Information systems telecommunications and cybersecurity

Our Study Committee continues to see rapid change across Information Systems, Telecommunications and Cybersecurity, driven in large part by the rise of digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI). Like many industries, the power sector is actively experimenting with AI to improve efficiency, decision-making and safety. We are already seeing practical benefits: for example, utilities are using machine learning with drones and robotics to reduce the effort and risk of asset inspections.

As the grid becomes more dynamic—with more distributed energy resources (DER) and large new loads such as data centres—AI is increasingly explored for forecasting, system planning and operational decision-support. Many organisations are also exploring Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to securely query internal knowledge bases, though questions of data privacy, sovereignty and cost remain key considerations. To support our community, we have established new working groups to examine these emerging AI topics.

Cybersecurity pressures continue to grow as DER expand the number of parties exchanging operational and market information. This increases the need for strong, consistent cybersecurity practices across all participants. While many regions have adopted frameworks such as IEC 62443, ISO 27001, and region-specific regulations, gaps remain—particularly for smaller DER participants. Utilities worldwide are strengthening their security posture through SOC capabilities, zero-trust principles, identity management and improved processes.

Telecommunications modernisation also remains a priority. Many utilities must maintain legacy TDM networks while deploying newer technologies such as IP-MPLS, MPLS-TP, segment routing and SD-WAN. Trends like IEC 61850 digital substations, WAMPAC/WAMS (Wide Area Monitoring, Protection and Control / Wide Area Monitoring System), virtualisation and edge AI are reshaping network requirements and will drive continued innovation in telecom architectures.

We are at a pivotal moment: the Energy Transition is accelerating data growth and communication needs, while AI and advanced telecommunications create new opportunities for a smarter, more secure and more resilient grid. Study Committee D2—together with all CIGRE Study Committees—aims to remain a central forum for sharing knowledge, enabling collaboration, and supporting the safe and efficient evolution of our global power systems.

Mission and scope

Mission

Study Committee D2's mission is to develop, facilitate collaboration, and disseminate knowledge within the power industry in the areas of Information Systems, Telecommunications, and Cybersecurity

Principal areas of interest

• The use of information technology and data, including extraction, analysis and processing in the domain of power system, to enable a reliable and efficient system.
• The transport of information technology and data in the domain of power system, to enable a resilient telecommunications and networking infrastructure suitable for critical systems.
• Securing of information and safeguarding of critical power systems to ensure continuity of supply and safety of the power system operation.

Scope

Interoperability and data exchange

between Electricity Network Grid Operators, System Operators, Market Operators, Generation Companies, Industrial Product Manufacturers, Telco Operators, ICT services providers, Energy Regulators, Certification Entities

Telecom network technologies and management:

• Studying and considering telecommunication technologies and architecture evolution
• Assessment of technologies and architecture to ensure business continuity and disaster recovery
• Telecommunication network management when deploying new technologies and architectures

Implementation of the networks of the future:

• Monitoring of experiences and proof of concepts of smart technologies Impact on the existing ICT systems such as telecommunication network and equipment
• SCADA, enterprise business functions (Smart Grid Architecture Model domain)

New digital trends used by EPU and new business services:

• Monitoring on the field experiences on the deployment of digital equipment such as IEDs, PMUs, IoT, Fog and Cloud Computing, Network Function Virtualization, as well as the processing of large quantity of information (big data) in the domains of asset health, system operation, smart metering.

Cybersecurity:

• Assessment and promotion of best practices, tools, and solutions of cybersecurity from field equipment (protection) to corporate IT supporting the whole resilience strategy along the system life cycle: design, implementation, testing, operation, and maintenance.
• Cybersecurity challenges related to new devices, technologies and DER interconnection and the additional data exchanges between Transmission System Operators, Distribution System Operators and Significant Grid Users, as required by the flexibility management of future grids.

Membership

SC D2 consists of the 32 regular members, 3 additional regular members and 10 observer members representing over 43 countries.

