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GAO-21-105403 1 (2021-09-20)

handle is hein.gao/gaomep0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Context and Federal Role The nation's grid delivers electricity that is essential for modern life. However, the grid faces risks from events that can damage electrical infrastructure (such as power lines) and communications systems, resulting in power outages. These outages can threaten the nation's economic and national security. They can also disproportionately affect low- income groups, in part because such groups have fewer resources to invest in backup generators and other measures to minimize the impact of outages. Even though most of the electricity grid is owned and operated by private industry, the federal government plays a key role in enhancing grid resilience. - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for coordinating the overall federal effort to promote the security and resilience of the nation's critical infrastructure sectors. - The Department of Energy (DOE) leads federal efforts to support electricity grid resilience, including research and technology development by national laboratories. - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reviews and approves standards developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the federally designated U.S. electric reliability organization. Key Issues The electricity grid faces multiple risks that can cause widespread power outages. Risk_ Examp Extreme weather and climate change More frequent and intense extreme weather and other risks due in part to a changing climate, can affect electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. For example, in February 2021, extreme cold weather that spread from the Canadian border as far south as Texas caused record winter demand for electricity and left about 4.5 million customers in Texas, along with about 376000 customers in Louisiana and Oklahoma, without power. In September 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria caused widespread power outages in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. As a result, the chronically ill often did not have access to electricity to power their medical devices, such as ventilators (see OAO-21- 346 and GAO-21-274). Cyber- and The electricity grid is vulnerable to cyberattacks, particularly on physical attacks the systems that control electric power generation, transmission, and distribution. These systems were once isolated from the internet but now are increasingly connected, which poses opportunities for attackers. In March 2019, a cyberattack on an electric utility serving parts of California, Utah, and Wyoming resulted in a communications outage that prevented utility staff from monitoring and controlling the system. A cyberattack could also seek to disable a security system to facilitate a physical attack (e.g., damaging electric grid components) against a utility's infrastructure (see CA&1-8 GAO-19-332 and QA1L117). Electromagnetic events Electromagnetic events, which can result from natural phenomena (e.g., geomagnetic disturbances from solar storms) or a weapon that creates an electromagnetic pulse, can disrupt e C s Earte computers and harm electronics. They can also cause significant E agnetic f damage to critical electrical infrastructure, such as transformers, which facilitate the efficient transfer of electric power. For example, in 1989, an extreme solar storm caused wide-scale Sr wind damage to the Hydro-Quebec power system in Canada. Although such effects are rare, the damage left 6 million customers without power for up to 9 hours (see GAO-1998, GAO-1867, and GAO- 16-243). Sources: Prior GAO work (text); Federal Emergency Management Agency (top image); Songaboutsummer/stock.adobe. com (second photo from top); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (bottom image). I GAO-21-105403 Page 1 GAO-21-105403 Electricity Grid Resilience Page 1 GAO-21-105403 Electricity Grid Resilience

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