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Arkansas Electric Cooperative warns of statewide blackout risk in presentation to Senate Committee on Children and Youth
Summary
Daron Frederick, chief information officer at Arkansas Electric Cooperative, told the Senate Committee on Children and Youth on Sept. 6 that grid security risks could cause a statewide blackout and would disproportionately affect children and elderly residents. The committee heard the presentation (Exhibit B) and took no formal action.
Daron Frederick, chief information officer at Arkansas Electric Cooperative, presented to the Senate Committee on Children and Youth on Sept. 6 in Little Rock about vulnerabilities in the electric grid that, he said, could lead to a statewide blackout and would have particular impacts on children and elderly residents. The presentation was entered as Exhibit B.
Frederick identified potential security risks to the grid and described how an extended outage could disrupt services that protect and care for children and older adults, including health-care delivery and facilities that provide supervised care. He framed the issue as a public-safety concern for the state, noting the differential effects on vulnerable populations.
Senator Bryan King, the committee chair, presided over the session and heard the briefing from the cooperative. The transcript does not record committee votes, motions, or directives resulting from the presentation. No follow-up assignments, timelines, or requests for staff reports are recorded in the meeting record.
The committee convened at 10:00 a.m. in Room B at the MAC in Little Rock and adjourned at 10:45 a.m. The record lists other Senate and House members present but does not capture extended Q&A, formal decisions, or additional testimony in the posted transcript.
