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National‑lab scientist: connected batteries and inverters pose supply‑chain and cyber risk; inspections, contract changes urged

Senate Committee on Business & Commerce · April 1, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

An Idaho National Laboratory scientist told the Senate committee that communications pathways — not just country of manufacture — create the main security risk for modern inverter‑based resources and batteries; she recommended prioritized inspections, contract clauses to allow inspection, firmware review, and cyber‑informed engineering.

Austin — The chief power‑grid scientist from Idaho National Laboratory said the most urgent risk to the Texas electric grid is not only where equipment is manufactured but how it is connected and updated.

Dr. Emma Stewart told senators during the committee’s second panel that inverter‑based resources, battery energy storage systems and their control software are digitally active and increasingly interdependent. “If it has a communication system, we can consider it at risk at this point,”…

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