Enhancing Utility Resilience: Infrastructure Risk Analysis and Hazard Assessment with Idaho National Laboratory

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has developed a comprehensive infrastructure analysis approach that assesses critical systems, interdependencies, and failure impacts to help utilities strengthen resilience. This session will provide an in-depth look at INL’s methodology for evaluating natural hazard risks, asset vulnerabilities, and financial loss probabilities in the electric utility sector.

Attendees will gain insights into:

• Best practices for quantifying future natural hazard risks and forecasting equipment failures.
• Cost-effective resilience strategies that enhance grid reliability.
• A live demo of INL’s open-source ACCLIMATE tool, which provides localized climate risk assessments and damage estimates—a game-changer for smaller utilities.
• INL’s collaboration with the Department of Energy’s Cybersecurity, Energy Security & Emergency Response office, including resilience strategies, risk prioritization methods, and ACCLIMATE’s role within the All Hazards Analysis (AHA) framework.

The session will conclude with opportunities for attendee input and an overview of additional tools and resources available to support data-driven infrastructure protection decisions. Join this discussion to explore how advanced risk analysis and climate-informed planning can help utilities mitigate future disruptions and enhance long-term resilience.