The Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) is leading a State Energy Risk Assessment Initiative to help States better understand risks to their energy infrastructure so they can be better prepared to make informed decisions about their investments, resilience and hardening strategies, and asset management. The Initiative is a collaborative effort with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), and the National Governors Association (NGA). 

As part of this Initiative, OE has developed a series of State Energy Risk Profiles that examine the relative magnitude of the risks that each State's energy infrastructure routinely encounters in comparison with the probable impacts. Developed by Argonne National Laboratory in support of OE, the profiles discuss both natural and man-made hazards with the potential to cause disruption of the electric, petroleum, and natural gas infrastructures, and provide valuable information to States energy agencies on the types of hazards that have historically impacted energy infrastructure in their States. In addition, the profiles provide a quick overview of the energy landscape within a State and highlight areas that would benefit from additional risk analysis and mitigation efforts.   

The profiles were rolled out during last month’s launch of the Initiative at the State Energy Risk Assessment Workshop in Denver, Colorado. With attendance by over 110 representatives from State and federal governments, industry, and risk assessment practitioners, the Workshop helped inform States and organizations on risk assessment practices and resources. Presenters from the private sector, academia, federal agencies and national laboratories discussed threats, tools, methods and resources that can benefit States and organizations performing energy risk assessments.  State agencies also provided real-world examples on how they have used risk methods and assessments to inform their decision making.  Key take-aways from the workshop included the need for: better access to detailed risk data, definitions, and tools; more collaboration and sharing across agencies and stakeholders; increased budgetary and staff resources for risk assessment; more real-world examples and case studies of risk informed decision making; more education and training opportunities; and increased risk communication and relationship building with decision makers and the public.  

The State Energy Risk Assessment Initiative is the first of its kind to inform States on available analytical capabilities, tools, and resources for identifying and evaluating risk to energy systems and infrastructure. The Initiative is designed to develop a stronger energy risk management culture among State organizations. A better understanding of risk facilitates integration of energy risk assessment into planning processes at all levels of government. Goals including increasing States’ awareness of risks related to energy infrastructure systems to help them better prepare for disruptions and to make more informed decisions, informing and assisting States on available analytical capabilities and resources for identifying and evaluating energy infrastructure risks, and providing a suite of scalable, easily-applied analytical tools, methods and processes to enable states to better assess risk to energy systems and assets. To implement the Initiative, a State Energy Risk Working Group has been formed to determine State energy risk assessment needs, assess current practices in State-level energy risk analysis, identify tools, methods and processes to evaluate risk related to energy assets and systems, and engage key stakeholders across the entire risk analysis development cycle.

To learn more about OE’s analytical, modeling, and assessment activities, visit the Energy Infrastructure Modeling and Analysis section of the OE website.