What do airports, water treatment facilities, gas stations, and espresso machines all have in common? A dependence on a reliable and stable network of power generation and distribution. In America, and around the world, our electrical grids are aged, stressed, and increasingly at risk of attack. Worse, the centralization and increased interdependence of these grids mean the risk for large-scale failure has never been greater.

If we don't act quickly, the next time the lights go out, they may not turn on again.

Full transcript available

Chapters

00:00 Preshow

00:45 What is the Grid?

01:58 Some History

03:53 The Grid Today

05:27 Foliage

07:45 Renewable: Difficulties

09:40 Renewables: Subsidies

12:06 Energy Storage

14:37 Transformers: Ageing

16:25 Transformers: Raw Materials

17:19 Transformers: Lead Time

19:53 Critical Substations

21:04 Physical Threats

21:29 Physical Threats: Liberty

22:54 Physical Threats: Metcalf

27:33 Transformers: Spares in Reserves?

29:47 Cyber Threats

31:42 Ukraine Cyber Attack

35:09 Incentives for a Cyber Attack

38:21 How Will War Begin?

39:56 What happens when the Lights go Off?

42:15 Electromagnetic Pulse

43:06 Solar Threat

44:04 Carington Event

46:28 1989 Geomagnetic Storm

48:04 Bureaucracy

48:29 What Can we Do?

55:21 Wrap up

Sources

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Published 01-03-2018 03:01