As we are all too aware, electric companies have experienced an uptick in physical security incidents over the past year. Almost 1,700 physical security incidents were reported to the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC) in 2022—an increase of 10.5 percent from 2021. While most of these incidents do not impact grid reliability, events in Moore County, N.C., and Seattle-Tacoma, Wash., at the end of last year resulted in power disruptions and are concerning, particularly in their sophistication and effectiveness.

Following the events in Moore County, the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council asked the E-ISAC, EEI, the American Public Power Association (APPA), and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to collaborate on the production of a physical security resource guide that provides broader considerations to security approaches for assets beyond those identified in the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC’s) Physical Security Reliability Standard, CIP-014-3.

At the same time, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ordered NERC to conduct a study evaluating CIP-014-3. Several initiatives arose from the study, including clarification about how entities conduct risk assessments. A technical conference was held in August to consider additional actions.

Informing policymakers about the threat profile is an important component of building our nation’s knowledge-based defense. In July, I testified on Capitol Hill before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, attesting to our industry’s complex and continuously evolving threat environment. During the hearing, I briefed the subcommittee on the increasing incidence of physical attacks on the grid and on the activities being undertaken by the E-ISAC and our industry and government partners to address security threats and to mitigate their impact.

The E-ISAC is leading an industrywide effort to hold a series of Regional Physical Security Workshops over the coming year, in partnership with EEI, APPA, NRECA, SERC Reliability Corporation (SERC), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The workshops bring together industry and other partners to discuss the physical threat environment, lessons learned from recent events, associated mitigation strategies, and the operational and policy outlook moving forward. They also will provide a forum for strengthening information-sharing relationships.

The E-ISAC is coordinating participation with the National Counterterrorism Center; the FBI; local electric companies, public power utilities, and electric cooperatives; DOE; SERC; and others. The first workshop was recently hosted at EPRI’s facility in Charlotte, N.C., with additional workshops to follow. The workshops and subsequent discussions will keep a necessary focus on physical security for key stakeholders; reinforce relationships with local, state, and federal law enforcement and government partners; and socialize the physical security resources available to industry. It presents an exciting opportunity for the E-ISAC to facilitate a high level of engagement and collaboration in support of our collective defense.

Manny Cancel is senior vice president of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and president and CEO of the E-ISAC.