The participants of the blackout simulation game (Credit: Katharina Schiffl)
On 28 and 29 November 2022, the Kompetenzzentrum Sicheres Österreich (KSÖ), together with the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and the Federation of Austrian Industries, organised a blackout simulation game in which the first hours and days after a widespread and prolonged power blackout as well as the multiple effects on the economy and society in the form of cascading effects were tested.
The exercise scenario presented consisted of a de-synchronisation and splitting of the European power grid due to a technical incident in the energy infrastructure. The cascading effects triggered by this led to a nationwide power blackout in Austria. As a result, the crisis teams of the various participating companies and organisations were formed. The simulation game was prepared in two phases. In the first part, the participants were able to test the processes at the beginning of the crisis situation (short-term planning for the first four hours). The second part of the simulation dealt with the preparation and planning activities for a longer-lasting crisis (long-term planning up to hour 96). In order to simulate the limited communication possibilities between the participants due to the power failure, the individual groups of players were equipped with walkie-talkies (point-to-point communication). One of the most modern IT simulation platforms of the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, the AIT Cyber Range, was used to visualise the cascade effects caused by the power failure. On this AIT Cyber Range, the networks and interdependencies of critical infrastructures affected throughout Austria were made visible, which were modelled in advance of the exercise with important stakeholders such as energy suppliers.
The primary objective of the simulation was to enable the participating companies to test internal emergency management as well as communication and cooperation using various communication processes. Furthermore, the participating organisations were able to test the communication channels within and outside the sectors.
Presentation of the results and findings
The evaluations of the individual sectors were presented in a debriefing workshop on 7th December 2022 at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology. AIT game leader Stefan Schauer presented the results of the blackout simulation to the participants from the various organisations and gave an insight into the individual sectors involved.
The results showed that the energy sector was able to restart after only half an hour. The alternative, decentralised energy sources such as wind and photovoltaics, which feed into the grid at irregular and unplannable times, proved to be challenging. Due to the lack of electricity, the mobility sector in particular identified a major problem in the urban area, because a failure of all traffic lights causes restrictions and traffic jams in individual traffic.
In the public authority sector, key personnel have already been identified who need to know about the activities and tasks in the event of a blackout. This key personnel will also be alerted within the first 20 to 30 minutes in the event of a crisis. Due to the anticipated problems with individual transport identified in the simulation, additional attention will be paid in the future to which relevant key personnel are already on site, which persons must follow and for which persons transport must be organised. As in the other sectors, this coordination is further complicated after 30 minutes at the latest due to a lack of means of communication. The infrastructures and staff of the communication sector must therefore be prepared as well as possible for a blackout, because their focus is on maintaining those core components that are essential for the communication networks and enable them to be restarted more quickly.
In the health sector, it was shown that the organisations involved are well prepared for a blackout with their measures. Through island operation with the help of emergency generators, hospitals can complete ongoing operations and continue to care for intensive care units. The social sector, however, points to the problem of home and mobile care, as a lack of fuel supply and communication options means that mobile care workers can no longer reach patients, or can do so only with difficulty.
In the finance sector, the actions in the first phase of the simulation are very straightforward and clear-cut. Through a controlled shutdown of the systems both in the branches and in the head offices, most activities are shut down and prepared for the restart. Due to the shutdown of the systems, however, there is no possibility to withdraw cash or to pay with debit or credit cards until the systems are restarted. This problem in turn affects the food and logistics sector: in order to ensure the supply of the population, grocers offer ready-made food packages from the second day onwards, which in turn have to be paid for with cash.
Summary
In recent years, the danger of a large-scale and prolonged power failure, a so-called blackout, has become increasingly prominent. Many companies, especially from the critical infrastructure sector, are concerned with preparing for such a crisis situation and planning measures.
Exchange across sectors is a key aspect of managing such a networked crisis. Exercises for several organisations in one sector among themselves and across sectors or even at national level promote exchange between the relevant people in the individual organisations and contribute to the formation of a network. Sufficient preparation and training significantly strengthens resilience capacity as well as the effectiveness of measures in the event of a crisis.
With about 150 participants, consisting of about 80 players and about 40 observers as well as 30 staff members, the blackout simulation reached a new participation record.
Michael Höllerer, President of KSÖ, sees the high number of participants as confirmation of "the necessity of such simulation games for critical infrastructure organisations". "The possibility to test internal measures is not always given, so it is all the more important to create suitable framework conditions to give companies and authorities an opportunity to test their emergency plans," says Michael Höllerer.
"The blackout simulation was an absolutely necessary dry run. Preparing for a prolonged power blackout and ensuring the supply of the Austrian population are of enormous importance for internal security. I am all the more pleased that the key stakeholders from the critical infrastructure sectors actively participated. This shows how high the relevance and interest in such simulation games is. I would like to thank all those involved who prepared, led and carried out such an important event," said Federal Minister of the Interior Gerhard Karner.
"By using the modern simulation platform "AIT Cyber Range", we were able to implement one of the most advanced exercises to achieve further education and training goals for the participating actors and at the same time gain valuable experience for an emergency. This enabled us to position ourselves as an international role model and make a significant contribution to ensuring digital security in Austria," says Helmut Leopold, Head of the Center for Digital Safety & Security at AIT.
"Initiatives such as the blackout simulation are essential to increase the planning security of domestic companies and to raise the awareness of decision-makers, institutions, etc. in a holistic manner. A blackout scenario is one of the greatest dangers for Austria as an industrial location, because one thing must be clear - security of supply is the ultimate for industry! In the long term, this must also be taken into account with regard to decarbonisation. The expansion of renewable energies must go hand in hand with the construction of the necessary energy infrastructure, i.e. storage facilities, grids, etc., so that the rehearsed emergency does not occur," Peter Koren, Vice Secretary General, Federation of Austrian Industries, sums up.
Press contact:
Alexander Janda
KSÖ – Kompetenzzentrum Sicheres Österreich
T +43 (0)676 556 68 00
janda(at)kompetenzzentrum-sicheres-oesterreich.at | www.kompetenzzentrum-sicheres-oesterreich.at/
Michael W. Mürling
Marketing and Communications
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
Center for Digital Safety & Security
T +43 (0)664 235 17 47
michael.muerling(at)ait.ac.at I www.ait.ac.at
Marlena Mayer
Industriellenvereinigung
Pressesprecherin
T +43 664 841 2915
marlena.mayer(at)iv.at I https://www.iv.at/medien