Developing Applicable Risk-Abatement Options

In this step, different options to mitigate risk are introduced and categorized. The outputs of the previous step are much like the causes of pain, and output of this step resemble remedies that are prescribed to alleviate these pains. Different options can be employed to fight the risks. Some are preventive and should be done before a loss event, and some are just applicable when the event occurs. Preventive measures include deterring the sources of threats and eliminating vul­nerability events. Event-dependent activities include reductions of potential loss, managing the crisis, and rapid restoration to get back to normal. "Risk abatement is achieved through policies and procedures, technology, and insurance" [12].

Setting preventive governmental and international laws to deter the sources of threats are part of a common strategy. For example, severe international laws can be set to act against terrorism. Furthermore, some policies can be made to eliminate vulnerabilities, such as forcing all companies in a country to use computerized sys­tems in which more reliable information systems are provided. Establishing institu­tions such as the North American Electricity Council (NERC) in power sectors can be helpful in establishing operating policies and planning standards to ensure the reliability of gas systems.

With the usage of the high-tech systems, risk can be abated. For example, some sophisticated control systems can be used to determine the defects of gas pipelines. Using new technologies, gas can be transported in a liquefied state (LNG). Recent advances in the area of operations research and mathematical modeling brought ^about more accurate solutions for problems in the real world. For example, in the
area of gas networks, Unsihuay-Vila et al. [16] presented a long-term, multiag_e and multistage model for the supply and interconnections expansion planning ₀f integrated electricity and natural gas. The model of this work considered the value chain of both natural gas and electricity. This robust model, which minimizes investment and operational cost, dictates that to reduce the risk of power supply we are recommended to have natural gas storage when hydropower is considered Shi et al. [39] proposed to use natural gas hydrate (NGH) instead of LNG and com­pressed natural gas (CNG) because NGH has particular advantages such as moder­ate conditions of production and storage, simple technology, and high security.

Insurance companies are the best example for managing risk and rapidly restor­ing a situation to normal.