ATTACK ON SUBSTATION TRIGGERS
NEW GRID SECURITY, Industry, government both alarmed
over threats, 3/26/18, WND
For years the threat has existed. A terror attack on the U.S. power grid could take down a section, causing a domino effect that could lead to a disaster.
A single EMP attack on the grid
could shut down life as America knows it, because without power there would be
no banking, resupply of food, fuel, heat or communications, explains a report
in Joseph Farah’s G2
Bulletin.
But ever since a series of .30
caliber rifle shots penetrated a power transformer in Metcalf, California,
several years ago – an incident some viewed suspected was a practice run for
terrorists since the offenders never were caught – things have begun changing.
There’s actually action being
taken to harden America’s grid to protect the nation’s power supply from
terrorists.
What many Americans would consider a
good step forward was outlined in a new report form the
Congressional Research Service called “NERC Standards for Bulk Power Physical
Security: Is the Grid More Secure?”
“The 2013 attack on the Metcalf
transformer substation marked a turning point for the U.S. electric power
sector. The attack prompted utilities across the country to reevaluate and
restructure their physical security programs,” said the report by analyst
Paul Parfomak.
“It also set in motion proceedings
in Congress and at FERC which resulted in the promulgation of NERC’s CIP-014
mandatory physical security
standards in 2015. Based on discussions
with FERC and NERC staff about utility compliance, as well as a review of
public information about the activities of bulk power asset owners (and the
vendors supplying them), there appear to be physical security improvements
underway among owners of bulk power critical assets.”
The report continued, “The public
record is too anecdotal to assert conclusively that these changes are occurring uniformly and at
every relevant utility, but NERC’s summary compliance reports so far
have been positive.”
The report said there’s still work
to be done.
“Although it is probably accurate to
conclude that, based on the objectives of the CIP-014 standards, the U.S.
electric grid is more physically secure than it was five years ago, it has not
necessarily reached the level of physical security needed based on the sector’s
own assessments of risk,” the conclusion said. For the
rest of this report, and more, please go to Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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