In an age where electricity is as vital as the air we breathe, the sanctity of power infrastructure is non-negotiable. At the heart of this infrastructure lies the substation, a critical piece in our quest for uninterrupted power supply. However, substations face daunting security challenges that threaten to plunge our lives into darkness.
In this article, we explore the challenges of substation security, explain the complexity behind safeguarding these power centres, and discover how Walney Substation ensured operational continuity through substation security.
What is the purpose of a substation
A substation is an installation designed to establish suitable voltage levels for producing, converting, regulating, and distributing electricity.
Substations are responsible for leveling and transforming power so that once distributed, it is the appropriate power for our homes, ensuring we can safely use electronic devices.
Through substations, electricity can be distributed to reach different geographical areas and because of their purpose, substation security is critical to ensuring a nation’s power supply.
The challenges of substation security
Substation security is not without its challenges, which is often due to their remote locations.
Normally located on the periphery of consumption areas, inside buildings to save space, near power plants or the outskirts of urban areas with outdoor installations, their location and size along with the need to ensure substation security with public access requires striking the right balance.
For bad actors intent on creating chaos, substations also represent the perfect target for cybercrime. Therefore, substation security requires a comprehensive approach that goes beyond the physical defenses to include cybersecurity measures.
A substation security system is critical, and ensuring your solution is fit for task is the first step in mitigating potential security breaches including power outages and damage to critical infrastructure.
How to secure a substation
Any disruption or damage to the operation of these services can have devastating and far-reaching impacts across many aspects of our daily lives.
Because of their importance, a robust physical security solution is required, and an effective way to protect a critical infrastructure site is to use a layered approach beginning with substation fencing, through to cybersecurity.
Substation perimeter fencing
Substations are critical infrastructure, and as such require a robust substation security solution to protect and ensure minimal interruption and performance inefficiencies.
Securing substations requires a complete solution, one that starts from the outside in, with substation perimeter fencing.
Substation security fencing includes the installation of a monitored pulse fence around the edge of a site which has two functions; to provide intruder deterrence and ensure awareness if someone does try to enter a site.
Gallagher pulse fences boost substation security through energized, high-tensile wires that can be constructed inside a new fence or added to an existing one. The wires are monitored and will trigger an alert as soon as they are touched.
Gallagher’s perimeter fence security is configured and controlled using the powerful software at the heart of the solution, Command Centre, providing fence hardware solutions that can be managed and monitored across multiple sites from one central location.
Integrations
Video surveillance is another essential tool in boosting substation security. Command Centre is capable of integrating with a wide range of best-in-class video systems allowing substation security operators to be equipped with a single solution on the control room, increasing efficiencies and reducing costs.
Substation access control
Substation access control solutions ensure that access is only available to authorized personnel, those with the necessary competencies and permissions to be in a designated area at any one time.
One example of this is utilizing an access control system to manage user privileges and assigning different access permissions for employees. Entry control points can be easily established to only allow authorized individuals initial access to a facility or within specific areas. The rule of least privilege ensures that users are given the minimum levels of access or permissions needed to perform their job. This can be a fundamental layer in protecting high-value assets or data.
High security zones often have a dual authority rule, which requires two authorized individuals to be authenticated simultaneously before access is granted. For areas where two people must be present, a no-alone zone can be employed. If the individuals fail to leave within the allotted grace period, an alarm will be generated. Access control systems with more advanced capabilities can modify this rule to require at least one person of a supervisor role to be present.
Cybersecurity
A crucial layer in every physical access control strategy that is sometimes overlooked, is cybersecurity. Unfortunately, cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent and as such are a very real threat to every organization, although especially consequential for critical sites. When it comes to the protection of substations, cybersecurity is one of the most important things you can invest in.
Gallagher’s security solutions are highly specialized and designed to meet the needs of critical sites with some of today's highest security requirements. A significant component of this design is having cybersecurity protection built-in at every stage. End-to-end encryption and authentication, external and internal vulnerability testing, system hardening and configuration advice, fully trained and certified installers all help to ensure your security system is as cyber secure as possible.
How Gallagher helped Walney Substation improve security
When commissioned in 2018, the Walney Extension was set to power over 590,000 UK homes from a total capacity of 660 MW. Covering an area of reclaimed marsh land, the substation required an innovative perimeter and internal security fencing package to be designed to offer the highest levels in security and electrical safety.
Partnering with Gallagher, the substation installed five systems in total from the CLD Fencing Systems range of rigid mesh fencing and security gate solutions and combined this with a Gallagher Monitored Pulse Fence to add an extra layer of security to the site.
The Gallagher solution provides reliable detection and prevention of unauthorized access to the site, ensures operational continuity, avoiding significant costs associated with loss of supply, while protecting the site's assets from theft and damage.
The importance of substation security
By ensuring substation security is up to task, operators can be confident they have the necessary measures in place to mitigate risk and protect critical infrastructure from attack. By engaging substation security solutions fit for purpose, operators can best support an uninterrupted and reliable power supply to consumers, a necessity when maintaining public safety.
Substations are critical necessities in the distribution of electricity to power our homes, our hospitals, schools, manufacturing plants and keep life operating on a daily basis.
Ensuring substations remain secure and protected from possible attacks or threats is of the utmost importance. Protection starts from the outside in with substation perimeter security, the first step in a line of defense designed to ensure uninterrupted operating.
Additional layers of security including CCTV, access solutions, and cybersecurity fortify protection and create a cohesive and robust barrier to compromising activity.
Gallagher’s award-winning security solutions are used to protect some of the world’s most critical infrastructure and locations, and are sought after for their levels of protection, regulatory compliance, and efficiency.
Substation security is and continues to be about protecting what matters most and with Gallagher Security and access solutions operators can be confident their system is up for the task now, and into the future.