The University of New Hampshire (UNH) generates and distributes its own power and heat from its combined heat and power plant called the Cogeneration Facility (CoGen for short). The CoGen Facility was in dire need of an infrastructure and software update to modernize and prevent intrusion from cyberattacks.
Over the last two years, Enterprise Technology & Services (ET&S) assisted with this security upgrade by working with UNH Facilities to assist with the hardware and software upgrade required to meet U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) standards. The agency did an onsite investigation to ensure compliance after the work was completed.
This project included the remediation of the plant’s network, equipment, and computer hardware and software, including the relocation of some equipment to another building that provided security, stability and inherent redundancies that did not exist at the CoGen building. ET&S also coordinated numerous third-party vendors for their expertise and support of the equipment.
The CoGen Project Team overcame many challenges during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially where the CoGen plant required in-person and on-campus work. This team worked under New Hampshire State Guidelines mandated by the governor, UNH requirements for COVID-19, pandemic guidelines imposed by various vendor partners, and the dynamics of a large project team that required sensitivity to personal needs during the pandemic. Despite these challenges, all parties worked together to complete the project on time.
The CoGen Project benefitted the University System of New Hampshire by providing a secure, modernized power plant compliant with UNH policy and the latest government standards.