Advisory Groups

Publications

Technical Brochures

No technical brochures have been published in 2025.

Webinars

Presenters: Renata Fernandes (BR) and IGNAD (DK)

The webinar was presented as part of NGN, in a collaboration between the Danish and Brazilian National Committees. It is now available for free to all CIGRE members at eCIGRE.

The webinar will delve into how AI can revolutionize the structure of legacy documents related to Protection, Control, and Supervision Systems (PCSS). Participants will learn about the challenges of unstructured data in asset management and discover AI solutions that automatically organize this information into centralized, searchable databases, improving efficiency and reliability in operations and maintenance.

Additionally, the webinar will introduce Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) as a cutting-edge method for accelerating power system simulations. Attendees will explore how PINNs provide faster and more accurate results, significantly reducing computational costs and enhancing the scalability of simulation platforms, especially with the growing integration of renewable energy sources.

The session will also feature real-world applications and case studies demonstrating the successful implementation of AI data structuring and PINNs in power system management. Practical insights and strategies will be provided to help participants adopt these technologies within existing infrastructure to achieve optimal operational results.

Finally, the webinar will address future trends and implications of AI and neural network technologies in the power industry. Participants will engage in discussions on emerging developments, learn how to prepare for these advancements, and understand how to leverage these innovations to stay ahead in the dynamic energy sector.

Overall, this webinar aims to equip attendees with the knowledge and tools to harness the power of AI and neural networks for smarter, faster, and more reliable power system management.

Telecommunications Technology for Critical Networks

Presenters: Abubakar Maaroof (Cisco), Emmanuel Waegebaert (Belden), John Tan & Bert Klaps (Huawei), Prof. Xinzhou Dong. Moderated by Thuthukani Biyela (SC D2 South Africa), foreword by Victor Tan (SC D2 Chair), Kurt Dedekind (SC C6 Chair).

The webinar was presented as part of the Africa Task Force, in a collaboration with The South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE).

 The webinar had a special focus on Migration from SDH to Meet Technological Advancements in Power Grids, covering different technology alternatives and themes, like SD-WAN, Optical Transport Networks, MPLS-TP and Teleprotection applications.

Security Mechanisms over R-GOOSE Messages

Presenters: Carlos Pimentel (CIGRE Brazil), Fabio Bruns (CIGRE Brazil)

The webinar was organised by CIGRE SC D2 Brazil.

This CIGRE presentation, delivered by members of the Next Generation Network, explored security mechanisms for Routable-GOOSE (R-GOOSE) messages within the context of substation digitization and the IEC 61850 standard. As modernization increases the attack surface for threats like data interception and tampering, the presentation details how R-GOOSE (defined in IEC 61850-90-5) enables communication over Wide Area Networks (WAN) while utilising security measures such as AES encryption and HMAC signatures to ensure confidentiality and integrity. Through two case studies involving 5G networks and IED simulations, the presenters demonstrated that while cryptographic signatures maintain viable latency levels (averaging roughly 30ms) compared to the higher processing overhead of encryption, IEDs remain vulnerable to specific false data injection attacks if parameters like state numbers are manipulated. The presentation concluded that R-GOOSE is a viable and secure solution, provided it is deployed with careful consideration of application latency requirements and additional network hardening strategies.

Article in Future Connections Newsletter

D2 has published an article in “Future Connections Newsletter” in 2025.

• “The AI debate needs balance. The power systems industry should help” by SC D2 Advisory Group 01 Secretary Rachel Berryman (DE)

Articles in ELECTRA

• December 2024: SC D2 Annual Report, by Victor Tan and Marcelo Araujo
• April 2025: CIGRE D2 Roundtable, by Thuthukani Biyela
• October 2025: The Human Factor: Why Usable Security is Critical for the Power Grid, by Victor Tan

Article in CSE

• CSE N.36, February 2025 – Publication of the paper “Quantum Key Distribution for MPLS-TP Traffic Encryption” by Ramon BÄCHLI, Mohammad-Amin SHOAIE, Rouven FLOETER, Vivek PALANGADAN and Axel FOERY

CIGRE SC D2 International Roundtable

On March 5, SC D2 held an International Roundatable in Barcelona.

