WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2016 - Energy Secretary
Ernest Moniz called for increased investments
in the ability to respond to energy emergencies during a recent field hearing of
the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in Seattle. In his
testimony, Moniz stressed the need for “comprehensive and coordinated response
capabilities in the face of increasingly integrated energy systems and an
evolving threat environment.”
Moniz detailed the Energy Department’s
increased role in emergency response coordination as it relates to recovery
from natural and manmade events, such as severe weather, natural disasters,
electromagnetic pulses (EMPs), the impacts of climate change, aging
infrastructure and cyber threats.
“The Department of Energy uses its expertise
in transformative science and technology solutions to support and enhance
our nation’s emergency response capabilities. Through our private and public
partnerships, we apply these solutions to prepare for emergencies, mitigate
risks and expedite restoration and recovery from incidents impacting the energy
sector,” Moniz said. “Looking ahead, Congress will be a key partner in ensuring
that we strengthen our prevention and response capabilities.”
Moniz cited the April 2015 Quadrennial Energy
Review (QER), which concluded that in key areas, the country’s energy and
related infrastructures have not kept pace with changes in the volume and
geography of oil and gas production, and that integrated North American
electricity grids and energy markets have increased the need for joint grid
security strategies.
“The U.S. has new responsibilities for
protecting LNG export supply chains. We also remain large net crude oil
importers but now are large net oil product exporters as well as exporters of
some crude oil; thus, we remain directly tied to world oil markets and global
oil price volatility,” said Moniz.
Allies and other key partners have significant
energy supply and infrastructure vulnerabilities, as was exposed by the 2014
Russian incursion in Ukraine, said Moniz. In response to this aggression, the
U.S. and its G-7 partners developed a set of broad and collective energy
security principles, Moniz said, of which two are especially important:
·
Putting in place emergency response systems, including reserves
and fuel substitution for importing countries, in case of major energy
disruptions; and
·
Improving energy systems resilience by promoting infrastructure
modernization and supply and demand policies that help withstand systemic
shocks
“Intentional, malicious challenges and natural
threats to our energy systems are on the rise. The manmade threats continually
increase in sophistication,” said Moniz. “Our energy infrastructures are
vulnerable to such threats, are aging, and increasingly interdependent and
reliant on electricity. The electricity system, end-to-end, is the focus
of the next major installment of the Quadrennial Energy Review, targeted for
late this year.”
In a related announcement, the Energy
Department says it will
provide up to $34 million in funding, subject to appropriations, for 12 projects
representing energy sector organizations in nine states. The funds will come
through the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability’s
Cybersecurity of Energy Delivery Systems (CEDS) program, “in order to better
harden energy systems against attacks.”
The projects will include cybersecurity
education for energy sector professionals and research and development of tools
to strengthen protection of the nation’s energy infrastructure from
cyberattacks. A list of the award selections is available here.
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