Category Archives: commentary
Can Nine Attacks Cause National Blackouts?
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “U.S. Risks National Blackout From Small-Scale Attack,” describes work that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is doing on the vulnerability of the US power grid. The most disturbing of FERC’s conclusions … Continue reading
Defending the Grid
According to recent reports by NPR and the Wall Street Journal, last year’s attack on the Metcalf substation in California was not random. Rather, the attackers targeted equipment to disable it after cutting communications lines. Whether or not the result … Continue reading
More flexibility needed from gas trading
At the recent Austin Electricity Conference (held at The University of Texas), I chaired a panel session that examined the challenges at the gas-electricity nexus. Gas has been an important fuel for electricity in Texas for decades, but in other … Continue reading →