Strengthening the sustainability of energy critical entities through a business continuity management system

Abstract

Energy supply is currently considered a key area that is essential for the functioning of the entire society, remaining one of the most fundamental sectors of critical infrastructure worldwide. However, the functionality of energy systems is threatened by a number of threats from various areas, such as natural influences, technological threats, terrorism, and even state-supported organized attacks. For this reason, there is an active effort by all interested parties to achieve a sufficient resilience and sustainability level of these systems. Currently, various tools are used for this purpose, the essence of which is to ensure the preparedness of energy systems. Primarily, basic dependable systems aspects are applied according to the planning documentation and according to the N-1 principle from the transmission system code. These tools are functional and very proven in practice. However, the sprawling threat landscape and the COVID-19 pandemic have shown that the use of individual, separate tools may not comprehensively cover the entire area of preparedness, especially for unexpected events or expected events of unexpected dimensions. To address this challenge, the article takes up the professional abstract recommendation of ensuring the preparedness of the entire system comprehensively, i.e., by involving all possible tools, knowledge, and resources that the critical entity has. It proposes and tailors a Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) for the energy domain. The approach covers the entire management system of the organization, in which it establishes, implements, operates, monitors, reviews, maintains, and improves the continuity of activities in terms of key energy system functions. The aim is to ensure the sustainability of the functionality of the given systems within acceptable ranges. The article presents the targeted BCMS targets, building blocks, and representative implementation methods and tools. It is argued that the proposal is ready for application in the specific area of energy critical entities and systems by providing examples of partial implementation.