At the Munich Security Conference, Eurelectric presented a new report, Battle-tested power systems, which assesses the preparedness of the energy sector to respond to contemporary threats. Based on the analysis, specific recommendations were formulated for both energy companies and policymakers.
“This report turns hard lessons from Ukraine into practical action for the rest of Europe” said Kristian Ruby, Eurelectric’s Secretary General. “It shows what utilities can do today – from improving crisis coordination and training, to hardening assets, securing communications and stockpiling critical equipment – to better prepare for, respond to and recover from attacks
Main Conclusions:
- Energy infrastructure is a target for adversaries and needs to be protected. In a full-scale war scenario, energy assets are targeted by drones, missiles and shelling to knock out power and undermine society’s morale and the efficacy of defence. Hybrid threats aim to do the same thing but with less predictability and attributability. Preparedness for and resilience to hybrid threats, is
the minimum for us to do today, but we should be looking at the lessons from Ukraine to achieve a higher standard of protection which acts as an insurance policy in case of hybrid attacks and provides real mitigation dividends in case of war. - Utilities are aware of the evolving threat landscape and are beginning to strengthen preparedness for today’s increasingly complex threats. A stark shift in the state of geopolitics has unfolded in just a few years that utilities are still adapting to. While there are variations based on threat exposure, utilities in Europe can take no regret steps towards improving readiness for emergency that limit exposure to various threats even beyond hybrid attacks.
- Utilities, Member States and the EU can take steps to improve preparedness. Low-cost solutions to organisational preparedness exist such as increasing situational awareness, cooperating with local and national authorities and exercising crisis responses. At the same time, with the right economic incentives and supported by Member States, utilities can reinforce physical assets,
stockpile critical equipment and increase cybersecurity efforts. On the policy side, the EU can take steps to accelerate implementation of key legislation at national level, as well as support critical infrastructure resilience through investment frameworks and defining a strong governance structure with guidance on how to identify threats in its revision of Europe’s energy security
architecture.
For more details, pls. see: Battle-tested power systems