With over 60 participants from more than 30 countries, joining both in Barcelona and online, professionals in the global power sector had the opportunity to share their experiences and have technical discussions. During the event, SC D2 deepened its collaboration with other international bodies such as IEC and IEEE.

CIGRE Trondheim Symposium 2025

From May 12 – 15, in Trondheim – Norway, the CIGRE Symposium was held, with the theme "Changes Needed in the Power System – for the Energy Transition"

During the event, SC D2 had its annual meeting, WG meetings, SC D2 Green Book Update kickoff meeting and its Paper Presentation Session.

Workshop

“Cybersecurity Perspectives on Regulation, Standards and Technical Developments”

Moderator : Louise Watts (AU)
Presenters: G. Dondossola (IT), R. Terruggia (IT), Junho Hong (US), Chen-Ching Liu (US), Y. Shneck (IL) and E. Andersen (DK)

This workshop brought together six cyber security experts for four technical presentations aimed at providing a comprehensive reference on critical regulatory, technical and architecture developments in the energy sector.

The key focus areas included:

• Regulatory insights and compliance challenges
• Standards shaping cybersecurity for power systems
• AI and automation in cyber threat detection
• Secure comms protocols (ICCP)
• Advanced SOC design for grid resilience
• Future-proof cryptographic technologies

The event attracted close to 150 onsite participants, and the audience remained engaged throughout the workshop by actively responding to survey questions and participating in the panel discussion through Q&A.

SC D2 Meeting

Chair: Victor Tan (SC D2 Chair), Secretary: Marcelo Araujo (SC D2 Secretary)

During the SC D2 meeting, country representatives provided the trends and observation in their country’s power systems.

A workshop style discussion was held with break-out groups, resulting in a very constructive dialogue among all members.

We had the pleasure of several guests participating, including Dr. Kingston Zhang who represented ISO/IEC as a liaison member, and Gösta Kallner from the 450 Alliance.

D2 Paper Session

Chaired by Victor Tan
Paper Review Coordinator: Peter Ceferin

PS1: Cybersecurity & Data Protection in Power Grids

Moderator: Peter Ceferin (SI)

There were 80 people on site. 11 papers were written by authors and accepted on the topic of Cybersecurity & Data Protection in Power Grids, eight of these were presented at Session 1. Across the session’s contributions, a common thread emerges around designing defence-in-depth for the digital power grid, with practical and feasible solutions.

The presented papers underscore that progress in grid cybersecurity is not just theoretical, but depends on practical, holistic architectures, attack-aware analytics, trustworthy identity frameworks, practice-oriented testbeds, and forward-looking cryptography. Each paper illuminates a complementary facet of that bigger picture, with direct implications for the real-world challenges faced by professionals in the field.

Presentation of the papers was followed by a panel discussion. During the panel discussion, two topics that are very important for cybersecurity and data protection in the electric power industry were discussed:

• Cybersecurity threat landscape in electric power utilities (EPU).  As we face an ever-expanding landscape of cyber threats, the discussion was on trends we see in identifying and managing risks, how we see the cybersecurity threats to power systems evolving over the next 3-5 years, and what attacks can be expected to be the highest threat.
• OT cybersecurity in electric power utilities. The discussion focused on the most significant challenges we see in protecting OT (Operational Technology) systems compared to traditional IT systems that EPUs face today.

PS2: Digital Transformation & Emerging Technologies

Moderator: Marit Owren Valmot (NO)

There were 110 people on site. The paper presentations covered a variety of topics, ranging from digital twins and virtual reality to artificial intelligence and predictive models.

