Energy is essential to our daily lives and economy, but how does fuel move through pipelines and how is the demand for electric power met? Many of the concepts, processes, and technologies that make up the energy sector are complex and technical, making them difficult to understand or explain.
That’s why the Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) is proud to share the first installments of the Energy Security and Resilience Learning Series. These user-friendly online resources explain how some of this complex sector works! The first three resources are available to download and share here.
* The Role of a Balancing Authority: Balancing authorities work together to supply power safely and reliably to electric customers within a specific geographic region. Learn how they dispatch and transfer power to ensure energy supply is available to meet demand and how they manage energy emergencies to protect or restore the grid.
* Propane Supply Chain: Propane is used around the U.S. for residential and commercial heating, industrial purposes like manufacturing, and agricultural applications like heating livestock facilities in the winter. Learn how propane is produced, transported, and stored; the seasonal peaks of demand for propane; and the challenges to getting propane to those that need it.
* Refined Petroleum Product Pipelines: The 64,000 miles of pipelines across the country efficiently move petroleum products, like gasoline or home heating oil, from refining centers to consumers. Learn how the pipelines operate, how fuel is “batched" and how pipeline operators coordinate schedules with shippers.
The learning series has many applications: state and local energy and emergency officials can use them to inform policies and plans; professors and teachers can share them with students; utilities can supply them to consumers; or researchers can refer to them as context or background for specific projects.
CESER’s State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Program will continue to add resources to the Energy Security and Resilience Learning Series.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response