Three drivers of acceleration: geopolitics, climate, and digitalization

Pressure to diversify sources and achieve energy independence is fundamentally changing the market and bringing in new players. Climate change increases the urgency of the transition to renewables, adding further technologies and interconnections. The digital revolution speeds everything up, but at the same time increases complexity, and with it the grid’s vulnerability.

From threats to resilience: what to protect and how

The basic question is: what is at risk, and from what? Energy, along with healthcare, transport, and the financial sector, ranks among the most attractive targets for attacks on critical infrastructure, because with relatively low costs one can cause great damage. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, attacks have been occurring very frequently, especially in affected countries, and they also concern Europe, so we must plan for the worst-case scenario.

The key is a systematic risk analysis from design through implementation to operation, and the inclusion of measures directly in technologies as well as processes. It is essential to know what is connected to the grid; otherwise, it is impossible to look for weak points or respond effectively. With growing decentralization, the full control of distribution companies decreases, so experts from both IT and energy need to be involved from the outset, and suppliers should be selected based on their security maturity, in order to reduce risk in the supply chain as well.