Decoded Science

  • Home
  • Headlines
  • General Science
  • Applied Science
    • Calculations
    • Economics
    • Engineering
      • Aviation
      • Civil Engineering
    • Medical Science
      • Health
      • Neuroscience
      • Oncology
      • Veterinary Science
    • Political Science
      • Polling
    • Mathematics
    • Technology
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Computing
      • Electronics
      • Gadgets
    • Social Science
      • Cognitive Science
      • Psychology
      • Sociology
      • Anthropology
        • Linguistics
  • Physical Science
    • Archaeology
    • Astronomy
    • Chemistry
      • Materials Science
    • Geoscience
      • Climate Change
      • The Environment
      • Geology
      • Meteorology
      • Oceanography
    • Life Science
      • Biology
        • Botany
        • Zoology
          • Marine Biology
          • Entomology
          • Microbiology
        • Paleontology
        • Ecology
    • Nuclear Science
  • Theoretical Science
    • Physics
    • Math Theory
  • About Us
    • Contact Decoded Science
    • Ask the Expert
    • Meet Our Experts
    • Meet Our Sponsors:
    • Browse All Articles
    • Subscribe
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use Agreement
  • Support Decoded Science

What Will the November 13 Electric Grid Test Accomplish?

November 13, 2013 by James Gibson Leave a Comment

Share142
+12
Tweet
Share
Pin
144 Shares
United States Power Grid. Image by FEMA.

United States Power Grid – how vulnerable is our power system, and what’ll happen when we test the grid? Image by FEMA.

The television series, Revolution takes place 15 years after the start of a worldwide electrical blackout. There is fear and confusion, even government failure. This could never happen, you might think.

Perhaps not to that extent – but as Matthew Wald points, experts consider the electric grid the glass jaw of industry. These experts do indeed believe that an adversary could land a physical or cyber knockout blow to the grid that would create disruptions on an unprecedented scale; thus the grid test.

Why is the Electric Grid So Vulnerable?

First off, the grid is old, huge and complex. Furthermore, it is controlled by investor-owned companies or municipal or regional agencies, and run by computers and devices that in some cases are themselves antique. Most alarming is the fact that an unknown number of computers are open to the Internet and vulnerable to malware – the impact of a virus is a main scenario of the test.




Would another nation really attack our grid? We, the U.S., have used viruses ourselves to achieve security objectives in conjunction with Israel; the Stuxnet virus  disabled some of Iran’s centrifuges for enriching uranium.

In addition to viruses, we’re also vulnerable to electromagnetic pulses (EMP), which can come from solar activity or be caused by small nuclear weapons exploding at low altitude, frying crucial components.

November 13/14 Grid Test: What Is It?

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), whose standards are mandatory and enforceable throughout the United States and several provinces in Canada, is running the test, GridEx II. Grid Exercise Two is a simulated exercise and will practice NERC and industry crisis-response plans, and attempt to identify actionable improvements, thus building on lessons learned from GridEx 2011.

NERC's GRID EX 11. Image by NERC.

NERC’s GRID EX II will bring our power grid’s vulnerabilities to light. Image by NERC.

Put another way, GridEx 2 is an attempt to explore how governments would react as the loss of the grid crippled the supply chain for everyday necessities; particularly if the outage is for an extended amount of time. In this case, however, the government plans no real outages.

More specifically, it will engage thousands of utility workers, business executives, National Guard officers, F.B.I. anti-terrorism experts and officials from government agencies in the United States, Canada and Mexico – but not everyday citizens. Your power will not be affected.

GridEx II: What Will November’s Power Grid Test Accomplish?

The power grid will not go out in this simulation, but power companies all over the nation will be scrambling to deal with scary scenarios. What’ll come out of the GridEx 2? Recommendations that will, in theory, help harden the grid – potentially even more laws governing the Internet, to keep the grid safe from hackers. In this author’s opinion, major changes are not likely in today’s polarized America.

As reported by Matthew Wald, Curt Hébert, a former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said that “previous exercises were based on the expectation that electricity would be up and running relatively quick after an attack. But now the goal is to educate the federal government on what their expectations should or shouldn’t be.”

Resources

Broad, William J. et al. Israeli Test on Worm Called Crucial in Iran Nuclear Delay. (2011). Accessed November 13, 2013.

NERC. Grid Ex 11. (2013). Accessed November 12, 2013.

Wald, Matthew. As Worries Over the Power Grid Rise, a Drill Will Simulate a Knockout Blow. (2013). Accessed November 13, 2013.

