Climate Change Challenge
DOER incorporated an asset-by-asset quantitative risk analysis on bulk energy infrastructure for forecasted natural hazards through 2050 with those identified in the 2022 Climate Change Assessment including strong winds, hurricanes, extreme heat, extreme cold, winter weather, inland flooding, coastal flooding, and wildfires.
Project Alignment with ResilientMass Plan Priority Actions
This project addresses the following 2023 ResilientMass Plan priority actions:
- Identify, assess, and develop strategies to increase resiliency for the most critical energy assets, with a focus on electric and natural gas infrastructure.
Climate Resilience Project Scope
To fulfill our responsibilities under the State Energy Security Plan (SESP) and the ResilientMass Plan, we completed a comprehensive Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (VRA) of non-state energy infrastructure assets—such as fuel terminals—and critical facilities. This VRA established a clear methodology for identifying and ranking critical energy infrastructure across the Commonwealth’s key energy subsectors, including natural gas, electricity, and liquid fuels. It assessed risks to these assets from a defined set of human-made and natural hazards. Based on this assessment, the report proposed targeted risk mitigation and resiliency strategies for each subsector and asset type. The findings of this VRA will inform the updated 2025 SESP and serve as the foundation for developing strategies to enhance the resilience of Massachusetts’ critical energy infrastructure.
Metrics and Results
Qualitative outcomes of the VRA include its successful integration into the State Energy Security Plan, reinforcing the importance of addressing regional energy vulnerabilities. The assessment provides a clear understanding of which components of the energy system require targeted hardening to enhance resilience against both natural and human-induced hazards across the Commonwealth. In support of this analysis, the project also developed a searchable database of critical energy assets by subsector and a GIS mapping tool that identifies, visualizes, and summarizes high-level facility information. Together, these tools equip state energy leaders with essential resources for informed, data-driven, and coordinated resilience planning.
Best Practices and Lessons Learned
We successfully established and leveraged a project management team (PMT) composed of interagency representatives and industry partners. This collaborative approach was instrumental in identifying and validating hazards to the energy system and in contextualizing their implications for regional energy security.
Further Action
We anticipate conducting an update to the vulnerability and risk assessment as a component of and to help inform the 2029 State Energy Security Plan, aligning with the ResilientMass Plan’s five-year update cycle.