SMUD implemented security measures that led to a tenfold drop in facility intrusions in two years. Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, America has become keenly aware, and rightly so, of imagining what form another attack would take. For the utility industry, the focus of most news media attention has been grand-scale attacks on the power grid, be they cyber-attacks to bring down large sections of the grid, electromagnetic pulse attacks to destroy the grid or attacks on individual power stations, like the rifle assault on Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s Metcalf substation in the San Francisco Bay area. Lost in all this attention and media coverage is something perhaps more acute, urgent and frequent - attacks on utilities' infrastructure motivated by theft and vandalism. These attacks cause more than power outages. They compromise safety by creating hazards to employees and the public. They degrade reliability in terms of a utility's power system integrity and availability, which, in turn, harms a utility's brand, hard-earned reputation and confidence of its customers. These types of attacks impact revenue because of service disruptions and costs to repair damages. The attacks also invite scrutiny by government agencies in the compliance realm, which could lead to penalties, sanctions and more negative publicity for not meeting regulatory requirements.
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