“All
power corrupts but we need electricity”
-Anonymous
Could the United States’ electrical
grid be knocked offline? For months…
What would this do to our society? The United States’ electrical grid is a
national asset for without it, we would quickly revert to the Middle Ages or
worse! Without electrical power, we do not have power for gas pumps,
transportation would be limited, supermarkets will struggle to operate and
resupply their stock, and banks? Investments? Communications require power… yes,
we could live for awhile without food or the stock market, but what about water?
Our water supply requires electricity to power the pumps and to clean the
water.
I spent time in Iraq as a
military leader and as a Diplomat. During my stay, I met a lot of Iraqis. The
people were great, most had the same issues as we in the States, kids’
activities, prepping the children for University or jobs, finding useful work
or creating a small business… While working with the Iraqis I heard many
stories of life in Baghdad after the US military attacks of 2003. Power was
knocked out; that’s when the city people of Baghdad realized they had no water
for drinking, septic system or showers.
Eventually the government was able to provide a few hours of power a day
and that allowed people to fill their bathtubs and storage containers with
water… But what if the power didn’t come back?
The United States’ electrical
power grid has approximately 2,000 very large transformers; these transformers
are critical pieces of the power grid. The transformers take months to build
and cost millions of dollars each. These transformers a custom made for a
location, hard to replace. These custom-made transformers which allow electricity
to flow through the grid from the power plant to your home, without the
transformers it is like having a bridge out along a large canyon, it is not
easy to get across
The US has about 6000 power plants.
According to the Department of Energy, damage to high voltage transformers could
keep a power plant offline while replacement transformers are procured which
may take months, possibly years. See figure 1 for a big picture layout of the electrical
grid.
Figure
1: Electrical Grid (US Department
of Energy, 2006)
Hospitals, government and
many businesses have backup power generators. These generators can provide essential
services, however keeping those running while the electrical grid is repaired
could get complicated. There are a lot of logistics involved in refueling the
diesel generators dispersed throughout a city or county.
Are we safe today? No. In the past year and a half, we have had
at least 2 terrorist attacks on the grid.
Maybe more?
Last year terrorist attacked
a San Jose, CA substation. Referencing a Wall Street Journal account of the incident (Smith, 2014) ; the attack began
around 1 am April 16, 2013. Multiple coordinated attackers were involved, how do
we know multiple attackers were involved? The attack took place at multiple
locations and surveillance video recorded the attackers using flashlights to
signal each other. First, the attackers cut telephone lines then they used
sniper rifles with precision to knock out 17 large transformers that sent power
to Silicon Valley. Fortunately the power was quickly routed from others parts
of California to cover the shortfall.
On 10 June 2014, a power
plant in Nogales, AZ was attacked with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). An
IED was left next to a valve of a 50,000 gallon tank of diesel gas. Fortunately the IED did not destroy the valve
or rupture the tank of diesel fuel. The tank was charred and the ATF is
investigating. Act of terror… yes.
Bloomberg News has reported
that "dozens" of cyberattacks were made from China on U.S. electric
and gas utilities in 2012 and 2013. Is a cyberattack dangerous? Yes, it is
possible for a coordinated cyberattack to cause more physical damage to the
electrical grid than a conventional attack. It would be hard for terrorist to
target all of the grid with guns and explosives because there are 6000 power
plants, 2000 very large transformers and thousands of critical transformers spread-out
all over the country. However, a simultaneous
attack to power plants and the grid could be programmed through the internet! The electrical grid is vulnerable to cyberattack
because power plants and transformers are connected to the internet, thus
connected to hackers, Chinese and terrorist.
What is being done about the vulnerability
of the electrical grid? Multiple government agencies, departments and utility companies are looking
into safeguarding the electrical grid. I have attended DHS tabletop exercises
on a cyberattack and I participate with the Colorado Emergency Preparedness
Partnership (CEPP). CEPP is an organization designed to allow private businesses,
governmental organizations to work together to prepare for disasters and other problems.
Energy security is an important
topic requiring more discussion. In the next article, we will discuss the
definition of Energy Security and the cost of improving security. Also we will look into what you can do at
your business and home, and what should your elected officials be working on.
Michael James Smyth
References:
·
Smith, R. (2014, 2 5). Assault on California Power
Station Raises Alarm on Potential for Terrorism. The Wall Street Journal.
US Department of Energy. (2006). Benefits of Using
Mobile Transformers and Mobile Substations for Rapidly Restoring Service.
DOE.
Emergency Management Blog 2;
Energy Security 1
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