Quoted: Burying critical transmission lines is one method to make the grid less vulnerable, according to Vicki Bier, an energy expert and professor emerita in industrial engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“But, that again, is expensive and not something we want to do every place all across the country,” Bier said. “Maybe just a few places might justify that kind of investment.”
Bier said it would likely take insider-level knowledge of the power grid to have a high likelihood of success on a larger scale than the incident in North Carolina. Federal documents obtained by one media outlet indicate other attempts to disrupt Duke Energy substations that authorities say likely involved inside knowledge of critical substations. She noted one of the largest threats facing the grid is that it’s spread out.
“There are not a small number of critical electric facilities where after you’ve protected those, the risk is really small,” Bier said. “There’s a very wide range of facilities and all pose potential risk.”