Title: Energy
Course: Critical Infrastructure: An Overview > Section: Course Content

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Energy

Energy is a broad term that describes the methods we use to do work. Merriam-Webster defines energy as, “a fundamental entity of nature that is transferred between parts of a system in the production of physical change within the system and usually regarded as the capacity to do work”, or as, “usable power” [1].

This usable power is most often times thought of in the United States in terms of electricity. Electricity is something that we often take for granted.

Why is Energy Critical Infrastructure?

The Department of Homeland Security declared energy as one of the critical infrastructure sectors because of the country’s critical dependence on energy. “…It provides an “enabling function” across all critical infrastructure sectors” [2]. The Sector Specific Agency (SSA) for the Energy Sector is the Department of Energy (DOE).

Energy disruptions which currently tend to have a domino effect on the current electric grid, can have  negative implications on many of the comforts in an American’s everyday life. Disruptions also can result in life threatening situations. Winter loss of electricity can lead to loss of life from lack of heat. Our banking infrastructure relies heavily on electricity to power its security and Information Technology. Emergency services and call centers rely on energy. Transportation and even traffic lights depend on energy too.  Making our energy infrastructure more secure and reliable helps our nation to be more secure.

Electric Grid

The electric grid (or power grid, or electrical grid) is an interconnected network used to deliver electricity from suppliers to consumers [1]. Since 1752, when Benjamin Franklin experimented with lightning to better understand electricity, advances in electricity happened rapidly [3]. Eventually alternating current electricity transmission was established in California in 1908 [4]. The inventions of electric powered devices increased and so did the demand for electricity. This eventually led to the system we have today that we call the electric or power grid [5].

The electric grid is made up of generating stations (power plants) that produce power, high voltage transmission lines that carry power to demand centers, and distribution lines that connect individual customers. Alternating current is used since it is easily manipulated to the proper voltages. In our homes we typically use a 110 volt system. The 110 voltage is not ideal for transmission. Instead, higher voltages are required for transmitting electricity over long distances. A transformer is used in order to step up power for transmission and once the electricity arrives closer to its destination, another transformer is used to step it down to 110 volts for use in our homes [6].

The main U.S. electric grid is divided into three main parts called interconnections. They are the Western Interconnection, the Eastern Interconnection and the Texas Interconnection. Within these interconnections there are control centers (either one center or a consortium of control centers). These control centers monitor and regulate the flow of electricity. The control centers are the deciding parties which constantly adjust how much power is being generated and where it gets transmitted [6].

Need for Improvement

There is much room for improvement in the electric grid of the United States.  The aging infrastructure that makes up the grid is in need of refurbishment, and in some cases replacement. Increased failure rates, interruption rates, and higher maintenance costs all point to the need to improve the grid. The way the grid is currently laid out, it does not allow for one coast to help provide energy to another in the event of such a need. The current grid also has no storage in place for energy. Instead, we currently produce electricity as it is needed. As we run out of fossil fuels it will grow ever more important to maximize the use of renewable energy. Renewable energy often is gleaned from sources like the sun or the wind, and these types of energy need to be stored for the times that the sun is not shining and there is no wind.  The addition of better sensors could help the grid to be more of a self-healing system that could reroute power to avoid outages. The upgrade to a “Smart Grid” system is something that other countries have already implemented, and is now underway in the United States.

In December 2007, Congress passed and the President approved, Title XIII of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. This Act, also known as EISA, provided legislative support for the Department of Energy to work on smart grid, and it also charged NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) with the, “primary responsibility to coordinate development of a framework that includes protocols and model standards for information management to achieve interoperability of smart grid devices and systems” [7]. EISA established the Federal Smart Grid Task Force which consists of thirteen federal agencies and was designed to work collaboratively, “to ensure awareness, coordination and integration of the diverse activities of the Federal Government related to smart grid technologies, practices, and services.  The Task Force will collaborate with DOE's Electricity Advisory Committee and other relevant Federal agencies and programs” [8].   “In January 2013, the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel, fully transitioned to a private/public partnership funded by industry stakeholders in cooperation with the federal government. NIST continues an active role in the SGIP. Current news and member information now resides at sgip.org” [9].

We will cover the Smart Grid in more depth later in this unit.