The Government Accountability Office has found that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the departments of Energy and Homeland Security have implemented 27 federal efforts that aim to build up the U.S. power grid’s resiliency.GAO said in a report released Friday the efforts were not duplicative and supported several activities such as research and development, emergency response and preparedness and data sharing.
The congressional budget watchdog also found that those efforts have helped address three government priorities to ensure the security of the electricity grid such as the deployment of technology platforms to raise awareness on potential power disruptions and coordination of responses to events.
The report noted that DHS and DOE have implemented three overlapping efforts with distinct goals when it comes to addressing resiliency concerns associated with high-power transformers.
Officials with FERC, DOE and DHS reported results from those federal efforts, such as increased coordination between industry and agencies on potential cyber attacks and development of new tools, GAO added.
