13 Nov Assignment 3.1: Critical Infrastructure Partnerships and Resilience: Lessons from the 2021 Texas Power Outages
Protecting critical infrastructure requires coordination among government agencies, private infrastructure owners and operators, and other community partners. The February 2021 Texas power outages provide an opportunity to examine how interdependencies between natural gas and electric systems affect infrastructure resilience. In this assignment, you will evaluate partnership responsibilities and coordination using the 2013 National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP). You will then use National Security Memorandum 22 (NSM-22), issued in 2024, to recommend improvements in collaboration, accountability, and information sharing.
Required Resources
Review the following government resources:
FERC, NERC, and Regional Entity Staff Report: The February 2021 Cold Weather Outages in Texas and the South Central United States Review the executive summary and findings and recommendations concerning coordination between natural gas and electric systems.
Final Report on February 2021 Freeze Underscores Winterization Recommendations | Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
NIPP 2013: Partnering for Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Review “Partnership Structure,” “Collaborating to Manage Risk,” and relevant portions of Appendix B concerning partner roles and responsibilities. Use this document as the historical framework for evaluating the case.
national-infrastructure-protection-plan-2013-508.pdf
National Security Memorandum 22: Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience (2024)
Review “Policy Principles and Objectives” and the sections addressing government and private-sector responsibilities. Use this memorandum to examine subsequent federal policy approaches to shared responsibility, information sharing, accountability, and managing risks across interconnected infrastructure systems.
DCPD-202400358 – National Security Memorandum on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience – DCPD-202400358 | Content Details | GovInfo
Supplemental Resource (Optional)
Government Accountability Office (GAO): Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience
Review relevant GAO findings and recommendations concerning federal coordination, risk management, and implementation challenges. Use this resource to support your evaluation of partnership effectiveness and identify considerations for improving accountability and infrastructure resilience.
U.S. GAO – Site Search
Application of Required Resources
The 2013 National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) provides the foundational framework for examining critical infrastructure partnerships and shared responsibilities. National Security Memorandum 22 (2024) provides a subsequent federal policy framework for evaluating improvements in coordination, information sharing, and accountability. Consider the historical context and subsequent policy developments when applying these resources to the February 2021 Texas power outages.
Instructions
Prepare a 750–1,000-word analytical briefing for government and utility leaders responsible for critical infrastructure preparedness. Focus on one documented coordination problem involving natural gas and electric systems during the February 2021 outages. Address the following five areas using clear headings.
1. Infrastructure Importance and the Value of Partnerships
Analyze how natural gas and electric infrastructure depend on one another. Explain how disruptions can affect essential services and national security. Evaluate why cooperation among government agencies and private infrastructure owners and operators is necessary to manage these risks.
2. Partner Responsibilities and the NIPP
Examine the responsibilities of the government agencies, regional organizations, and private organizations involved in the coordination problem you selected. Evaluate how the NIPP partnership approach could help these participants establish shared priorities and coordinate their responsibilities. Identify one strength and one limitation of applying this approach to the case.
3. Improving Collaboration Through NSM-22
Use NSM-22 to recommend improvements that address the documented coordination problem. Explain how shared responsibility and timely information exchange would support those improvements. Identify which partners would lead and support each recommended action, and explain why the recommendations are appropriate for the case.
4. Sustaining Partnerships and Accountability
Recommend how partners would maintain participation and accountability over time. Consider approaches such as joint exercises, written agreements, recurring planning meetings, or corrective-action reviews. Explain how these actions would help partners meet their responsibilities and support the accountability expectations in NSM-22.
5. Measuring Results
Identify two measurable ways partners could determine whether their work together is improving preparedness or resilience. Explain what information would be collected, who would review it, and how the findings would guide improvements. Connect each indicator to the coordination problem and your recommendations.
Graduate-Level Expectations
Your briefing should explain what the evidence shows and why it matters, going beyond a summary of the event or assigned readings. Support your conclusions and recommendations with information from all three required resources. Clearly distinguish the findings reported in the sources from your own analysis and recommendations. Explain why your recommendations would help, their limitations, and at least one challenge partners may face when putting them into practice.
Submission Requirements
· Submit your briefing as a Word document.
· Include 750–1,000 words, excluding the title page and references
· Use APA Formatting: Follow APA 7th edition guidelines, including a student title page, double-spaced text, appropriate headings, in-text citations, and a reference list. Use 12-point Times New Roman font and 1-inch margins throughout the document.
· Cite all three required resources. Additional credible sources are optional.
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