The US is ill-prepared to tackle the myriad of risks that threaten to undermine reliability of the nation’s electric grids, says a group focused on energy security.
(Bloomberg) — The US is ill-prepared to tackle the myriad of risks that threaten to undermine reliability of the nation’s electric grids, says a group focused on energy security.
“Extreme weather events, cyber espionage and domestic terror attacks, combined with increasing demand on aging infrastructure have turned the occasional power failure into alarmingly common events in cities across the United States,” Thomas Coleman, executive director of SAFE’s Grid Security Project, said Tuesday in a statement announcing the publication of its latest report.
The US needs to bolster its cybersecurity defenses to counter the rise and severity of attacks on the system, the Washington-based nonpartisan group said in its report, entitled “Grid in Peril.” The study also called for more infrastructure to meet demand and reliability requirements, a build out of the nation’s transmission system and greater connections between networks.
“A lack of adequate transmission and generation resources are sacrificing the integrity of the power grid and the ability to provide power to homes and businesses when it’s needed most,” the report said. “Our current policies are failing us and are not adequate to overcome the significant challenges that we face.”
The study comes within three weeks of Texas declaring its first power emergency since 2021’s deadly winter storm, the latest example of grid vulnerabilities buckling under pressure from extreme weather.
–With assistance from Naureen S. Malik.
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