Electricity. Like air and water, most Americans take it for granted. And that is just fine with the electric industry, a 125-year-old business that takes pride in its ability to deliver affordable electric power reliably, without interruption, and always on demand.

But unlike virtually every other business or commodity, the electric industry provides a product that operates at the speed of light. The ultimate in instant gratification, electricity is consumed the instant it is generated. It is the unique on-demand, light-speed characteristics of electric power that makes securing the national electric grid a truly exceptional challenge, compared with other commodities.

The nation's electric power grid is too large and complex to completely secure its many components. In the 12-state U.S. region served by PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, there are some 50,000 metered components – transmission lines, transformers, and circuit breakers – which would require policing. Add in the rest of the United States, and the number of metered components reaches the hundreds of thousands. Now include components such as transmission lines and towers, and the number of physical parts that would need securing reaches into the millions.

That said, a strong level of security is built into the power grid's physical design, as well as the operational processes system operators use to maintain the grid's day-to-day reliability.