COVID-19 Update: Due to the current situation, here are some helpful resources | Learn More

Spring 2020 Update

Greetings MBEF Members,

Spring is upon us and soon everyone will appreciate blooming flowers, planted crops, and hopefully a good mix of sunshine and rain. Right now however, these are trying times in Missouri and across the globe. The pandemic we are facing is real and it is affecting every element of our daily lives. The coronavirus has been proven deadly, so we must band together, listen to the medical professionals and our trusted leaders and together, we will move forward and resume our daily lives.

While many of us are “working from home” for the foreseeable future and our kids are “learning from home”, it is easy to take for granted essentials like a smart, secure, and safe electric grid. Not only is maintaining our grid critical to keeping us protected and comfortable at home, it is an absolute necessity to keep our hospitals, medical equipment, and the supply chain functioning at all hours of the day and night.

Fatih Birol, Executive Director at the International Energy Agency, wrote a compelling piece on how this global crisis highlights the ever-increasing need for a strong electrical grid in all corners of the world. With “shelter in place” rules being enforced globally, it is important to realize that many countries still have millions of residents without access to electricity, let alone a high speed or even low speed internet connection. As Americans this is frightening to us, but we too are faced with similar circumstances. My kids are fortunate to have school-issued laptops to work from for the next two weeks. Many other kids are granted the same luxury, and that’s why plugging into a modern energy grid that’s protected against cyber-attacks is more important than ever.

Mr. Birol stresses the need to build up our cyber defenses to protect our grid. Can you imagine fighting this pandemic without electricity, all because some outside threat was able to hack the power grid and shut it down? The threat is real and we should be concerned.

The Missouri Public Service Commission has a page on their website that provides all Missouri utility information as it relates to the coronavirus. I’ve shared a link to the website below:

Coronavirus and Missouri Utility Contact Information

Until the next time, be safe, stay healthy, and know that brighter days are ahead for all of us.

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