Powering the Fight: Lessons from the Grid at War

Abstract

Over the last half century, technological innovations have transformed modern warfare and intertwined U.S. military operations with the reliability and durability of the U.S. power grid. While these advancements in defense capabilities have strengthened the U.S. security posture in many ways, the current electric grid poses a severe vulnerability. During the two major world wars of the last century, the power grid played the more subtle yet foundational role of powering the defense industrial base — a hallmark of the American war machine that helped lead America and its allies to victory in each war. Yet those victories were not assured. In both wars, the U.S. faced severe challenges providing adequate power for the uptick in defense manufacturing. If the United States had to fight a major war today, the power grid would immediately be tapped to deliver uninterrupted electricity for critical defense missions at domestic installations while simultaneously supporting an uptick in wartime manufacturing that the country has not witnessed in more than 80 years. Drawing on lessons from last century’s major wars, the paper identifies a path forward to ensure critical military missions and defense industrial manufacturing have the transmission infrastructure necessary to support the success of the U.S. Armed Forces. Understanding how these challenges were overcome offers a roadmap for policymakers, utilities, and grid operators to follow as they work to strengthen the resilience and reliability of the electric grid—the foundation of our force and the defense industrial base—in order to prepare for and deter future conflict.