Iowa utilities joining drill simulating knockout blow to nation’s power grid

As worries increase about the vulnerability of the nation’s power grid, Iowa’s largest electric utilities will participate next week in a closely watched exercise simulating a knockout blow to United States’ electrical supply by cyber-sabotage and physical attacks. Officials with MidAmerican Energy and Alliant Energy confirmed to the Des Moines Register they will be involved in GridEx II on Nov. 12 and 13. The event is sponsored by the North American Electric Reliability Corp., a non-profit entity whose mission is to ensure the reliability of the bulk-power system in North America. The scenario calls for a “prolonged blackout,” that will highlight timely vulnerabilities and issues facing the electrical utility industry.

blogs.desmoinesregister.com... =1

This is very odd... Get ready people.

reply to post by beatbox


It's like deja vu all over again!

Its one thing to be prepared, and I believe we should be. But it does seem that when there is a drill that the event that the drill is for happens at the same time right in the same place, that should be reason to think something is up.

That is just going to be thrilling for the people left in blackout conditions. I hope it isn't very cold or very hot when they do this to these people. I would have my generators fueled up and gas cans filled just in case they do break something,

Now, on another note. It would be a good time to carry out a mission against the people because their internet and power will be blacked out and they will be effectively cut off from the outside world. Better get the Ham Radios in working order just in case so they can put out the alarm to the rest of us andfoil their plans. Of course, they would probably just jam the signals with jammers or HAARP.

Interesting!

I'm not sure what this comprises of? How do they plan to implement this test? Do they just sit around drinking coffee waiting for the power to come back on, do they run around hooking up gennys to critical services and stand by with gas cans at the ready? Do they make sure everyone has their light switches in the right position so they don't get a surge when the power does come on?

Seems kind of pointless to me. I think most regions have dealt with power outages on a regular basis. It seems to me the scale is irrelevant. Wouldn't making sure the systems are hardened against a cyber-attack be more relevant and practical.

Sorry double post!

olaru12
reply to post by beatbox

 

It's like deja vu all over again!

I know, almost like the boy who called wolf..in a crazy way. i hate to sound like a doomsday prepper but I'd rather be prepared then sorry...if you know what I mean.

beatbox

olaru12
reply to post by beatbox

 

It's like deja vu all over again!

I know, almost like the boy who called wolf..in a crazy way. i hate to sound like a doomsday prepper but I'd rather be prepared then sorry...if you know what I mean.

What astonishes me is that so many terrorist attacks are accompanied by a preparedness drill at the same time and the people are so ready to just accept that as a coincidence.
thecommonsenseshow.com...

They better drill baby, drill… its a com in'.

America' aging power grid

I've told my friends and family about this and they just say I'm silly. We all love our doom porn but this one seems scarier than the rest I guess cuz I can see it actually happening.

reply to post by Kukri


They sit around in a room saying the power is out, how do we fix it. There is no outage, it's a paper exercise.

Zaphod58
reply to post by Kukri

 

They sit around in a room saying the power is out, how do we fix it. There is no outage, it's a paper exercise.

Yes I realize it's an exercise and that they won't actually shut down any grids. But what's the scenario or causality? Cyber-attack, solar flares, infrastructure breakdown, Natural disaster, all of the above. And what's the drill other than theoretical responses to theoretical failures? Is it a FEMA type co-ordination drill involving emergency services and private industry? Excuse my ignorance but I haven't seen any info on what precisely this entails.

Kukri

Zaphod58
reply to post by Kukri

 

They sit around in a room saying the power is out, how do we fix it. There is no outage, it's a paper exercise.

Yes I realize it's an exercise and that they won't actually shut down any grids. But what's the scenario or causality? Cyber-attack, solar flares, infrastructure breakdown, Natural disaster, all of the above.

The objectives of the NERC Grid Security Exercise (GridEx) series are to exercise the current readiness of participating Electricity Sub-sector entities to respond to a cyber incident and provide input for ​

security program improvements to the bulk power system. GridEx is a biennial international grid security exercise that uses best practices and other contributions from the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology

Source: www.nerc.com...

I'm sure most of us on here remember the Stuxnet virus. Well what if a similar virus was unleashed on the United States' power grid? This GridEx II exercise is meant to test the response to said attack. This is not the first exercise like this. The last one, Grid Ex I, occurred back in November 2011.

With that being said, and we're all still here 2 years later, there might not be much to fear. Keyword might... Grid Ex III will occur in 2015.

This is right out of the Cobra Command playbook.

G.I. Joe: The Revenge of Cobra 1985

Season 1 Episode 101 September 16, 1985:
"The Pyramid of Darkness, Part 1: The Further Adventures of G.I. Joe"
Zartan and the Dreadnoks capture Space Station Delta and destroy G.I. Joe headquarters as phase one of Cobra's "Pyramid of Darkness", a plan for Cobra Commander to deprive the world of electricity.

Season 1 Episode 125 October 18, 1985:
"Where the Reptiles Roam"
Wild Bill and a few Joes head to a farm in Texas to investigate a dude ranch Cobra captured, near the solar panels in order to control a nearby power station.

Season 2 Episode 223:
"The Most Dangerous Thing in the World" October 28, 1986:
While General Hawk was attending a NATO meeting, Cobra hacks into the Defense Department's computer system and upgrades Shipwreck, Dial-Tone and Lifeline to the rank of Colonel.

reply to post by AbleEndangered


This exercise happened back in 2011 and we're still using electricity to post on ATS. I guess the plot was foiled?

reply to post by majesticgent


Read the Cobra Command Playbook, you will see how it plays out!!

These are golden:

G.I. Joe: The Revenge of Cobra

Episode 2: "The Vines of Evil" September 11, 1984

Cobra Commander has Duke and Snake Eyes fight each other in a gladiatorial combat in his "Arena of Sport". Cobra plans to assault Washington D.C., but Duke and Snake Eyes send a Morse code to their team. The Joes successfully defend D.C., but they destroy the weather device by splitting it into three pieces scattered globally. Weather patterns all over the world are in havoc; G.I. Joe and Cobra begin expeditions to recover the shattered device.

Season 2 Episode 206: "Last Hour to Doomsday" September 25, 1986

Cobra demands the U.S. to submit or they will use a giant vortex to destroy the East Coast of the United States. Flint and Lady Jaye decide to take on this mission to stop them in order to prove to Beachhead that the two lovers can work effectively as a team and save the day.

reply to post by AbleEndangered


GI Joe always defeated Cobra no matter how bleak it looked for them, and then at the end of the show they had a PSA.

Maybe I'm missing something.

reply to post by majesticgent


Nope, you are spot on!

Zaphod58
reply to post by Kukri

 

They sit around in a room saying the power is out, how do we fix it. There is no outage, it's a paper exercise.

True but did you get this part?

The scenario calls for a “prolonged blackout,” that will highlight timely vulnerabilities and issues facing the electrical utility industry.

How Long will the lights be out?

beatbox

How Long will the lights be out?

Not at all.