Share142
+12
Tweet
Share
Pin
144 Shares

Filed Under: Geoscience, Headlines, Natural Disasters Tagged With: cyber attacks, electrical grids, GridEx11, national disasters, NERC

Decoded Everything is a non-profit corporation, dependent on donations from readers like you. Donate now! Your support keeps the great information coming!

Donation Information

I would like to make a donation in the amount of:

$500$200$100$50$20$10$5Other
Other:

I would like this donation to automatically repeat each month

Tribute Gift

Check here to donate in honor or memory of someone
Check here if this is a memorial gift
Name of person to be honored:
Send acknowledgement via email
Send acknowledgement via postal mail
Email Name:
Email:
Name:
Address:
City:
State :
Province:
Country:
Postal Code:

Donor Information

First Name:
Last Name:
Email:
Please do not display my name publicly. I would like to remain anonymous
Add me to your mailing list

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Connect with:
Facebook

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About the Author

James Gibson

James Gibson gained an honors degree in Geography from the University of Waterloo, and subsequently a teaching certificate from the University of Western Ontario. He entered the teaching profession, set up the geography ... Read Full Profile

Follow Decoded Science

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
signupheredailydosedecsciv2


Science Everyone's Talking About

  • Genetically Modified Organisms: Pros and Cons of GMO Food Genetically Modified Organisms: Pros and Cons of GMO Food What are the benefits and risks of genetically modified... under Headlines, Health
  • Effects of Poor Sleep: Increased Bickering with Your Partner Effects of Poor Sleep: Increased Bickering with Your Partner New research shows that not only can poor sleep habits... under Headlines, Social Science
  • Martian Water, Vanishing Arctic Ice and Mediterranean Tsunami Risk: Geoscience 6-13 February 2019 Martian Water, Vanishing Arctic Ice and Mediterranean Tsunami Risk: Geoscience 6-13 February 2019 This week's articles include the case for liquid water... under Geoscience, Headlines, Weekly Features
  • Introducing the Factorial: the Exclamation Mark of Math Introducing the Factorial: the Exclamation Mark of Math What is a factorial, and how is the exclamation point u... under Math Theory
  • Did the Temple of Solomon Define Pi in the Bible? Did the Temple of Solomon Define Pi in the Bible? King Solomon's temple featured a 'Molten Sea' that incl... under Calculations, Headlines

Today's Most Popular Science Articles

  • Introducing Math Symbols for Union and Intersection Introducing Math Symbols for Union and Intersection
  • Genetically Modified Organisms: Pros and Cons of GMO Food Genetically Modified Organisms: Pros and Cons of GMO Food
  • Which Chemical Bond is Stronger: Ionic vs. Covalent Bonds Which Chemical Bond is Stronger: Ionic vs. Covalent Bonds
  • Norovirus Facts: 5 Things You Didn't Know About Stomach Flu Norovirus Facts: 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Stomach Flu
  • Cross Multiply to Solve Equations with Fractions Cross Multiply to Solve Equations with Fractions
  • Introducing the Factorial: the Exclamation Mark of Math Introducing the Factorial: the Exclamation Mark of Math
  • Stomach Flu Cramps: Is There Anything You Can Do For Norovirus Symptoms? Stomach Flu Cramps: Is There Anything You Can Do For Norovirus Symptoms?

Copyright © 2019 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

MENU
  • Home
  • Headlines
  • General Science
  • Applied Science
    • Calculations
    • Economics
    • Engineering
      • Aviation
      • Civil Engineering
    • Medical Science
      • Health
      • Neuroscience
      • Oncology
      • Veterinary Science
    • Political Science
      • Polling
    • Mathematics
    • Technology
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Computing
      • Electronics
      • Gadgets
    • Social Science
      • Cognitive Science
      • Psychology
      • Sociology
      • Anthropology
        • Linguistics
  • Physical Science
    • Archaeology
    • Astronomy
    • Chemistry
      • Materials Science
    • Geoscience
      • Climate Change
      • The Environment
      • Geology
      • Meteorology
      • Oceanography
    • Life Science
      • Biology
        • Botany
        • Zoology
          • Marine Biology
          • Entomology
          • Microbiology
        • Paleontology
        • Ecology
    • Nuclear Science
  • Theoretical Science
    • Physics
    • Math Theory
  • About Us
    • Contact Decoded Science
    • Ask the Expert
    • Meet Our Experts
    • Meet Our Sponsors:
    • Browse All Articles
    • Subscribe
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use Agreement
  • Support Decoded Science