Electricity is vital to society and economy (Richard McPherson) USofA

Electricity is Vital to our Society and the Health of the US Economy™

By Richard McPherson, Global Humanitarian Resources, Inc. October 25, 2018 A few days after the September 11, 2011 attack on America in Washington DC, Electricity was declared as the Number 1 Critical Infrastructure.

The United States has around 7,700 operating power plants that generate electricity from a variety of primary energy sources; 707,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines; more than 1 million rooftop solar installations; 55,800 substations; 6.5 million miles of local distribution lines; and 3,354 distribution utilities delivering electricity to 148.6 million customers. The total amount of money paid by end users end for electricity in 2015 was about $400 billion ($2,692 average per customer). This drives an $18.6 trillion U.S. gross domestic product and significantly influences global economic activity totaling roughly $80 trillion.1 Source: Report to Secretary of Energy on Electricity Markets and Reliability August 2017

The August 2017 report on “Markets and Reliability” does not report an adequate response to electricity determined to be the Number 1 Critical Infrastructure after the 911 attack on America. What happened over 16-years?

Also a few days after the 911 attack on America in discussions of the importance of electricity was the threat of cyber and Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) attacks, with commercial nuclear power being part of America’s national security. What happened to protect the United States electricity system from EMP and commercial nuclear generated electricity as part of the country’s national security? The United States electricity supply and distribution system is not EMP protected, and electricity from commercial nuclear power plants is being lost by plant retirements. Many questions. . Was there not enough money spent to protect Americas electricity supply? The National Debt was $5.7 trillion in 2001. Today the National Debt is over $20 trillion. An estimate of the cost to EMP harden the Unites States electricity supply system in 2003, was about $3 billion (a 0.021% increase of the $14.3 trillion National Debt in 16-years).

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· What about the non-carbon, non-nitrous oxide emitting electricity produced by commercial nuclear power plants not dependent of a constant fuel supply that were listed as the Number 3 Critical Infrastructure (after potable water systems being listed as America’s Number 2 Critical Infrastructure)? · What have members of Congress and Governors of States been doing over the past 16years to provide secure, safe and resilient electricity and a potable water supplies to 326 million Americans depending on politicians working as trusted elected representatives to safeguard America’s families, jobs and infrastructure? · What has prevented senior management of our nation’s electricity, potable water supplies and nuclear power plants to not be able to safeguard them? · How is America’s electricity supply not treated as part of our national security?

Just observations and seemingly logical questions Americans should be asking of their elected representatives and utility executives they are forced to pay. The United States must create a 20-year (plus) plan to site standard designs of cyber & EMP protected small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors starting with protecting around 500 Department of Defense (DOD) installations and other geographically close critical infrastructure.

Foreign countries whose goal it is to harm the United States have supplied materials, components and equipment including rare earth metals, uranium, computer codes, and hardware to our electricity supply system. Plus having employees imbedded owing their allegiance to those countries. All working together has made America’s electricity supply weak. The only result of endless meetings since 1953, is an easily disrupted electricity supply system.

Richard McPherson has been involved in national security, energy including nuclear since 1963. After 20-years in the US Navy on submarines, surface ships and major staffs, Richard worked in over 30-countries. In 1988, he was asked to represent the United States at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on a special six-nation group created because of the Chernobyl accident to study “Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities, the Environment and Public Opinion” from 1989 to 1993. In 2018, Richard co-founded Global Humanitarian Resources, Inc., to aggregate executable solutions under the nexus of “Agriculture, Water and Energy” including carbon and nitrogen oxide free electricity from cyber & electromagnetic pulse protected American deigned commercial nuclear power plants.

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