The document discusses threats to the US power grid. It outlines that the grid is aging and vulnerable to disruptions from electromagnetic pulses, geomagnetic storms, physical attacks on infrastructure, and cyberattacks. Specifically, it notes the grid is at risk of disruptions that could cause Americans to experience longer and more frequent power interruptions due to its vulnerabilities.

1. Manuel S. Preckler Alonso

2.  Introduction
 Current State of the US Power Grid
 Causes of disturbances in the Grid
 Electromagnetic Pulse Attacks
 Naturally Occurring Threats
 Threats to Structural Integrity
 Threats originating from weaknesses in Cyber Defense
Index

3. Introduction
 Definitions:
 Electrical Grid: The electrical grid is the electrical power system network
comprised of the generating plant, the transmission lines, the substation,
transformers, the distribution lines and the consumer. [1]

4. Current State of the US Power Grid
 Drawbacks:
 Aging equipment
 Capacity bottlenecks and increased demand
 Vulnerable to climate impacts and terrorist attacks
 Consequences:
 Americans will likely experience longer and more frequent power interruptions!!

5. [2]

6. [2]

7. Current State of the US Power Grid
 Drawbacks:
 Aging equipment
 Capacity bottlenecks and increased demand
 Vulnerable to climate impacts and terrorist attacks
 Consequences:
 Americans will likely experience longer and more frequent power interruptions!!

8. Causes of disturbances in the Grid
 Possible incidents:
 Electromagnetic Pulse Attacks
 Naturally Occurring Threats
 Threats to Structural Integrity
 Threats originating from weaknesses in Cyber Defense

9. Manmade Electromagnetic Threats
 ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP)
 A high-altitude nuclear weapon-generated electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack
have direct and indirect consequences.
 Direct: Electromagnetic “shocking” of electronics and stressing of electrical systems.
 Indirect: the damage that “shocked” the electronics controls, then inflict on the systems in
which they are embedded.
[3]

10. Manmade Electromagnetic Threats
 ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP)
[3]

11. Manmade Electromagnetic Threats
 ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP)
 EMP has 3 major components:
 A near-instantaneous, powerful pulse known as E1,
 Subsequent high-amplitude pulse known as E2,
 And, a slower and lower-amplitude (but still damaging) waveform known as E3.
[3]

12. Manmade Electromagnetic Threats
 E1:
 E1 is produced when gamma radiation from the nuclear detonation knocks electrons out of
the atoms in the upper atmosphere. The Earth's magnetic field acts on these electrons to
change the direction of electron flow to a right angle to the geomagnetic field. This
produces a very large, but very brief, electromagnetic pulse over the affected area.
 E1 pulse is ended at one microsecond (10-6 seconds=1000 nanoseconds) after it begins and
rises to its peak value in about 5 nanoseconds. This process occurs simultaneously with
about 1025 other electrons.
 E1 pulse peaks at about 50,000 volts per meter, which means a power density of 6.6
megawatts per square meter.
[4]

13. Manmade Electromagnetic Threats
 E2:
 This E2 component is an "intermediate time" pulse that lasts from about one microsecond
to one second after the beginning of the electromagnetic pulse.
 The E2 component of the pulse has many similarities to the electromagnetic pulses
produced by lightning and with the widespread use of lightning protection technology, the
E2 pulse is generally considered to be the easiest to protect against.
 The main potential problem with the E2 component is the fact that it immediately follows
the E1 component, which may have damaged the devices that would normally protect
against E2.
[4]

14. Manmade Electromagnetic Threats
 E3:
 The E3 component is a very slow pulse, lasting tens to hundreds of seconds, that is caused
by the nuclear detonation heaving the Earth's magnetic field out of the way, followed by
the restoration of the magnetic field to its natural place.
 E3 can produce geomagnetically induced currents in long electrical conductors, which can
then damage or destroy components such as power line transformers.
 These currents are often called quasi-DC currents because they resemble the direct current
from a battery more than what most people think of as a pulse.
[4]

