Protecting the nation’s energy grid and ensuring a reliable supply of energy are top priorities for America's electric companies. The energy grid is a complex, interconnected network of generation, transmission, distribution, control, and communication technologies, which can be damaged by natural events—such as severe storms—and by malicious events, such as cyber and physical attacks.

Today, the electric power industry is forging ahead with a series of initiatives to safeguard the energy grid from threats and is partnering with federal agencies to improve sector-wide resilience to cyber and physical threats. The industry also collaborates with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, and federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies to strengthen its capabilities.

As threats to the grid grow and become more sophisticated, the industry remains committed to continuing to strengthen its defenses.

Protecting the nation’s energy grid and ensuring a reliable and affordable supply of energy are top priorities for America’s electric companies. The energy grid’s complex, interconnected technologies may be impacted by bursts of electromagnetic energy, such as naturally occurring geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs) or malicious, man-made electromagnetic pulses (EMPs). To address these potential hazards, the electric power industry is working hard to enhance the resilience of the energy grid, to mitigate the potential impact of an EMP, and to accelerate recovery from potential incidents.

In response to the low-likelihood, high-consequence threat of a high-altitude EMP (HEMP) to the energy grid, the electric power industry is working with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and with our government partners to better understand the impacts of a HEMP. This research helps us to make scientifically informed investment decisions for mitigation measures and to identify ways to leverage existing response and recovery programs and capabilities.