On August 14, 2025, the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s (IEDA) State Energy Office convened the state’s first Assessment of Capabilities in Energy Security (ACES) workshop—led by the State Energy Office and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) and NASEO. The event brought together state and local agencies, utilities, fuel providers, and academic partners to clarify roles and responsibilities, improve information sharing, and expand cybersecurity preparedness across Iowa’s energy sector. ACES is a tool developed by Argonne National Laboratory designed to assist states with assessing and improving their energy security capabilities and capacity.
Energy security is economic security. Reliable and affordable energy keeps Iowa’s manufacturers operating, protects supply chains, supports small businesses, and attracts new investment. As the state’s economic development agency, the Iowa Economic Development Authority coordinates across government and industry to strengthen resilience, align resources, and help communities and employers prepare for and recover from disruptions. The energy office leads the state’s energy security planning and industry collaboration in support of these larger objectives.
Iowa’s progress is powered by strong public–private and academic collaboration. The workshop convened partners from Iowa’s electric utilities (both investor-owned and rural cooperatives), as well as natural gas and propane industries, to assess public-private coordination and information-sharing practices, and identify steps to enhance operations and joint cybersecurity preparedness. The workshop yielded actionable strategies for next steps, from data-gathering and outage coordination to joint exercises, cybersecurity outreach and education, hazard mapping, and incident response planning.
A Model State Partnership
The workshop spotlighted the excellent working relationship between the IEDA State Energy Office, Iowa Utilities Commission, and Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM). Together, the agencies align energy emergency planning, mitigation grants, generator and fuel tracking, geospatial analysis, and public–private coordination—helping support robust energy system resilience and effective energy disruption response.
About IEDA: The Iowa Energy Office manages a diverse mix of state, federal and utility-funded programs and initiatives that provide energy-economic benefits for Iowa’s citizens, businesses and organizations.
If you have any questions about ACES or this story, please reach out to Campbell Delahoyde (cdelahoyde@naseo.org)