"The top Democrats on the Senate and House energy panels are seeking an assessment of the cyber and physical security protections for natural gas, oil and other hazardous pipeline infrastructure, warning of increased cyberthreats from foreign state-backed and criminal hacking organizations.

In their request yesterday to the Government Accountability Office, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) also noted the U.S. electric power networks' increased dependence on natural gas generation as a reason for the review. Cantwell is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Pallone has the same position on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

'The reliability of the [power] grid is now more than ever directly tied to the security of gas pipelines,' the legislators wrote, noting that gas supplies fuel one-third of all U.S. electricity generation."

Peter Behr and Blake Sobczak report for EnergyWire July 19, 2017. [2]