Mr. Frederick, chief information officer for Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, told the Senate Children and Youth Committee that cybersecurity and physical security are the largest current concerns for the state’s power system and that cooperatives are taking steps to isolate critical control systems.

"If they can get into the industrial control center, they could shut down the generation of certain plants," Mr. Frederick said, warning that stolen or auctioned industrial control credentials on the dark web pose a credible danger to generation and control facilities.

Mr. Frederick outlined the basic structure of the U.S. grid — three interconnects (Eastern, Western and ERCOT), regional transmission organizations and roughly 3,000 generating companies — and explained Arkansas’s local arrangements, including membership in MISO and Southwest Power Pool and a generation‑and‑transmission role for the Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, which serve 17 members and about 62% of the state’s landmass.

To reduce reliance on commercial carriers and to segment critical traffic from the public Internet, the cooperatives have elected to build a statewide dark‑fiber ring. "We lighted ourselves," Mr. Frederick said, describing the fiber ring as a way to keep generation and control facilities on their own network and away from external influence.

Mr. Frederick described the RTO restoration process known as Black Star, which governs how regions are brought back after a total loss of power. He warned of system frequency risks, telling the committee that the U.S. grid operates at 60 hertz and that sustained departures toward 59.4 hertz can trigger automatic protective actions on a timed sequence.

Committee members pressed Mr. Frederick about consequences for vulnerable populations. He said hospitals and nursing homes generally have generator requirements, but assisted‑living and independent‑living facilities do not. He also cautioned that mobile substations and temporary generation face fuel‑delivery constraints: "Even if you've got the generation, how do you get fuel to it?" he asked.

On increasing demand, Mr. Frederick noted that data centers — including cryptocurrency and new AI facilities — can add large, concentrated loads that stress local generation and transmission, and that long equipment lead times and supply‑chain delays slow replacement or augmentation of generation capacity.

Mr. Frederick said Arkansas has seen few successful physical attacks on critical assets, most incidents have involved theft of materials such as copper, and a few attempts to breach gates did not result in access. He stressed information‑sharing with federal partners including DHS and the FBI and said some intelligence is handled at classified levels within sector information‑sharing centers.

Committee members asked staff to follow up on specific items including whether fuel stations have generator partnerships, whether legislators should be briefed on Black Star details, and whether the 2021 critical‑infrastructure statute referenced by a member needed updating. Mr. Frederick said he would provide information and agreed to support statute review if useful.

The committee did not take formal action at the hearing; members asked for additional information and indicated plans for follow‑up meetings.