15. Manmade Electromagnetic Threats
[4]

16. Manmade Electromagnetic Threats
 Non-Nuclear ElectroMagnetic Pulse (NNEMP)
 Can cause Intentional ElectroMagnetic Interferences (IEMI)
 Normally are very limited to small areas
 Examples:
 Explosively Pumped Flux Compression Generator (EPFCG)
 Electromagnetic Pinch Device
 Marx generator
 High Energy Radio Frequency weapon (HERF gun)

17. Naturally Occurring Threats
 GeoMagnetic Disturbance (GMD)
 A GMD is a major event in Earth’s magnetosphere. It’s caused by a very efficient
transfer of energy from solar wind into the space environment surrounding Earth.
Solar wind shockwaves result from a solar flare that is followed by Coronal Mass
Ejections (CMEs) of charged and magnetized particles into space.
 Solar disturbance causes fluctuating currents in the ionosphere and
magnetosphere. These currents produce geomagnetic variations and induce a
geoelectric field which drives Geomagnetically Induced Current (GIC) into the
ground technological systems. Problems arise as results of the variations of the
magnetic field induce currents in the power transmission lines.
[6]
[5]

18. Naturally Occurring Threats
 GeoMagnetic Disturbance (GMD)
 5 different categories of geomagnetic solar storms:
 G1 (Minor)
 G2 (Moderate)
 G3 (Strong)
 G4 (Severe)
 G5 (Extreme)
 3 Types of geomagnetic solar storms:
 Auroral Electrojets
 Coronal Hole
 Sudden Storm commencement (SCC)

19. Naturally Occurring Threats
© 2014. University of Waikat

20. Naturally Occurring Threats
 Auroral Electrojets
 The term 'auroral electrojet' is the name given
to the large horizontal currents that flow in
the D and E regions of the auroral ionosphere.
 The Auroral Electrojet Index, AE, is designed
to provide a global, quantitative measure of
auroral zone magnetic activity produced by
enhanced Ionospheric currents flowing below
and within the auroral oval.

21. Naturally Occurring Threats
 Auroral Electrojets

22. Naturally Occurring Threats
 Coronal Hole

23. Coronal Holes
SIC | Solar Imagery Center

24. Naturally Occurring Threats
 Coronal Hole
 Coronal Holes represents open, magnetic field line structure that allow the
solar wind to escape more readily into space, resulting in streams of relatively
fast solar wind and is often referred to as a high speed stream in the context
of analysis of structures in interplanetary space - Coronal Hole High Speed
Stream (CH HSS).
 As the CH HSS begins to arrive at Earth, solar wind speed and temperature
increase, while particle density begins to decrease. Fast CH HSS can impact
Earth’s magnetosphere enough to cause periods of geomagnetic storming to
the G1-G2 levels.
[7]

25. Naturally Occurring Threats
 Sudden Storm Commencement (SSC)
 Sudden changes in the solar wind dynamic pressure, caused by interplanetary
shocks and discontinuities, can give rise to the phenomenon known as the
Sudden Storm Commencement (SSC). The consequence is a sharp change un
the vertical component of the Sun’s Magnetic Field.
 Every part of the globe is susceptible to SSCs, rather than affect a single portion
of the Earth.

26. Naturally Occurring Threats
 Example:
 During mid March 1989, the most notable being a geomagnetic storm that
struck Earth on March 13. This geomagnetic storm caused a 9 hour outage of
Hydro-Québec's electricity transmission system; and, destroyed a transformer
at a nuclear power plant in New Jersey
[8]

27. Threats to Structural Integrity
 Physical Vulnerability
 Most of the wires are above ground
and they cover very long distances.
 They are susceptible to damage from:
 Threat actors
 Extreme weather conditions
 Animals
INIGO SKIES PHOTOGRAPHY/FLICKR
(CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

