Earlier this week, the Guam Power Authority (GPA) conducted SURGE 2025, a comprehensive tabletop exercise aimed at strengthening the island’s readiness to respond to natural disasters and cyber threats. The exercise brought together local, regional, and federal partners to evaluate coordination and preparedness strategies vital to safeguarding Guam’s power systems.
Representatives from the Guam Waterworks Authority, Joint Task Force–Micronesia, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under the U.S. Department of Energy, and GPA’s energy partners—including MEC, Guam Ukudu Power, and Clean Capital—participated in the exercise. “Tabletop exercises like SURGE 2025 are essential to ensuring that we remain ready, coordinated, and capable of responding effectively to the unexpected,” said GPA General Manager John M. Benavente, P.E. “While we hope that many of the scenarios we will discuss never occur, it is our responsibility as leaders to prepare for them with diligence and professionalism.”
The exercise featured realistic disaster and cyber incident scenarios designed to test communication, coordination, and decision-making under pressure. Levi Lloyd, a cyber threat hunter with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Global Security Directorate, briefed participants on emerging cyber risks targeting Guam’s critical infrastructure. Lloyd underscored the growing threat from state-sponsored actors such as Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon and emphasized collaboration between utilities and federal agencies to strengthen cyber resilience.
GPA Chief Information Technology Officer Melvyn Kwek said the exercise underscored the importance of partnership and preparedness. “The knowledge and insights gained from SURGE 2025 will help us strengthen our collective readiness and ensure Guam’s critical energy infrastructure remains resilient,” Kwek said.
