Kathy Judge, director of risk and compliance, as well as corporate security, at National Grid recently testified at a House Transportation Security Subcommittee hearing on behalf of the American Gas Association, emphasizing the importance of protecting energy pipelines from physical and cyber attacks.
The subcommittee, part of the Homeland Security Committee, heard from Judge on how natural gas utilities prioritize protecting pipelines and the important role played by the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Pipeline Section within the Office of Security Policy and Industry Engagement.
“The most important thing natural gas utilities do is deliver energy to our customers safely and securely,” Judge said. “The partnership that our industry has with the pipeline security professionals at TSA is pivotal. We share the same objective of protecting critical infrastructure. We urge the committee to bolster the TSA pipeline security program and support inter-agency collaboration with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration in instances where pipeline security and pipeline safety overlap.”
Judge said gas utilities promote pipeline security through measures such as site-specific crisis-management plans, security requirements built into pipeline design, and preparedness coordination with federal, state and local first-responders. Another measure is the American Gas Association’s Downstream Natural Gas Information Sharing and Analysis Center (DNG-ISAC), an online platform for utilities to share information about cyber and physical threats.
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