America’s Looming Blackout? Gingrich and Woolsey Lead Elite Team to Secure the Grid
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Emily Cashel
703-739-5920/800-536-5920
ecashel@sbpublicaffairs.com
Washington, DC – Recent attacks on transformer substations and other critical parts of the electric grid have underscored one of America’s most serious vulnerabilities: If the power goes off and stays off, our nation and the vast majority of its population will cease to exist.
A group of the country’s top experts on the grid’s vulnerability and what can be done to mitigate it under the leadership of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and President Clinton’s Director of Central Intelligence, R. James Woolsey has concluded to expand its mission from not only protecting the grid from space weather and attack but securing the grid from all manner of vulnerability.
The good news: we know how to fix the grid’s vulnerabilities. The Pentagon has been protecting its critical assets against EMP for over five decades. Known and relatively affordable technologies can protect our power grid and the 21st Century American economy, society and population that absolutely depend upon it.
The bad news: despite the fact that such threats and their dire implications have been validated by no fewer than 11 government studies (see: http://bit.ly/1kU1KYW) the electric utilities have been resistant to efforts to address their infrastructure’s vulnerabilities out of a concern about the associated costs and possible additional regulatory burden.
The Coalition has been working to reverse this and its members are among the vanguard to establish legislation to secure the grid and to educate Americans of the risk of not doing so. Legislation has been introduced in the Maine State Legislator and the U.S. House of Representatives by Coalition members. These are the first of many legislative battles Coalition members will win.
Secure the Grid Coalition is to raise awareness of the extreme peril associated with the sort of protracted distribution of power distribution system that could be caused literally at any time by space weather or a hostile power. The Coalition also seeks to ensure that practical, cost-effective and readily available steps are taken as soon as possible to protect the grid.
To find out more about the Secure the Grid Coalition go to www.SecureTheGrid.com or contact Emily Cashel with Shirley & Banister Public Affairs at ecashel@sbpublicaffairs.com or (703) 739-5920.
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