GAO report examines electricity grid resiliency efforts by DOE, DHS, and FERC since 2013

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently conducted a report on threats to the nation’s electricity grid, seeking to examine grid resiliency efforts implemented by federal agencies since 2013 and the extent to which those efforts might be duplicative and fragmented across various agencies.

In its report, GAO examined relevant laws and guidance, identified a list of federal grid resiliency efforts, and sent questionnaires to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

The report found that the agencies reported implementing 27 grid resiliency efforts since 2013, including initiatives aimed at combating cyberattacks, physical attacks, and natural disasters. The efforts specifically addressed three key federal priorities which include developing tools to enhance awareness of potential disruptions, planning coordinated responses to disruptive events, and ensuring that actionable intelligence on threats are communicated between government and industry in a quick manner.

According to GAO, agency officials said new technologies, such as development of a rapidly deployable large transformer, helped with their efforts on grid resiliency. Some of the initiatives were found to be fragmented across the agencies, but not necessarily duplicative.

An example of the fragmentation included one project to develop the large high-powered transformer, while another focused on developing next-generation transformer components with more resilient features. A third initiative focused on developing a plan for a national transformer reserve.

GAO did not add any recommendations for the agencies in its report.