When Dominion Virginia Power heard about the attack at Pacific Gas and Electric’s Metcalf substation in the spring of 2013, it was clear the need for security in the electric utility industry had changed forever. Shortly after the incident, Dominion began planning an aggressive substation security program.
Its strategy not only included perimeter hardening but also encompassed cyber security, communications and equipment redundancy, hardening the System Operations Center, protecting critical substation assets, and recovery from all events — both manmade and natural.
Following are images of Dominion's process in protecting its substations. For the in-depth feature on the entire process and how it's strategy adapts to escalating threats, see "Substation Security Is More than Just a Fence" in the October issue of T&D World, by Bob McGuire, Dominick Piccolomini, Jason Meidinger, and Keith Graham, Dominion Virginia Power, and Keegan Odle, Burns & McDonnell.