There was also a panel discussion, with experts Rachel Berryman (DE) and Maissa Rharrab (BE). The following topics were covered:

• The main challenges for our industry on a 1-5 year scale in the area of digitalisation for the power industry
• Digital twins: where we are at, current realistic use cases, and where this technology could bring us
• Artificial Intelligence for the power industry and the value it has provided to us so far. Use cases such as demand/supply forecasting, and generative AI for knowledge management.
• Oher advances and technologies that will positively contribute to the power industry, in the area of information system, such as robotics and edge computing.

PS3: Advanced Communication & Networking in Power Systems

Moderator: Vitor Meneguim (FR)

There were 65 people on site. Different papers were presented reflecting the transformation of power utilities through innovation in telecommunications.

The experts Vincent Audebert (FR) and Ramon Baechli (CH) shared their knowledge in the panel discussion. The following topics were covered:

• Legacy TDM network replacements: main factors, concerns and new technology options
• Wireless and cellular technologies: benefits and limitations in mission-critical applications
• Cyber-security in Telecommunications: strategies and best practices keeping operational efficiency
• AI in Telecommunications: where it is being used and the challenges to wider adoption

CIGRE Montreal Symposium 2025

From Sep 29 – October 03, in Montreal – Canada, a CIGRE Symposium was held, with the theme "Grid Enhancement, Strategic Planning, Technological Innovation and Climatic Adaptation for Resilient Future Energy Systems"

SC D2 assisted in this event by reviewing synopsis and papers related to its themes of interest. Also, during the Symposium, SC D2 had a paper presentation session, chaired by member Essi Shams (CA) with two preferential subjects:

• PS 01: Cybersecurity & Smart Communications for Resilient Power Grids
• PS 02: AI-Driven Innovation & Cybersecurity in Modern Power Grids

Active Working Groups

The total number of Working Groups at the end of 2025 is 23, gathering more than 270 experts from 44 countries. New Working Groups launched in 2025 are:

• D2.62 - Efficient spectrum allocation and utilisation for electric power industry private communication networks
• D2.63 - Inter-Control Center Communications Protocol (ICCP) Security and Resilience for Grid Reliability
• D2.64 - Application of AI in Cybersecurity Defence of Power Systems
• D2.65 - Optical Transport Communication Networks for Electric Power Utilities
• D2.66 - Low Voltage Power Line Carrier Communications Application
• D2.67 - Power Embodied Intelligence Technology and Application
• A3/D2.52 - Application of Digital Twin in Switchgear

Core and Business Systems

JWG B2/D2.72 - ConditionMonitoring and Remote Sensing of Overhead Lines
WG D2.49 - Augmented reality /  Virtual reality to support Operation and Maintenance In Electric Power Utilities
WG D2.52 - AI Application and Technology on Power Industry
WG D2.53 - Technology and Applications of Internet of Things in Power Systems
WG D2.56 - Interdependence and Security of Cyber-Physical Power System
JWG A2/D2.65 - Transformer Digital Twin – concept and future perspectives
JWG B3/D2.62 - Life-long Supervision and Management of Substations by use of Sensors, Mobile Devices, Information and Communication Technologies
WG D2.57 - CIM (Common Information Model) Methodology
WG D2.59 - Intelligent Computing for Power Industry
WG D2.60 - Consumer-side Digital Models and Twins Application

Cyber Security

WG D2.51 - Implementation of SOC in EPI as Part of Situational Awareness SysteM
WG D2.54 - Regulatory approaches to enhance EPU’s cybersecurity frameworks
Plus: Active link with IEC TC57 WG15, on IEC 62351

Telecommunication infrastructures or services

WG D2.44 - Usage of public or private wireless communication infrastructures for monitoring and maintenance of grid assets and facilities
WG D2.55 - Application of 5G Technology to Smart Grids
WG D2.58 - Monitoring, Maintenance and Control of Packet Networks & Services – From Situational Awareness to Network Control
WG D2.61 - High Voltage Power Line Carrier Communications Current State and Future Application

Future Activities

The 2026 Paris Session planning and paper review is currently in progress.

Contact

• Contact of the Chair and/or the Secretary of the Study Committee