A reliable electric transmission grid, backed by resilience, is of vital importance to the economic, security and vitality of the nation. While electric utilities have always planned for recovery from network disruptions, recent events have demonstrated that the grid faces an emerging set of threats, both natural and man-made, that must be considered and mitigated.
Increasing threats to the electrical grid include both physical and cyber-based attacks like the sniper attack on the Metcalf Substation in 2013 and the Ukraine power outage in 2015. Other high-impact, low-frequency (HILF) events include earthquakes, superstorms and other severe weather events, solar flares leading to geomagnetic disturbances and electromagnetic pulses (EMPs).
In the face of these emerging threats, there is a clear need to improve the resilience and recovery capability of the transmission grid. Subscribers to Grid Assurance® services have access to critical, long-lead-time transmission equipment securely stored and readily deployable when needed.