Substation Safety and Awareness Training for Local Law Enforcement

Did you know MEAG Power offers complimentary substation training for Participants’ local law enforcement and fire departments – including both a classroom presentation and site visit to a substation?

The training, which counts for 2-4 hours of POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training) credit for officers, provides insights into:

• Georgia’s Electrical Grid
• Substation Overview
• Substation Safety and Awareness
• Recent Events and Growing Threats
• Response and Communication Plans
• Review of Local Substations

The training is important as physical security incidents at electric utility facilities have been on the rise in recent years. From 2022 to 2023, there was a 68% rise in these occurrences according to the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC). In one example, stolen copper grounds led to an outage of 10,000 customers. In another, ballistic damage to transmission line conductors led to an outage of more than 15,000 customers and $60,000 in damages.

In fact, the increase in attacks on utility substations across the country led the Georgia Assembly to pass House Bill 227 in 2023. It calls for 1 to 10 years in prison for offenders who interfere with any property in a manner so as to endanger human life, and 2 to 20 years in prison for offenders who interfere with the proper operation of critical infrastructure with the intention of disrupting service with either force, violence or by electronic means.

Attendees will learn about substation equipment like transformers, regulators, switches and capacitor banks. They also will learn how to gain access to a substation, what to do before entering any substation, how to safely navigate the substation grounds, and what to do in case of a security breach.

The substation visit is especially informative as law enforcement can locate hazardous substances including batteries, gases used in breakers and switches, and nitrogen tanks.

Those interested in the training for their community should reach out to their Regional Manager to schedule a session.