Over 370 Organizations Take Part in GridEx VIII Grid Security Exercise

More than 370 organizations took part this week in the latest edition of GridEx, the largest security exercise dedicated to the electricity industry in North America. 

GridEx, which tests both the cyber and physical security of the power grid, is organized every two years by the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC) of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).

In 2023, over 250 organizations took part in GridEx VII. This year’s GridEx VIII saw an increase of nearly 50% in the number of participants, partly due to new participation options providing enhanced accessibility.

GridEx VIII tested participants’ emergency preparedness plans and protocols through a scenario that reflected real-world cyber and physical threats.

A report detailing the lessons learned from GridEx VIII is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2026.

“This year, we saw a 70 percent increase in participation by small- and medium-sized utilities ...