Commercial Facilities and Electricity
In the first edition of this blog, I noted that “the electric sector underpins every other essential industry sector, and it also relies on many of them. I…think of the overlaps like the Olympic rings – all interlinked, with some overlapping more than others.”
For the next few editions (we’re close!), I’ll continue to focus on each critical infrastructure sector in relation to the electric sector because electricity – which began to be deployed as a service close to 150 years ago – has enabled the progress, convenience, and abundance that are hallmarks of modern life. Thereafter, I’ll get into the overlapping policy issues in more detail.
After a break during the holidays, it seemed appropriate for me to…wait for it…talk about the Commercial Facilities Sector. Why, you ask? Because I spent a lot of time in malls and retail stores leading up to and during the holidays and actually did periodically think about what I would do if there was an active shooter situation or some other emergency (nice, happy thoughts during the holidays, huh?). In all seriousness, personal responsibility and a heightened level of situational awareness while in gathering places such as malls can potentially prevent or mitigate a tragedy.
With that in mind, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, this sector includes:
"…a diverse range of sites that draw large crowds of people for shopping, business, entertainment, or lodging. Facilities within the sector operate on the principle of open public access, meaning that the general public can move freely without the deterrent of highly visible security barriers. The majority of these facilities are privately owned and operated, with minimal interaction with the federal government and other regulatory entities."
The Commercial Facilities Sector consists of eight subsectors:
Entertainment and Media (e.g., motion picture studios, broadcast media).
Gaming (e.g., casinos).
Lodging (e.g., hotels, motels, conference centers, RV parks and campgrounds).
Outdoor Events (e.g., theme and amusement parks, fairs, parades, exhibitions, parks, marathons).
Public Assembly (e.g., arenas, stadiums, aquariums, zoos, museums, convention centers).
Real Estate (e.g., office and apartment buildings, condominiums, mixed use facilities, self-storage).
Retail (e.g., retail centers and districts, shopping malls).
Sports Leagues (e.g., professional sports leagues and federations).
Each of the critical infrastructure sectors are encouraged by their Sector Risk Management Agency (SRMA) to develop a sector-specific plan to help inform both the private sector and the federal government about things like ongoing training, priority risks and planned mitigations, collaboration opportunities, and communication pathways in the event of a crisis. In the case of the Commercial Facilities (CF) Sector, their SRMA is DHS itself, so the sector worked with DHS to create their sector specific plan. In the executive summary of the plan, the sector leaders note: “While diverse, CF stakeholders, facing common existing and developing risks, must balance security priorities with their need for open access, public confidence, and economic vitality.” This is no small or easy task. In fact, it is almost a microcosm of the balance we seek to achieve in free countries – that between security and freedom.
In addition to the holiday shopping referenced above, I gravitated to focusing on this sector at this time for a couple of reasons – first, we’re heading into the Super Bowl (Subsector #5, Public Assembly), and second, these types of venues and celebrations have become ground-zero for terrorism (music festival in Israel on October 7, being a recent, horrifying example) and for individuals to use bombs, guns, vehicles or knives to maim or kill. Therefore, it’s important to highlight what the sector has done and is doing for safety as well as delve into the history, as I am wont to do – in order to provide perspective and context.
I, for one, have never been a huge fan of crowds so try to avoid really packed venues, but of course have been to many football games, malls, festivals, fairs, movie theaters, amusement parks, etc., etc., throughout my life – on my own, with friends, and with my family. Haven’t most of us? So what about the history of these types of gathering places? Have they always been targets for the evil or mentally ill?
With this particular sector, the historical record is much more difficult to pinpoint as compared to the other critical infrastructure sectors I’ve covered here. However, we’ve all visited, read about, or been taught about high-profile gathering places that date to the earliest points in recorded history. For example, Stonehenge, which, according to Wikipedia, originated as far back as 5,000 years ago (with some underground features dating as far back as 10,000 years ago), was clearly built with the intention of hosting events – whether burials, rituals, worship, and/or primitive celestial study, is a matter of debate, since there is no written record about its use.
While there are no remains of the biblical tabernacle whose development was overseen by Moses (it was the ancient equivalent of a pop-up church and was therefore made of lighter materials prone to disintegration), we can date its beginnings to approximately 3,500 years ago. The tabernacle was sacred and, as such, there were restrictions on who could enter which parts, but it still served as the central hub of worship and focus for the Jews during their time in exile. It also served as a formation center for troops before going into battle.
In ancient Greece, the term “agora” means gathering place. The Athenian Agora, adjacent to the Acropolis, is particularly well-known for its artistic depictions as well as the philosophical and democratic debates that occurred there. The Athenian Agora was established about 2,600 years ago, and is also known as the birthplace of democracy, according to worldhistory.org, because it coincided with the Greek statesman Cleisthenes’s reformation of the law after a series of tyrannical rulers. About 100 or so years after the Athenian Agora was created, the Persians defeated Greece and destroyed most of Athens, including the Agora. It was subsequently rebuilt by Pericles and likely just predated the development of the Roman Forum. In addition to political and philosophical debate and pagan worship, according to Brittanica:
“The agora also served for theatrical and gymnastic performances until special buildings and spaces were reserved for these purposes. In Athens respectable women were seldom seen in the agora. Men accused of murder and other crimes were forbidden to enter it before their trials. Free men went there not only to transact business and to act as jurors but also to talk and idle—a habit often mentioned by comic poets. In exceptional circumstances a tomb in the agora was granted as the highest honour for a citizen.”
