U.S. Electricity Grid Vulnerability Demands Upgrades for Homeland Security
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 16, 2009
CONTACT:
Crystal Borde
202-331-4323
cborde@vancomm.com
***INTERVIEW ALERT***
U.S. ELECTRICITY GRID VULNERABLITY DEMANDS UPGRADES FOR HOMELAND SECURITY
Recent reports that cyber spies from Russia, China and other countries have penetrated the U.S. power grid have brought to light the vulnerability of the outdated U.S. electric power system to foreign and domestic attacks. According to Kurt Yeager, executive director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative, the infrastructure upgrades necessary to protect Americans from cyber and physical attacks on our power grid are long overdue.
Evidence from U.S. intelligence organizations dating back as early as 2001 indicates that terrorist organizations have considered an attack on the power grid, demonstrating the grave reality of the threats against the nation’s insecure bulk power system. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Defense underscored the grid’s vulnerability to cyber and physical sabotage, potentially devastating military and homeland security systems and affecting the entire country. Yeager is calling for the implementation of existing technologies to modernize the grid, pointing to smart microgrids as the best solution to address this national security risk. These local, modernized versions of the power grid are able to instantaneously wall off or “island” themselves from problem areas on the grid to prevent massive blackouts. As a result, smart microgrids can protect communities from extensive damage that could result from a terrorist attack targeted at the power grid.
WHO: Kurt Yeager, executive director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative, president emeritus of the Electric Power Research Institute, chair of the World Energy Council Study on Energy and Climate Change and co-author with Robert Galvin of the book, Perfect Power: How the Microgrid Revolution Will Unleash Cleaner, Greener, and More Abundant Energy
WHY: “Our interconnected and highly visible electric power system is extremely vulnerable to even relatively unsophisticated attacks,” said Yeager. “This degree of insecurity is the result of our reliance on an aging, outmoded electric power system that is primarily built from 1950s technology. The technology exists to modernize and secure the grid today, and the best approach to implementation will come in the form of smart microgrids. Even the U.S. Department of Defense has become a leading proponent of installing smart microgrids on military installations domestically and abroad to eliminate these threats.”
WHEN: Interviews are available by request.
Contact Crystal Borde at 202-331-4323 or cborde@vancomm.com.
The Galvin Electricity Initiative, launched by Robert W. Galvin in 2004, has brought together the nation’s leading electricity experts to reconstruct our electric power system into one that is more affordable, reliable and fuel-efficient. The Initiative has created innovative business and technological blueprints for the ultimate smart grid: the Perfect Power System, a smart microgrid that meets the needs of 21st century consumers. For more information on Perfect Power and smart microgrids, visit www.galvinpower.org.
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