The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has become a household phrase in recent months as the Biden administration has relied on releases of oil from the SPR to alleviate price increases at the pump. While the SPR has been around for decades, the nation has never had a Strategic Electricity Reserve (SER) — and with good reason — electricity is simultaneously produced and consumed on our bulk power system. But recent technological advances with respect to grid-scale batteries have led to explosive growth in the deployment of these devices. Increasingly, grid-scale batteries are seen as a necessary complement to renewable resources, such as wind and solar generation, which are intermittent resources. But given recent geopolitical events, is it time to consider constructing an SER for national security reasons?
The Achilles Heel of our modern society is the bulk electric system. While tremendous efforts have been made to ensure the cyber and physical security of this vast and complex system, the consequences of a widespread cyberattack that succeeds in disrupting the electricity supply for an extended period of time are unthinkable. Life, as we know it would grind to a halt, and order would likely break down in a matter of weeks. Management consultants refer to this risk as a low probability high impact event. Low probability high impact events are difficult to assess and plan for, but societies ignore them at their peril. Recent examples arguably include Hurricane Sandy, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the War in Ukraine. So, what can be done?