In a time where lawmakers, journalists and advocacy groups are fighting to make government more open, one agency can’t seem to keep secrets.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, an independent agency within the Department of Energy that regulates the reliability of the nation’s electric grid, analyzed and identified potential, ideal terrorist targets in 2013 that would cause major blackouts, according to a report by the inspector general released Wednesday. Because the material wasn’t formally classified, the commission presented the grid analysis to people without official clearance in both the public and private sectors.
Limiting further disclosure of the grid analysis “appears to have been addressed,” the report said, “however, the matter regarding protection and sharing of sensitive commission information in the future has not.”
“We are focused on learning from this experience and improving our processes going forward,” FERC Chairman Cheryl LaFleur said in a prepared statement issued through a spokesman.
The IG’s review found that the commission’s ability to withhold “nonpublic” information was “severely lacking,” the report said. It also identified systematic issues that could allow future dissemination of sensitive information.
“Specifically, commission staff was not prepared to deal with internally created documents that may have had national security implications,” the report said.
As a result, the grid analysis was never reviewed for classification, despite its potential to “provide a road map for terrorist,” the report said. Some audiences of the analysis’s presentation even suggested that some of the information might require classification.
The nature of the material encouraged the FERC’s chairman at the time, Jon Wellinghoff, to categorize the grid analysis as sensitive and nonpublic. This allowed individuals without official clearance to view the presentation after signing a non-disclosure agreement.
However, the report found that some never signed such a form.
A nonpublic determination also doesn’t penalize private-sector individuals for sharing information.
Additionally, Wellinghoff, who was not specifically named in the IG report, told investigators that he issued the analysis with the intent to share the results with both public and private sector experts who could help mitigate the grid’s vulnerabilities.
Another reason the material wasn’t reviewed for classification was because of confusion over whether the DOE or the commission was responsible for submission.
Nevertheless, it was later determined that the FERC didn’t have the authority to classify material. The DOE, however, can classify any material without regards to the commission’s input.
The FERC worried that such disregard would be “burdensome,” as the agency often shares their findings with the private sector who can help rectify weaknesses the commission identifies, according to the report.
Rather than keeping such data unclassified, however, the report suggested the commission grant the private entities clearance. Such an action would prevent sensitive material from being disclosed while allowing private-sector experts to help mitigate grid vulnerabilities.
The IG made recommendations to improve the commission’s controls over sensitive material in addition to its previous action.
“We agree with the report’s recommendations and have made substantial progress in implementing them,” LaFleur said.
