Telecom companies have been far ahead of power and other...

type of service that they provide and their infrastructure,” she told us. State commissions have the authority to require utilities to address cybersecurity issues, she said, “because we have to be concerned with not only affordable but reliable” electricity, telecom and other services, Fleming said. The commission hasn’t “felt the need to promulgate any specific regulations on cybersecurity,” she said. “But we can scrutinize and question [companies] concerning those issues when it comes time for rate cases.” If the commission finds “problems with reliability or resiliency” it can step in and ask utilities to act, she said. But the state hasn’t encountered such problems, Fleming said. She said she believes South Carolina is prepared to deal with a cyberattack. “Our state is like the rest of the country,” Fleming said. “Some utilities are more aggressive about this than the others.” Asked whether it was better to have federal cybersecurity standards than have states set their own, Fleming said cybersecurity was an area where federal agencies and state commission should collaborate. “It is important for states to be actively involved,” because in terms of best practices and oversight of utilities “we are the ones best able to deal with that,” she said. “We see the companies on a more intimate or detailed level.”