WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 — At her recent Senate confirmation hearing, former Michigan governor and current Secretary of Energy nominee Jennifer Granholm pledged to make electric grid security a priority. She also expressed hope that actions to enhance grid security will be part of infrastructure legislation proposed by the Biden Administration.

Protect Our Power, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to making the electric grid more secure and resilient, today applauded Granholm’s focus on hardening our nation’s electric grid to protect it from cyberattacks, and for embracing measures  as part of a comprehensive infrastructure legislation.

“We look forward to working with Governor Granholm on protecting our nation’s electric grid from cyberattacks, and we enthusiastically support her nomination,” said Jim Cunningham, executive director of Protect Our Power.

News of a massive breach of U.S. cybersecurity systems made headlines last month.  A group of hackers linked by experts to the Russian government breached numerous U.S. government agencies, including the Departments of State, Homeland Security, Commerce and Energy, as well as the National Institutes of Health, the Pentagon, the Treasury, and the National Nuclear Security Administration as well as thousands of U.S. businesses.

“This cyberattack served to underscore the importance of strengthening the security of our nation — particularly the electric grid, which powers all other components of our critical infrastructure,” Cunningham said.

“Our quality of life and national security clearly depends on uninterrupted, reliable power supplies. We must have a heightened sense of urgency across all levels of government and business to better protect our electricity system and mitigate the impacts of cyber-attacks wherever they occur.”

Protect Our Power is a non-partisan, non-profit group focused on improving electric grid security and has been working with all aspects of the electric power industry since 2016 to build consensus on what needs to be done and how to finance a plan for upgrading our electric grid. The group has worked with key stakeholders, including power companies and Federal and State officials, to drive needed physical and regulatory improvements and advocate for a national policy to address this national threat.