A power plant employee adjusts the wiring of a power unit in North Texas. The Texas energy sector has been increasingly probed for weaknesses by computer hackers from Russia, according to a cybersecurity expert whose company has monitored cyber threats in Texas.
“We are on super high alert,” said Thad Hill, CEO of Texas power giant Calpine, adding that he has been closely monitoring Russia’s cyber actions.that the White House has “evolving intelligence that the Russian government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks” — the administration’s starkest warning yet.
“Texas has some key export facilities for liquid natural gas — at a national security level, there are a couple sites that we all freak out about,” Lee said. “If you took down one site, you don't get fuel exports out to certain countries.” Regulators overseeing Texas’ power grid, the smallest of the three in the U.S., said the grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, and the Public Utility Commission of Texas thatBut ERCOT was unable to keep the power on last year when a winter storm hammered Texas, leaving millions without power for days and hundreds dead. ERCOT said the grid was only