PHOENIX — While the major power companies in Arizona were not affected by the global tech outage, the chance of a cyber attack remains a top concern for APS and SRP — especially during the summer months when so many in Arizona rely on air conditioning to survive.
Both APS and SRP appeared before state regulators back in April to assure them they have redundancies in place and backup power resources in the event of a cyber disruption.
In fact, APS told commissioners they put the company through practice cyber attacks to test the utility's resiliency.
An association that works with utilities across the West known as the Western Electricity Coordinating Council told the Corporations Commission in April that last year there were two attempted cyber attacks on the power grid in the West. Both failed.
The bigger problem that they face is physical attacks. There were 107 reported last year. So far this year, 64 were reported. Nearly all of those are either break-ins at substations involving theft of materials like copper or people shooting equipment.
The director of the council said physical attacks are "a growing concern."
How can homeowners prepare for a power grid failure? The same way you would for any emergency.
Have water storage, a generator, first aid supplies, and enough food for at least a week. And remember, if the grid were to go down, so would ATMs. If you can have some cash on hand, it's recommended.
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