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Thread: Initial Steps Being Taken To Protect Electric Grid From Electromagnetic Pulse Events

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    Initial Steps Being Taken To Protect Electric Grid From Electromagnetic Pulse Events

    Initial Steps Being Taken To Protect Electric Grid From Electromagnetic Pulse Events

    This is good news and better late than never.

    Over the past two years there have been several positive developments to protect the electric grid from electromagnetic pulse (EMP) events – manmade or natural phenomenon that could incapacitate large sections of the power grid. Solar storms, nuclear detonations and on-the-ground attacks by terrorists or saboteurs would lead to a cascading effect of frying electric grid components, resulting in long-term power outages, chaos, and death.The positive developments have occurred in the public policy realm and in important work being done on pilot projects.


    A March 26, 2019 Presidential Executive Order places higher priority on and outlines steps for better coordination among government agencies so that an EMP attack is less likely to occur and better able to be met. Pilot programs in San Antonio and South Carolina, along with ongoing government research, should be widely disseminated and emulated so that large swaths of the electric grid are protected from EMP within the next 10 years.


    Clear Need for Protective Actions


    For decades it has been clear that the United States should protect its electric grid from EMP events. The evidence has included power disruptions from nuclear testing decades ago and solar events that have caused power outages, such as in Quebec in 1989. Numerous independent Congressional EMP commissions have also thoroughly documented the need for protection.


    The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has previously implemented EMP fortifications at some military bases. DoD’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency tweeted on July 7 that it has “expertise for designing comms & elec systems that could withstand EMP – all the way back in 1962!”


    Simply put, it is time to make DoD best practices and other proven technological solutions widely available to utilities so that they can protect critical infrastructure.


    A 2017 report by a Congressionally-authorized EMP commission found, “Across the U.S. government, the DoD and its supporting laboratories and contractors have by far the most knowledge, data, and experience related to the production of and survival from nuclear-generated EMP. However, the DoD has largely failed to make this knowledge available to other government agencies and to the organizations that develop, build, and operate U.S. critical national infrastructure.”


    Pilot Programs are Proceeding


    The most notable pilot project is in San Antonio.
    Read the rest of the article at the link.
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    ... "DoD has largely failed to make this knowledge available to other government agencies and to the organizations that develop, build, and operate U.S. critical national infrastructure.”
    Seems to me the cost will be enormous to insulate everything from EMP, but the old democrat saying goes ... "a trillion dollars here, a trillion dollars there, pretty soon you're talking about some real money."

    Of course, your computer and peripherals are expendable.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lummy View Post
    Seems to me the cost will be enormous to insulate everything from EMP, but the old democrat saying goes ... "a trillion dollars here, a trillion dollars there, pretty soon you're talking about some real money."

    Of course, your computer and peripherals are expendable.
    Two thoughts on that.

    First, we could focus initially on the critical parts of our electrical infrastructure. For example, the huge transformers- they are not made in the US, but in Europe. They cost a lot and are built to specs, so it is a very long lead time item. If there is a major EMP event how long would it take the US to get them made, delivered, and operational? A year or two at least. And if the EMP even affected many countries, that time will approach a decade.

    Second, our grid is outdated and in poor condition although nowhere near as bad as Puerto Rico (haha). So we need to replace it with a modern grid anyway. That new stuff should be shielded. We should also localize it, instead of having three interconnected grids controlling the US energy infrastructure.
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    A white paper was recently released discussing the electric grid and supply chain security- don't allow foreign made electric grid components be delivered with pre-loaded backdoors.

    Ensuring Electric Grid Supply Chain Security: A Matter of National Importance
    Since Trump's May 2020 EO Securing the US Bulk-Power System was signed, the US seems to be for the first time serious about our electric grid security.

    As federal agencies, the electric utility industry and its myriad suppliers and vendors work to ascertain the full breadth and scope of the Trump Administration’s May 1, 2020, Executive Order (EO) 13920, Securing the United States Bulk-Power System, a thought-provoking white paper on the subject has emerged from a former senior Department of Defense official.









    As Protect Our Power has been pointing out more than two years, it is no secret that the supply chain that feeds hardware, critical equipment and cyber assets into our electric grid has become global in nature, and highly vulnerable to inappropriate infiltration. Indeed, as detailed in the latest report Ridge Global/Protect Our Power, gaps in the overall supply chain system “present a clear and present danger to our national security.”


    And while making continuous improvements and upgrades to the electric grid is critical — electricity is the lifeblood of our economy — we cannot make such improvements with hardware or software that is purposely designed to malfunction at some point or, worse, can be remotely activated by a foreign agent after installation to damage or destroy vital equipment or systems.


    The challenge with today’s supply chain – across manufacturers, vendors, and system integrators alike – is that there are no protocols that oversee or guarantee that the hardware or software they provide to utility companies is secure and free from hidden threats. Preventing such threats is a mammoth task that spans industries and activities, from manufacturing and shipping to installation and maintenance, across the globe.
    Read the entire article at the link.



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