Not too likely. Most do not envision an end-to-end control scheme. The practical limits of the smart grid are easily surpassed once one tries to move past a simple pricing signal approach across the power carrying grid. Everything else envisioned uses a secondary wired/fiber/wireless local network that is itself isolated from the regional network, county network, State level network, Regional Power (FERC/NERC defined geo-power grids and interconnects), and National level (if ever needed but highly unlikely with reporting at the FERC/NERC levels).

Despite all of the political rhetoric the utility industry is a strong believer in the KISS principle. Hence the high degree of availability of electricity in this country. The pretty pictures our politicians paint for a smart grid and the actual systems that will be deployed are not at all linked. Nor are they really needed to achieve the desired end results.

But you have identified a genuine concern that there is adequate attention to this entire issue of vulnerability to IT enabled hacking at each level of deployment of the smart grid.

Jack Pouchet
Emerson Network Power
www.efficientdatacenters.com

Murphy's Law: also applies to SMART GRIDS.
Get tough on crime - make planting Viruses, Worms, etc a Federal Crime, and start putting hackers in jail or better yet send them to a Turkish Jail never
to be seen again.