New Mexico Utilities Can Help Protect against Terrorism

New Mexico Utilities Can Help Protect against Terrorism, Officials Say

By Rosalie Rayburn, Albuquerque Journal, N.M. -- May 5

Security agencies say closer cooperation from electric and gas utilities including simple improved communication and sharing potential weak points will help deter possible terrorist threats.

Security in the electric and natural gas industries was the focus of the two-day EnergyGard Southwest conference arranged by Infragard New Mexico that opened Monday in Albuquerque.

Infragard is part of a nationwide partnership between private industry and the U.S. government that fosters the exchange of information between industries and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to protect industries against cyber and physical threats.

"Economic security and national security are intertwined," said Andreas Stephens, the FBI's special agent in charge in New Mexico told about 50 industry officials and representatives of Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories Monday.

Infragard had held two similar conferences within the past year to train members in the agriculture and water industries on how to improve their security.

"The better approach is to keep the bad buys away from the targets and we do that by gathering information and prosecuting," said U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, who spoke at the conference.

Speakers from Public Service Company of New Mexico and Sandia, the Infragard member companies who sponsored the event, outlined measures they have taken to boost security.

PNM has increased monitoring of its transmission system and holds regular drills on emergency responses, said Dan Zientek, PNM's director of power operations.

Sandia is working to develop modeling programs that industries can use to identify, analyze and respond to potential security risks from criminals, extremists and terrorists, said Cal Jaeger, a member of Sandia's technical staff.

Robert Windus, manager security and emergency management for Bonneville Power Administration, a Portland, Ore.-based federal agency that markets wholesale electricity and transmission to public and private utilities in the Pacific Northwest, said his agency has developed risk models for its own transmission lines and hydro-dams.

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