The Electric Power Grid Needs America’s Attention

Richard Lordan is a senior technical executive at the Electric Power Research Institute, where he manages research relating to high-impact, low-frequency events, including geomagnetic disturbance, electromagnetic interference, physical security, severe weather and resiliency.

Updated November 24, 2015, 3:22 AM

A case can be made that the electric power grid is the nation’s most critical infrastructure, based on America's dependence on electricity.

A siloed view of the power system must give way to an understanding of interdependencies among the power sector and other critical services.

Telecommunications, financial systems, transportation, fuel, national defense and emergency services all depend on continuous, quality, power supply. The digitization of society through mobile devices and social networking increases consumers’ reliance on electricity, and reduces their tolerance for even brief outages.

Extreme events such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, heighten society’s sense of dependence on the grid, and the need for it to be resilient.

Other trends and events have focused attention on the need for grid resilience. A 2013 act of vandalism damaged high-voltage transformers in a West Coast substation, bringing scrutiny to the need for enhanced physical security and resiliency. The wide deployment of “communication nodes” throughout the power system raises concerns of cyber and coordinated cyber/physical attacks.

A siloed view of the power system must give way to an understanding of interdependencies among the power sector and other critical services. Risk assessments must include both the impacts of electric power loss will have on other infrastructure, as well as the consequences to the power system from loss of fuel delivery, telecommunications and transportation. Meaningful strategic and operational approaches to grid security, reliability and resilience require collaboration across these sectors and industries.

Broader collaboration will also be required for financing power infrastructure. The U.S. electric grid combines public agencies and private companies, requiring public-private partnerships for the large, long-term financing that’s necessary. For example, both public and private entities participated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which provided funding in transportation, water, sewer, communications and power infrastructure. The investment challenge before us is formidable, but a consensus in government and the private sector can get everyone working to determine what is needed and how best to get it done.