The Various Issue Of The Power Grid

Electric Power Grid Student’s Name Institution Date Introduction In the United States, the electric power grid is a critical aspect of its infrastructure as it is an electric power and distribution system. Due to its complexity, vastness and its scale, the grid has numerous potential issues in the maintenance of such a reliable operation (Knapp, & Samani, 2013). Additionally, over ninety percent of the power grid of the U.S is privately owned and regulated by the specific states. This makes it difficult for the federal government to handle potential vulnerabilities to the power grid’s operation, such as terrorist attacks (Linden, 2007). The paper will analyze the various issue of the power grid that makes it vulnerable to terrorist attacks. It will also highlight potential solutions that will handle these issues effectively. Analysis Due to the geographical reach of the electric power and distribution system, it can carry electricity from massive generators to customers that would be significantly affected by numerous sudden well-informed attack from terrorists (Shadle, 2018). This system is vulnerable due to its transmissions that cover vast distances, and numerous essential power facilities are not guarded sufficiently. This instability is further affected by the power grid initially being developed to satisfy the numerous expectations of integrated utilities that are that are currently being utilized for the distribution of power between areas in the U.S that have a significant demand from new markets that compete for the generation of power (National Research Council, 2013). Attacks such as terrorism especially on power grids would lack a huge negative effect on people in large cities such as Washington D.C.This attack would not initially kill numerous people, but if it were carried out in a cautiously planned manner, by experts, it could deny a substantial region of the country access to necessary bulk system power for an extended period (National Research Council, 2012). Such an event could only lead to widespread public fear, hopelessness, and turmoil, which would have been sufficient for the terrorists. Additionally, if such an outage were to occur during adverse weather conditions, they would lead to numerous deaths due to heat stress or long periods of exposure to severe cold. How power grids are vulnerable to terrorism Significant power system disruptions that have occurred in the U.S have led to adverse economic outcomes. Electric systems are not developed to withstand or immediately recover from the destruction caused at a similar period on various elements of the power grid. This attack can be advanced even further by a highly skilled terrorist organization that has little or no risk of being detected. Well-developed attacks by terrorist groups would leave the entire electric power grid in a large areatemporarily disabled for an extended period. Electric power grids have several power systems that primarily rely on rapid communication, streamlined automation and a centralized equipment control. One of these systems is the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) highlights all accurate data acquired from various substations and sends out this data to the centralized equipment (Koppel, 2015). When ...