September is National Preparedness month. Each week of September, FEMA’s website Ready.gov will focus on a different emergency scenario and share tips on how to be prepared in case of floods, wildfires, hurricanes or power outages. The month culminates in National PrepareAthon Day on September 30. Visit Ready.gov for more information. When power outages occur during severe… Keep reading →
The suggestion that ISIS-related militants could team up with Mexican drug cartels to disable the US power grid for an extended period of time seems a bit alarmist, but worth noting, particularly in light of 2 recent substation attacks in California. US power grid vulnerability, be it from cyber attack or direct assault, has been… Keep reading →
With an almost eagle-eye-view of the Rocky Mountains from his office in Denver, Robert Attai advises clients on the emerging field of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), otherwise known as drones. A partner in the law firm of Husch Blackwell, his clients sometime seek advice after acquiring a smaller firm that is using UAS in their… Keep reading →
Social media can be a fun way to keep up with friends, play games and kill time, but it can also be a source of real-time news and a platform used to disseminate critical information during emergencies. You’d be hard pressed to read an online news article or watch a news broadcast on television without… Keep reading →
NY State’s Strategic Gasoline Reserve will hold three million gallons of fuel to prevent emergency supply gaps. On October 26, 2013, New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo launched the first U.S. state-based Strategic Gasoline Reserve as part of the Fuel NY initiative to prevent potential supply gaps during weather events and emergencies, such as… Keep reading →
After many years of essentially never worrying about power delivery, the past decade has brought an accelerating number of service interruptions to the citizens of the United States and steadily raised concerns about the sources of their energy alongside renewed interest in details of the system’s functioning. Those of us who have been working in… Keep reading →
Some innovative California cities are engaging in assurance planning practices to make their energy supply more resilient during a major disaster such as earthquake, wildfire or landslide that could disrupt the normal supply for weeks. Their forward thinking includes the application of renewable distributed generation, microgrids, demand response, and other smart grid techniques and technologies… Keep reading →
A White House and DOE report calls for investments to increase the nation’s electric grid resilience and outlines strategies for grid modernization. On August 12, 2013, the White House Council of Economic Advisors and the Department of Energy (DOE) released a report emphasizing the importance of grid resilience for climate adaptation. The report, titled “Economic… Keep reading →
Post Hurricane Sandy, an influx of electricity workers from various parts of the country came to the New York/New Jersey area to help in the recovery process and to restore power in the region to nearly 10 million people left in the dark. Sandy caused massive flooding of power substations and corrosion of key electrical… Keep reading →
NY state commission asks feds to look into “troubling” relationship between utility and key consultant. The Long Island Power Authority, the target of multiple investigations in the wake of its poor response to Hurricane Sandy, may soon be facing investigation by federal prosecutors as well. A special commission appointed by New York Gov. Andrew… Keep reading →
