ABSTRACT
Recent analysis carried out for the EMP Commission, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences has determined that severe geomagnetic storms (i.e., space weather caused by solar activity) has the potential to cause crippling and long-duration damage to the North American electric power grid or any exposed power grid throughout the world (NRC 2008, Kappenman 2010, NERC/US DOE 2010). e primary impact to the power grid is the risk of widespread permanent damage to high-voltage transformers and other power delivery and production assets, which are key, scarce, and di£cult to replace, of the high-voltage power network.
