From cyberattacks to severe weather: How secure is Tennessee’s power grid?

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — When gunfire attacks took down two electric substations in North Carolina in 2022 , 45,000 people were left without power. One woman using an oxygen tank died. Just this past February, investigators released a photo of a van seen on surveillance camera near the scene of the crime, but there are still no arrests.

This led 6 News to investigate the safety of the power grid in Tennessee. Airports, hospitals, shopping malls, gas pumps and schools are just some of the things that could suddenly shut down in a power grid failure.

We wanted to find answers to the following questions:

• How secure is our power grid?
• What safety mechanisms are in place to protect us in Tennessee if it fails?

We traveled to different parts of the state to get some answers, starting in Nashville. At Tennessee Emergency Management Agency headquarters, we went behind the scenes inside the Emergency Operations Center. It was quiet during our visit, but no one knows what tomorrow might bring. This is where officials go when an emergency is activated.

TEMA Director Patrick Sheehan said his office and law enforcement encourage you to speak up if you see something unusual.

“Anytime something seems suspicious, don’t worry about over-reporting,” Sheehan said. “So, if you see something, you hear something suspicious, if you are out for a walk or driving, you see some damage to a substation, let that utility provider know. Let local law enforcement know.”

The goal is to protect the grid which Sheehan said takes all utility companies working together.

“Very close to the TEMA offices is the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association, so the cooperatives work together. Tennessee Valley Authority works with all of their customers and their utility providers to try to make sure that they’re communicating in real time the impacts on usage in the grid, and if they’re experiencing problems so they can be responsive together,” Sheehan said.

Often, bad weather is the culprit, like in December 2022 when Tennessee faced rolling blackouts during winter storm Elliot .

“We have plans in place and when we have unusual situations arise, then we’re going to work to protect the grid and make the discomfort and inconvenience as minimal as possible,” said Chris Jones, President and CEO of Middle Tennessee Electric Cooperative.

Still, they were the worst power outages in TVA’s 90-year history. TVA invested more than $120 million in 2023 to prepare for future cold weather in grid reliability updates, warming technology, and equipment upgrades. However, the biggest concern by far is cybersecurity attacks.

TVA is the largest federal energy utility in the country. It’s a huge target.

“We get attacked from a cyber standpoint about a million times a day,” said Aaron Melda, Senior Vice President of Transmission and Power Supply for TVA.

Melda showed us TVA’s Security Operations Center, in Chattanooga, which keeps track of 17,000 miles of wires throughout a seven-state region and 500 substations.

Most of those million cyberattacks a day, Melda said, are low-level pings that aren’t a threat, but 10% get elevated, meaning TVA needs to take action. Melda said that the attacks have not led to any power loss, but, who makes up that 10%?

“It’s everything from, you’ve got a computer— ‘I want to see what I can do.’ Literally not really intending to threaten anything, all the way to some of the big nations we know that are threats to the U.S. that are deliberately trying to see what they can do,” Melda explained.

Inside the S.O.C. staff can pinpoint problems even in your neighborhood, 24/7. The question we wanted answered is simple: Are we safe?

“I would say we are safe. What I would tell you is there are more threats than ever, but we continue to evolve as those threats evolve,” Melda said. “We continue to build higher fences, more locks, more controls, of course, we have an advantage at TVA. We have a police division that’s able to help us with that and also the advancement of technology. Just like you go into a Walmart now, you’re on video the whole time. You come near any of our facilities, you’re on video.”

What can you do?

• Report any unusual activity or damage at your neighborhood substation.
• Electric companies say always be prepared for short-term outages.
• Know where your flashlights are and have a simple emergency kit with basics, including a three-day supply of non-perishable food.

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