Issues in open access vs. infrastructure security [electricity markets]

Summary form only given, as follows. One of the premises underlying the move toward competitive markets has been the presumption that it requires "open access" to the transmission network, with widespread availability of data on the capabilities of that network. The electrical circuit characteristics of the transmission grid play an intimate role in determining the limits on transmission capability. Almost inevitably, therefore, it would appear that widespread availability of data regarding transmission capability will carry with it fairly detailed knowledge of the physical characteristics of the transmission grid, and more notably, its "Achilles heels," in the form of major transmission bottleneck points whose loss would render the system inoperable. While the inherent tension between the open data availability and privacy/security concerns has been recognized since the beginning of the move toward open access, revisiting the argument for strong attention to infrastructure security has become far more compelling in the wake of the terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001.