An Enquiry into Blackouts and the Presentation of Solutions to Deal with Threats and Vulnerabilities of the Power Network Through the Passive Defense Approach

The term of passive defense refers to a set of unarmed actions that increase deterrence, reduce vulnerability, guarantee the continual of essential activities, promote national stability and facilitate crisis management in the face of enemy threats and military actions. The electrical power grid is an infrastructure, vital for the country and any disruptions in the grid, affects other infrastructures of the country. In such circumstances, many problems emerge which have significant effects on different sections of society and cause serious challenges to the administration of the country. Hence in this article, first the factors affecting power blackouts around the world are analyzed, then regarding the causes of blackouts, the threats and vulnerabilities of the national power grid are identified and appropriate solutions are provided to reduce the vulnerabilities and to improve the stability of the national power grid. In order to implement the principles of passive defense against blackouts, these solutions are proposed with consideration of the main principles of passive defense. Finally, the strategies of passive defense required for enhancing the national power grid security are determined based on the proposed solutions. The result of these strategies is the continuity of electricity supply for the society and the proliferation of national resilience against threats and dangers.