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How do you go about making the grid less vulnerable?

It's an interesting question, and one without a simple answer. Many of our transmission assets have antiquated protection systems, some of which are so old they are invulnerable to cyberattack by virtue of being entirely non-computerized. Sounds great...except now you're relying on 50 year old jewelers bearings and mechanical devices to perform after decades of disuse. The more modern stuff is an absolute mishmash of 80's technology that makes a Speak-n-spell (remember those) look like something NASA invented, 90's and '00's when everybody wanted to invent the new proprietary operating system for the grid of the future, and modern protection and control systems that can dynamically manage outages, route power via the most efficient distribution networks, automatically load balance baseline and peaker plants across the entire western US, and identify and isolate faults across thousands of miles of transmission lines in a few microseconds...but they're mostly not hardened against serious cyberattack, and certainly not against EMP. The technology exists, but to make a modern EMP-resilient substation is staggeringly expensive. I've built them on military installations. They don't care about cost. Civilian utilities have budgets to manage, and in the event of a grid-wide EMP, there are more important problems than executives explaining a decade of investor losses to their shareholders.

So basically...we don't.

Remember the blackout that hit almost the entire northeast in 2003? That event came within SECONDS of jumping the grid ties to the western US, and taking down almost all of North America.

Also, essentially zero percent of modern control and protection hardware comes from China. So at least we're doing that right.

Sleep well. :)
 
It's an interesting question, and one without a simple answer. Many of our transmission assets have antiquated protection systems, some of which are so old they are invulnerable to cyberattack by virtue of being entirely non-computerized. Sounds great...except now you're relying on 50 year old jewelers bearings and mechanical devices to perform after decades of disuse. The more modern stuff is an absolute mishmash of 80's technology that makes a Speak-n-spell (remember those) look like something NASA invented, 90's and '00's when everybody wanted to invent the new proprietary operating system for the grid of the future, and modern protection and control systems that can dynamically manage outages, route power via the most efficient distribution networks, automatically load balance baseline and peaker plants across the entire western US, and identify and isolate faults across thousands of miles of transmission lines in a few microseconds...but they're mostly not hardened against serious cyberattack, and certainly not against EMP. The technology exists, but to make a modern EMP-resilient substation is staggeringly expensive. I've built them on military installations. They don't care about cost. Civilian utilities have budgets to manage, and in the event of a grid-wide EMP, there are more important problems than executives explaining a decade of investor losses to their shareholders.

So basically...we don't.

Remember the blackout that hit almost the entire northeast in 2003? That event came within SECONDS of jumping the grid ties to the western US, and taking down almost all of North America.

Also, essentially zero percent of modern control and protection hardware comes from China. So at least we're doing that right.

Sleep well. :)
Thank you for the explanation.
 
We had an extensive discourse about this on NW Firearms. If only NWF had a search function. *Cough*** Kidding, it's a huge issue and mostly still unaddressed, and much more of a likely possibility than the Cascadia Tsunami/Earthquake that everyone is running around actively preparing for. But, there's more important things for congress: the RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA hoax for one. Some links below from previous threads to start folks if any have interest in learning more about EMP and CME:

What is a "Carrington Style" CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) solar storm event?
A Perfect Solar Superstorm: The 1859 Carrington Event

What is the Chance a Solar Storm Could Knock Out The Power Grid?

CME from the geologic record
Impending Solar Flash Event Supported by Scientific Studies & Insider Testimony

I don't think it needs to dominate our lives, but it should be worthy of some small consideration as not only THE most likely wide scale disaster event, but the most devastating as well.

Previous threads:
EMP threats overhyped?

EMP Shield

NOKO Nuke Could Be Giant EMP Device

Off site kit - redundancy, don't keep all your eggs in one basket
 
Last Edited:
We had an extensive discourse about this on NW Firearms. If only NWF had a search function.



Search worked fine for me...;)
 
Sorry, in our house we can only prepare for one cataclysm at a time.

Had to sell off all of our Cascadia earthquake stuff to get into the Pandemonium supplies.

