pilgrim June 1, 2019, so the requirement would never have to be met.
Currently the plant is classified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as one step above mandatory shutdown, based on its poor performance. Only three of the nation’s fleet of 100 commercial nuclear plants are currently in that performance category.
The recent advisory of hacking attempts from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, coupled with Pilgrim’s request for an extension on cybersecurity requirements, has caused concern among Pilgrim watchdogs.
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