Fortifying America’s electric grid is critical to the reliable and secure delivery of electricity. Under President Trump’s Executive Order, “Declaring a National Energy Emergency,” the Department of Energy will identify and exercise all lawful authorities to strengthen the nation’s grid, including the backbone of the grid, our transmission system.

The Opportunity. The United States sits at an energy crossroads that will define our country's security and economic future for decades. Central to this opportunity is establishing and maintaining energy dominance through targeted and comprehensive investment in domestic energy resources and the electricity infrastructure required to support national defense.

The Bottom Line.  The electricity grid is essential to  U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) missions, and this dependency will only increase in the future. Achieving energy dominance for national defense requires having the resources needed to execute critical missions regardless of adverse conditions.

Why It Matters. Fortifying America’s electric grid is critical to providing the reliable, secure, and affordable delivery of electricity to drive U.S. defense industries and sustain military preparedness.

• Strengthening grid reliability and security fortifies our energy supply against adversarial attempts to disrupt or delay missions through targeted attacks on infrastructure, essential systems, and supply chains.

• Ensuring the secure delivery of electricity supports deterrence through resilience by denying adversaries the benefits of attacks.

• Aligning national defense and electricity system expansion requires a substantial shift in the way energy infrastructure in the U.S. is planned, constructed, and operated.

• After two decades of very slow demand growth, electricity demand is forecast to soar in the coming years, and it is imperative to consider current and anticipated load growth on our nation’s electric utilities.

“Unleashing the Grid: Energy Dominance For National Defense”

How It’s Structured. This publication presents a framework for defense stakeholders to understand grid risk in their regions and explore the national defense opportunities presented by transmission infrastructure expansion. The framework responds to a series of questions identified during consultations with defense and energy stakeholders.

What’s Next? A planned publication will use these frameworks and related resources to characterize the landscape for grid reliability, transmission planning, and national defense in specific states and regions. This website will continue to provide information about defense-relevant transmission proceedings, policies, and initiatives.

“It is the policy of the United States…to protect the United States’s economic and national security and military preparedness by ensuring that an abundant supply of energy is readily accessible in every State and territory of the Nation.” — Executive Order on Unleashing American Energy