Holding (& using) the Pandemonium stuff until CNN & FOX give us the "all clear".

Then we'll sell off all the remaining Pandemonium stuffs and buy up towards an EMP stockpile. Maybe a hoard.

Not quite sure yet, as selling off a stockpile is far easier than doing so with a hoard.

Waiting on what "they" tell us what we should do, once this current cataclysm has resolved.
 
Other considerations deferred for the moment, any such aggressive action may do better to ponder the consequences on their own future should any surviving elements determine to respond in kind to such provocation.
 
It's an interesting question, and one without a simple answer. Many of our transmission assets have antiquated protection systems, some of which are so old they are invulnerable to cyberattack by virtue of being entirely non-computerized. Sounds great...except now you're relying on 50 year old jewelers bearings and mechanical devices to perform after decades of disuse. The more modern stuff is an absolute mishmash of 80's technology that makes a Speak-n-spell (remember those) look like something NASA invented, 90's and '00's when everybody wanted to invent the new proprietary operating system for the grid of the future, and modern protection and control systems that can dynamically manage outages, route power via the most efficient distribution networks, automatically load balance baseline and peaker plants across the entire western US, and identify and isolate faults across thousands of miles of transmission lines in a few microseconds...but they're mostly not hardened against serious cyberattack, and certainly not against EMP. The technology exists, but to make a modern EMP-resilient substation is staggeringly expensive. I've built them on military installations. They don't care about cost. Civilian utilities have budgets to manage, and in the event of a grid-wide EMP, there are more important problems than executives explaining a decade of investor losses to their shareholders.

So basically...we don't.

Remember the blackout that hit almost the entire northeast in 2003? That event came within SECONDS of jumping the grid ties to the western US, and taking down almost all of North America.

Also, essentially zero percent of modern control and protection hardware comes from China. So at least we're doing that right.

Sleep well. :)

Nice outline -- what are your thoughts on a more distributed level -- things like generators or solar for an individual home? How would a person protect this stuff from EMP -- or is reaonably even possible?
 
Most residential solar doesn't work islanded (separated from the grid) and the challenges in protecting consumer grade electronics from an EMP would be beyond the reasonable expectation of success.

If there's an EMP, the lights are going out. Period.
 
Nice outline -- what are your thoughts on a more distributed level -- things like generators or solar for an individual home? How would a person protect this stuff from EMP -- or is reaonably even possible?

Hmm interesting question.

"Probably" best to have spare controllers for solar in faraday protection.

Generators? Likely not much could be done to protect newer ones with sine wave electronics. As I'd imagine that would fry.

Old style alternator type generators "should" be fine.

Again tho, just spitballing aloud.
 
Adding...

The real question for thinking on EMP/Carrington type event power supply preparedness would be what COULD you reasonably power.

ie, just about everything today has some type of microelectronics which I would would wager is most susceptible to that type of surge.

Examples include, but aren't limited to: fridge/freezer, home HVAC, stand-alone AC etc etc.

So, IMO, one would be "best" prepared by having duplication of whatever one would deem as essential faraday protected.

Sounds really daunting, however, could be pared down quite minimalistic if one were wanting to go that route.

Faraday protect:

Standalone solar system.

Standalone power pack w/usb, perhaps solar.

Family FRS radios.

HAMs perhaps.

Older laptop (for pictures, documents, books etc), easier to read/view.

Perhaps a detachable hard drive, backed up routinely.

Older cell phones (for pictures, documents, books etc) more portable & easier to charge than the laptop.

Again, just spitballing.
 
Hard copies on quality paper for necessary documents and photos. With oil being so much less pricey.. perhaps getting enough stable fuel oil would help, and get lots of oil lamps for lighting purposes? Old lifestyle. My parents still have a stash of oil lamps i think, along with an overabundance of candles. And good stash of long matches for them. They also have bbq grills and several iceboxes/coolers.

Edit. If its affordable now, perhaps look into getting important digital photos published into photo books for family; believe there are small self publisher/printing companies out there willing to do that for you, as opposed to saving to USBs/SD cards/CD-RWs.
 

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