NATIONAL INSECURITY: How Vulnerable is America's Power Grid?

As one of the most consequential and vulnerable aspects of national security, how are we protecting the U.S. power grid?

If the devastating hurricanes, flood, and wildfires of the past few months have taught us anything, it's exactly how vulnerable the U.S. power grid is to both natural and unnatural attacks. And with nearly every aspect of American life depending upon the availability of plentiful, reliable, and continuous electricity, protecting the U.S. power grid is one of the most consequential areas of national security and cybersecurity since it ultimately impacts all other areas. 

The U.S. power grid is a complex network of over 11,000 power plants, 3,500 utilities and substations, with over 2 million miles of high-voltage transmission and low-voltage distribution lines. Together they function as one of the largest machines in the world, producing over 4.18 trillion kilowatthours (kWh) of power per year. The grid in the lower 48 states consists of three separate but interconnected grids: Eastern, Western, and Texas. 

About 60 percent of electricity generated in the U.S. is from fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, petroleum, and other gases. About 19 percent is generated by nuclear energy, and around 21 percent is from renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, and bioenergy.

Each component of the grid infrastructure is essential and vulnerable to attack by Mother Nature and a host of foreign and domestic bad actors.

Most of the grid's disparate components are unprotected and nonredundant, increasing the grid's risk of damage and shutdown. Risks to the power grid include weather events, such as hurricanes, high winds, flooding, and wildfires. Beyond cyber and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks, government over-regulation, along with poor maintenance and management, also leave America's power infrastructure vulnerable.

How Could the Grid Be Attacked?

Most Americans have experienced a short-lived power outage, but what happens if a significant part of the power grid— or the entire grid—is shut down for an extended and indefinite time? 

In late September 2024, part of the southeastern U.S. experienced a real-life example of a grid shutdown that caused massive disruptions to American life. The catastrophic Hurricane Helene and its resulting flooding caused widespread and deadly damage to the power infrastructure. Florida and North Carolina were especially hard hit, impacting everything from water and food supplies to communication, housing, transportation, and healthcare. Nearly five months later, some urban and semi-rural North Carolina areas have returned to normal, while other, more remote areas are still without reliable power today.

While Mother Nature is unpredictable, cyber hackers for the most part are not. Suppose cyber hackers attacked and shut down the U.S. power grid; security experts agree that would cause significant chaos and hardship, especially in urban areas, where most everyday functions rely on electricity. 

Short-Term Inconveniences, Long-Term Chaos

In the first few hours and days of a total grid shutdown, there would be manageable inconveniences like the lack of lighting or heat and air conditioning, which most people would adapt to with candles, or battery-powered equipment, and generators. 

What if the power outage was much more prolonged? Within a few days, a breakdown in essential services would significantly impact the basic needs of most Americans. Water and sewage system failures would occur, creating dangerous public health situations. Life-sustaining medical equipment would be inoperable, causing hardship and death.

Within a week, food supply concerns would mount. Due to the lack of refrigeration, improper storage would lead to food spoilage. Food shortages would necessarily cause the cost of basic food staples to skyrocket. Essential items such as baby formula and vital medicines would become scarce. Catastrophic illnesses would rise, and chaos would increase as panic sets in. Only those prepared people and communities would survive long-term.

As far back as 2015, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, suggested a major EMP attack could result in the eventual death of up to 90 percent of the U.S. population.

Social and Economic Disruption

Much like the economic havoc and destruction that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. would face severe negative social and economic impacts from a significant power grid failure. Businesses and citizens would face major disruptions in the supply chain, employment, transportation, logistics, and medical care causing long-term and lasting losses, financial instability, increased uncertainty, illness, and even death.  

Decreased access to reliable communication and trustworthy information would increase overall anxiety and frustration among the public, likely creating social unrest, looting, increased crime, and other unsafe conditions.

EMP = BFD

An EMP is a surge of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation. It can occur during the discharge of a nuclear weapon or electromagnetic bomb detonation at altitudes at or near the Earth's surface. An EMP damages or destroys all unprotected electronic devices, power lines, telecommunications, and other critical power infrastructure within its range and frequency.

Its impact is also capable of causing a cascade of destruction, resulting in widespread damage to millions of American households and businesses outside of its initial range. In other words, an EMP attack does not need to damage every power station or transmission line to cause severe damage. It can destabilize some of the electrical infrastructure, causing a cascade of damage leading to extensive grid failure. 

Only individual electronics placed inside a Faraday container will survive undamaged when an EMP attack occurs. Faraday containers made of a conductive material such as metal or metal-coated fabric protect electronics by redirecting the electromagnetic radiation around the outside of the device instead of through its electronic circuits. Security experts say multiple layers of aluminum foil, a closed steel trash can, an ordinary microwave oven, or a high-level surge protector may also protect small electronic devices.

The problem with protecting small electronics from future EMP attacks is that unless Americans are warned ahead of time, it is not likely or practical that most people will store everyday-use items like cell phones inside Faraday containers.

The government can protect large electronic equipment that makes up the U.S. power grid by housing it inside rooms or entire buildings constructed of metallic or conductive concrete shielding or a hybrid of both. Sadly, despite repeated warnings much of the U.S. power grid equipment remains unprotected.

In the U.S., the federal government and the electric power industry have largely ignored the threat of an EMP to the nation's power grid. Recovery time from an EMP attack varies. Depending on the strength of the EMP, the type of equipment impacted, and the availability of parts and skilled technicians to repair the damage, in most scenarios, complete power grid restoration could take many months to several years. 

As of today, only critical parts of the U.S. military and some government installations are fully protected from an EMP attack, leaving the U.S. power grid vulnerable and unprepared to quickly recover -- something that should concern every American, including members of President Trump's incoming National Security Team.

(READ MORE: The Armed Forces Need to be Put Back in the Hands of Soldiers—Pete Hegseth is the Person to Do It)

Gwendolyn Sims is a contributor to Restoration News.

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