El Paso's track record, a neighbor you don't need.

Pipeline and power grid security has become an urgent priority since the September 11 terrorist attacks, and energy companies have been scrambling to increase protection. Within hours of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the FBI issued an alert to utilities to increase security and report suspicious activities. Regional security coordinators at the North American Electric Reliability Council have been directed by the FBI to step up protection of the power grid, which is a highly desireable terrorist target. A new day has dawned, and utility inndustries leaders say the future of the utility business will be marked by drastic changes in security, the re-evaluation of power grid vulnerabilities, and the ability to respond quickly to emergencies. For example, U.S. soldiers would have about seven seconds to fire a missile and destroy a commercial airliner travelling 500 mph that is one mile away from a power plant.

Senior U.S. officials have said they are concerned about future attacks on symbols of American culture and power, including car bombs or truck bombs exploding near natural gas lines or power plants. Much of the security now in place would not thwart a determined terrorist. Security for the nation's power grid presents a particular challenge, as thousands of miles of high-voltage lines crisscross America and surveillance equipment monitors only a handful of key locations along pipelines. Attacks at key points could trigger vast power outages because grids are widely interconnected.

Since the September 11 attack, the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) announced that energy firms need to adopt new procedures, update existing procedure, beef up security staffs and improve physical protection of facilities to safeguard the electrical transmission and gas pipeline systems. Pipeline companies are putting people into previously unmanned facilities, beefing up security at terminals and key pumping stations, and increasing patrols along the hundreds of thousands of miles of pipeline.

The future risk of terrorist attacks is so significant that major reinsurance companies are no longer providing property or casualty insurance for terrorist attacks after December 31, 2001. Without such coverage, banks will not accept the risk of lending to new construction projects, such as new power plants or new pipelines. The U.S. government, therefore, is considering stepping in with a taxpayer bailout to help cover the costs of rebuilding these facilities in the event of a future terrorist attacks.
(Source: Reuters News Service, 9-14-01; 9-25-01, 10-5-01, 10-18-01; Associated Press, 9-17-01, 10-24-01; Power Engineering International Magazine, 10-11-01, U.S. Newswire, 10-15-01, Business Wire, 10-24-01.)

In 1999 the Federal Office of Pipeline security cited El Paso Natural Gas Company for pipeline security violations in Arizona. El Paso failed to lock and fence 3 transmission line valves that were near a public road or area to prevent tampering.
(Source: Warning Letter from U.S. DOT Office of Pipeline Security to El Paso Natural Gas Company, August 19, 1999.)