SPP announced Jan. 3 that it has selected Felek Abbas as its next chief security officer, effective immediately, to oversee the RTO’s cyber and physical security, emergency management and business continuity.

CEO Barbara Sugg said Abbas has the necessary expertise to help SPP address the “challenges presented by a global cyber threat landscape.”

“Cyber and physical security is a very real risk to the electric utility industry,” she said.

Abbas has nearly 30 years of electric industry experience in cybersecurity, engineering, consulting, risk management, audit and compliance. He most recently served as senior manager of cybersecurity for power and utilities at Ernst & Young, where he supported clients with cybersecurity program transformations in both IT and operational technology.

He has additional experience as a NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) compliance adviser and auditor, where he helped shape and implement the NERC CIP v5 cybersecurity standards. Abbas also has operational experience as a SCADA engineer at Progress Energy, Mirant Corp. and Georgia Power. He holds an electrical engineering degree from Auburn University and is a certified information systems security professional.

Sam Ellis, SPP vice president of information technology, will transfer his security responsibilities to Abbas and focus on future grid strategies and ensuring the RTO has the right technologies to support the organization’s strategic aspirations.