28. Threats to Structural Integrity
 Examples:
 Metcalf sniper attack
 April 16th 2013 - An assault was carried out on Pacific Gas and Electric Company's
Metcalf Transmission Substation in Coyote, California.
 17 electrical transformers were damaged by sniper gunshots.
 +$15 million worth of equipment damaged.
 Buckskin attack
 Sept. 25th 2016 – An attack at Garkane Energy Cooperative Inc.’s Buckskin substation
between Kanab (Utah) and Page (Arizona).
 1 electrical transformer was damaged (+$1 million)
 cutting off electricity to 13,000 customers for a day and forcing the utility to wait at
least six months until the station's disabled transformer is repaired or replaced.
[10]
[9]

29. Cybersecurity
 Modern power systems rely heavily on automation, centralized control of
equipment, and high-speed communications.
 The most critical systems are the supervisory control and data acquisition
(SCADA) systems that gather real-time measurements from substations and
send out control signals to equipment
[11]

30. Cybersecurity
 There are 3 main security concerns that are associated with SCADA
systems:
 Policy and procedure vulnerabilities
 Platform configuration vulnerabilities
 Platform Software vulnerabilities
 Network configuration vulnerabilities
 Network perimeter vulnerabilities
 Network communication vulnerabilities

31. Cybersecurity
 Cyber-Attacks forms:
 Length overflow and DFC (Device Fence Control) Flag attacks
 Reset and Unavailable
 Outstation Data Resets
 Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)

32. Cyber-Attacks examples
 2015 Ukraine power grid cyberattack
 23 December 2015
 From 1 to 6 hours
 225,000 costumers
 “Spear phishing“ attack
 Explanation:
 Hackers installed malware on computer systems at power generation (distribution
utilities) firms in Ukraine. This gave the attackers remote access to these computers
and allowed them to flip circuit breakers turning off power. While the power was cut,
the attackers also bombarded customer service phone lines with fake calls to stop
customers reporting the cut.
[12]

33. Cyber-Attacks examples
 2016 Ukraine power grid cyberattack
 17 December 2016
 From 0 to 1 hours
 1/5 of Kiev
 Transmission facility
[12]

34. References
 [1] StudentEnergy.org Electrical Grid Definition
 https://www.studentenergy.org/topics/electrical-grid
 [2] Hurricane Michael's Staggering Power Loss Documented by NASA
 https://weather.com/news/news/2018-10-17-hurricane-michael-power-outages-nasa
 [3] Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States
from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack
 http://www.empcommission.org/docs/empc_exec_rpt.pdf
 [4] E1, E2 and E3 by Jerry Emanuelson, B.S.E.E.
 http://www.futurescience.com/emp/E1-E2-E3.html

35. References
 [5] What is a geomagnetic disturbance and how can it affect the power grid?
 https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/coronal-holes
 [6] E.O. Falayi, O. Ogunmodimu, O.S. Bolaji, J.D. Ayanda, O.S. Ojoniyi,
Investigation of geomagnetic induced current at high latitude during the storm-
time variation; NRIAG Journal of Astronomy and Geophysics; Volume 6, Issue
1; 2017; Pages 131-140; ISSN 2090-9977.
 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2090997716300736
 [7] Coronal Holes -Space Weather Prediction Center
 https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/coronal-holes
 [8] University Of Delaware Bartol Research Institute Neutron Monitor Program
 http://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu/catch/p10.html

36. References
 [9] Sophisticated but low-tech power grid attack baffles authorities
 https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-grid-attack-20140211-story.html
 [10] Substation attack is new evidence of grid vulnerability
 https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060043920/print
 [11] Electric Control Center of REE in Madrid.
 https://www.diariodesevilla.es/economia/Red-Electrica-eleva-beneficio-
millones_0_1329767179.html
 [12] Hackers behind Ukraine power cuts, says US report
 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35667989

37. Contact Information
 Web:
 SolEnCasa.es
 Climate.org
 LinkedIn:
 linkedin.com/in/manu-preckler/
 Mail:
 mpreckler@solencasa.es