Electricity Today T&D Magazine

The physical security of electrical generation, transmission, and distribution sites is critical. The potential risks of a security failure are clear: disruption to service, damage to equipment, and intruder fatalities.
To prevent costly incidents and meet the National Electrical Reliability Commission’s Critical Infrastructure Protection regulations (NERC CIP-014), electrical utilities need reliable, cost-effective physical security solutions. For these solutions to be a success, they must:

• Reliably detect and deter would-be intruders.
• Enhance intrusion assessment and response capabilities.
• Secure remote and unmanned sites.
• Avoid operator fatigue by minimizing nuisance alarms.

This article focuses on the final requirement, minimizing nuisance alarms through proper site management and the adoption of new security technologies, including perimeter intrusion detection sensors, video analytics, and sensor fusion technology.

Nuisance Alarms Lead to Complacency
Nuisance alarms are alarms that are generated when the site’s security system is functioning correctly but is being triggered by non-threat stimuli, which may include...