4 INSIGHTS 2018
U
nless you have been living in another country it would
have been near impossible to be unaware of the debate
over energy security. But then again, with a Prime Minister
who has sloganised “engineering and economics” as the
Coalition approach to energy security, and the constant Canberra
political blame game, it would be no surprise if you have switched
off. As with the climate change ‘debate’ before it, it is mainly only
the politicians and commentators that we tend to hear from regard-
ing energy, and very little is heard from real experts. That’s not to
say that expert opinion is not sought: it’s just that it seems to only
be of interest to politicians when the advice given fits in with their
current political agenda.
Nevertheless, engineers and scientists need to keep on finding real
scientific and engineering solutions to the problem of energy security,
as they have always done, regardless of the political melodrama.
There are many elements to the energy security debate, and to
the work going on in the background, whether it be the ‘economics
and engineering’ of fossil fuels versus renewables, or energy stor-
age and energy demand — and of course solving the problem of
the reliability and resilience of the distribution network. One such,
perhaps more esoteric, element of energy security is cybersecurity:
a subject that doesn’t seem to make it into the mass media as a
talking point.Cybersecurity: the third aspect of energy security
Energy security, as presented in the media, tends to revolve around
two aspects:- Ensuring there is sufficient generation to meet demand when it
is at its peak. - Ensuring that the energy grid can deal with contingencies like
faults or generation failures.
The achieving of these two goals is obvious and fundamental to
achieving a reliable energy supply. In the public media debate we
only hear discussions of energy prices for consumers and arguments
about resurrecting ageing coal-fired power stations — arguments
dumbed down and simplified for mass public consumption.
AUSTRALIAN
ENERGY
SECURITY
IN A CONNECTED WORLD
Glenn Johnson, Editor, Process Technology
Politics aside, the future of Australian
energy networks is looking exciting,
with digitalisation and a greater mix of
cheaper energy sources coming online
— but we mustn’t ignore the elephant
in the room: cybersecurity risk.