Drone Attacks a Real Threat to the Power Grid
There are many emergency situations that utility emergency planners need to be aware of, not the least of which is drone attacks. In fact, there have already been drone attacks in the U.S., and there is no reason to believe that more won’t be forthcoming because not enough is being done to mitigate the risk.
Why Drone Attacks are a Real Threat
The first power grid drone incident I became aware of happened in July 2020. In that incident, the drone, stripped of its camera, memory functions, and markings to avoid detection, approached a substation in Pennsylvania dangling two 4-foot nylon ropes infused with copper wire. The reason? To disrupt operations by creating a short circuit.
Luckily, that drone crashed before reaching its intended destination, but the situation does demonstrate how easy it would be to deploy multiple drone attacks targeting U.S. energy infrastructure. Simply attach explosives to a bunch of drones, and send them crashing into structures.
Unfortunately, experts have been raising the red flag on this since at least 2014, but it would seem as though these warnings have largely fallen on deaf ears. Yes, it is true that the FAA has restrictions on where drones can fly, but the laws and penalties designed to enforce these restrictions are very weak.
Aside from legal restrictions, more work needs to be done around security tactics such as geofencing, anti-drone methods like signal-jamming technology, and so-called “megadrones” that can be deployed like anti-aircraft weapons.
That said, expecting every power plant and substation in the U.S. to be outfitted with drone countermeasures is unrealistic. The DHS, FAA and FBI have seemingly been taking this threat more seriously over the past year or so, but it will likely be years before any kind of solution scalability is feasible.
In the meantime, drone attacks are a very real threat to the energy infrastructure, and utility emergency preparedness personnel should do whatever it takes to build drone countermeasures into their companies’ emergency plans and protocols.