The Roman Forum, developed about 2,500 years ago, served a similar purpose, but on a larger scale and with a slightly different focus than the Athenian Agora. The Roman Forum was also often used for military displays – whether Roman armies were preparing to go to battle or celebrating battlefield triumphs. One of its original structures was the Temple of Vesta, where Vesta, god of the hearth was worshiped. To this day, the temple remains standing near the Roman Colosseum, another gathering place, but this one foreshadowing our modern-day sports arenas – although minus the gore (contrary to popular belief and according to thehistoryace.com – and my recollection -- most gladiators did not fight to death because of the cost to train them). The Colosseum was built to hold gladiator fights several hundred years after the Forum was developed as an alternative to the Circus Maximus, a huge outdoor chariot racetrack adjacent to the Roman Palace that also held gladiator fights and military processions. At its height, the capacity of the Circus Maximus was 250,000 people while the nearby Colosseum held between 50,000 and 87,000. Interestingly, the Roman Emperor and Senators paid for attendance and food at these events, while Roman citizens attended for free and were seated in areas designated for their class.
With the temperate climates in both Rome and Athens, these gathering places were open-air, perhaps with some areas of shade, but with little concern for cold. In colder areas of the ancient world, gathering places were weather-dependent. In Medieval times, such places were associated with manor houses, castles, churches, and monasteries. Squares outside of these structures served as meeting centers, while the castles, churches and monasteries had designated areas for the public all or some of the time. Since most towns and cities in the Middle Ages were fortified with walls, the open-air gathering places were not any more subject to attack than the entire community was. The scale became significantly smaller than what was possible during the heyday of Greece and Rome with vast armies protecting large cities. The smaller footprint meant that huge military displays and sporting events were scaled back – jousts, for example, served to exhibit the prowess of fighting men and horses, but in one-on-one events.
Cities and towns developed in a similar way throughout the world, with areas set aside to gather for worship, socializing, political debate, punishment, and displays of military might. Fortified cities with centralized squares were the norm in many locations, and certain communities remained fortified through the 1800s, until modern artillery and air power made such defenses obsolete.
As I have described in previous editions of this blog, the convergence of major technological developments such as the harnessing of steam power and electricity spurred the industrial revolution. This, in turn, led to both very positive and very negative outcomes. One positive development was vastly increased wealth for many, many more people than ever before in history, enabling the middle- and lower-middle classes excess funds to engage in things like political action, entertainment, and sport. The vast proliferation of gathering places in modern times – and the subsectors of the CF sector dedicated to protecting these places – attest to this paradigm shift.
While there is dispute by scholars as to when terrorism began, the use of assassination has been around for millennia – according to Wikipedia, the first recorded assassination is that of Egyptian Pharoah Teti, about 4,300 years ago. Opportunities to assassinate heads of state or other important citizens for political or personal reasons often present themselves in public settings in commonly known gathering places. Two infamous assassinations of the 20th century – that of Archduke Franz-Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary that initiated the First World War and U.S. President John F. Kennedy -- were both undertaken at public events.
The use of the word terrorism became popularized during the French Revolution’s Jacobite Reign of Terror in the late 1700s. Since then, the term has been associated with both nation-state actions and actions of groups or individuals using violence and death to incite a reaction to serve their own ends. Individual actors have also committed brutal acts of violence resulting in mass deaths for reasons often known only to themselves.
Regardless of the reasons behind these heinous acts, the convergence between gathering places and such despicable behavior has increased in recent decades. Thus, the need for vigilance by both the CF sector and individuals attending these events. In terms of the electric sector’s relationship to promoting the safety of these gathering places, the Super Bowl is a good example. The local electric utility, which this year will be NV Energy in Las Vegas, will work with the venue (Allegiant Stadium), the National Football League, and local (and likely state and federal) law enforcement for weeks in advance to ensure the lights stay on during the event. This is, of course, to ensure the games gets played, and people get their money’s worth, but it is also providing an additional layer of protection against potential nefarious action. When the power goes out, it can be disconcerting and cause confusion, opening up potential opportunities for bad actors, a situation that can be avoided with advance coordination and planning.
Here are some other ways the sectors overlap - like the historical record, the relationships are a bit more nuanced, but are there nonetheless.
Reliance on transportation. CFs rely on various avenues to reach their facilities, but also to evacuate in times of crisis, while electric utilities rely on transportation for both the day-to-day deliveries as well as in crises.
Reliance on critical manufacturing. Both sectors rely on steel and steel products, poles, beams, concrete, etc., for their basic infrastructure and to ensure structural safety and integrity where applicable. Think of the amount of manufacturing items in stadiums and amusement parks alone.
Environmental regulation/climate change. CFs must meet environmental regulations and requirements and often work with their electric utilities, who are also subject to environmental regulation, to manage their footprint and offer sustainable solutions to their customers.
Reliance on natural gas and other fuels. There is a direct relationship here to CFs related to their back-up, onsite, power needs, while the electric sector uses these fuels to provide day-to-day power to the CF sector.
Reliance on water. Like every other critical infrastructure sector, CFs need water – various amounts depending on their function.
Workforce challenges and the knowledge drain that has resulted from retirements in recent years impact both industries’ regular operations.
Supply chain constraints that impact every aspect of infrastructure deployment and maintenance.
How to best use technology to create efficiencies and minimize expenses.
How to manage the cybersecurity risk that comes with those technology deployments. Both industries are acutely focused on this and could work even more collaboratively in the future.