Our Representatives Agree – It’s Time We Secure the Grid

Rep. Mike Pompeo (KS-4) and Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) joined Secure Freedom Radio on Tuesday to discuss among many things, the vulnerability of the U.S. electric grid. With Rep. Pompeo on the House Select Committee on Intelligence and Rep. Loudermilk on the House Homeland Security Committee, their insider information and dire warnings couldn’t come soon enough. Listen here and tell your representative “it’s time we secure the grid”.

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) on vulnerabilities to the U.S. electric grid:

“Well you know the grid has always been an important factor in the U.S. since we started distributing electricity on a broad scale. In the past, it has been predominantly because the industry relied on it – the health and safety and security of individuals. But we have become so dependent on electricity- every aspect, from our economy to financial to health care, national security- every aspect of our society is dependent on having electricity readily available and reliable.

As we’ve seen growth in technology, we’ve seen growth in technology management of the grid, and so now the professions of infrastructure goes not just from the physical, but also to the cyber side because most of the substations- the delivery mechanism of the electric grid- are all controlled electronically and in large part use the internet to do that. So the susceptibility to an attack is beyond just the physical and has moved into the cyber. We’ve taken a lot of emphasis on the cyber side, but still have to realize there is a physical security threat that is there as well.

Most people think of the large providers of electricity, but just in Georgia, we have scores of small municipal owned electric providers that don’t have the infrastructure for protecting their connectivity or the physical security that larger companies have. Those are other areas we are looking at.”

Rep. Mike Pompeo (KS-4) on whether enough is being done to protect the grid:

“I was very pleased with what Homeland Security did last week. I’m glad they got this critical infrastructure bill out of Committee but if that’s to become law, there’s still an awful lot more work to be done.

We’ve got to engage businesses that run our energy infrastructure and make sure that they are as near impenetrable as possible. I think the average citizen doesn’t appreciate what it would mean if there were an attack. Whether it’s a terrorist attack on a hard facility, an EMP attack, or someone who just commits a cyber attack on the grid; shutting down a fraction of Americas energy grid for even a short period of time would cost an enormous amount of money and will impact every American in ways that are very significant.

It will make the natural disasters we have from time to time pale in comparison”