Pennsylvania Ag Connection - Today's Webinar Looks at Energy Infrastructure, Cybersecurity

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Today's Webinar Looks at Energy Infrastructure, Cybersecurity
Pennsylvania Ag Connection - 02/11/2016

Energy is essential to home, community, commercial and government operations, and any disruption in the flow of energy could lead to life or death situations. How energy deliveries are protected from unauthorized disruptions will be the topic of a Web-based seminar offered by Penn State Extension.

This presentation, from 1 to 2 p.m. on Feb. 11 will feature Pamela Witmer, a commissioner with the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission. She will discuss the role of the commission regarding various forms of infrastructure and how the commission oversees the safety and protection of these systems.

"Given the increasingly connected world in which we live, cybersecurity is more critical than ever," she said. "This includes its connection with physical security and the protection of our critical energy infrastructure."

Witmer noted that there are more than 500 million devices connected to the Internet, operating on a wide variety of platforms able to launch a baffling array of malware, viruses and other destructive activities.

The webinar is free, but registration is necessary. To register, visit the Penn State Extension Natural Gas Events Web page. More information is available on the website or by contacting Carol Loveland at 570-320-4429 or cal24@psu.edu.

Penn State Extension's Marcellus Education Team provides monthly webinars on a variety of topics. Upcoming webinars include the following:

-- Feb 18: "Proppants and their Role in Hydraulic Fracturing," presented by Michael O'Neill, CEO, Preferred Sands.

-- March 3: "Pipeline Infrastructure Taskforce Report: Review and Next Steps," presented by Kenneth Klemow, associate director of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, Wilkes University, and Dave Messersmith, Penn State Extension Marcellus Education Team educator.

-- March 10: "Renewed Competitiveness for U.S. Plastics from Shale Energy," presented by Martha Gilchrist Moore, senior director, policy analysis and economics, American Chemistry Council.

-- April 28: "Evolving Roles of Shale Gas in Central and Distributed Power Generation Scenarios," presented by Penn State agricultural engineer James Freihaut, who is technical director of the Energy Efficient Buildings Hub at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

Previous webinars, publications and information also are available on the Penn State Extension natural-gas website, covering a variety of topics, such as Act 13; seismic testing; methane emissions; water use and quality; natural gas liquids regional development; natural gas reserves; gas-leasing considerations for landowners; legal issues surrounding gas development; and the impact of Marcellus gas development on forestland.

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