Responding in a time when security concerns and terrorism threats are heightened, Pace Global Energy Services and Ridge Global have entered into a strategic alliance to offer joint services to the energy and industrial markets.

Pace, an international energy consulting firm, and Ridge Global, an international security firm led by Tom Ridge, the first U.S. secretary of homeland security, plan to offer “a broad suite of services” including comprehensive risk management support, strategic security planning for energy infrastructure, and energy asset due diligence.

“Together, we represent a one-stop shop for clients who need commercial and security advice when developing strategic plans or pursuing energy asset acquisitions,” said Pace CEO Timothy F. Sutherland. “As we all have learned over the years, a more secure enterprise is a more valuable one.”

Ridge added, “We look forward to working with Pace to help clients in today’s vital energy and industrial sectors grow stronger economically and more secure.”

Energy infrastructure security has become a hot-button topic in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.

A first-ever proposed direct shipment of liquefied natural gas from Yemen, where Al-Qaeda threats have intensified, to Boston Harbor tentatively in February has prompted the U.S. Coast Guard there to review its tanker security (see related story). The Coast Guard began its security review before a passenger with ties to Al-Qaeda in Yemen tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane headed for Detroit on Christmas Day, according to a Coast Guard spokesman. A Boston Globe editorial Tuesday chided natural gas industry and public officials for not coming up with a “safer alternative” to the Distrigas of Massachusetts import terminal in Everett, MA.

On the electricity side, steps are being taken to construct a national smart grid to enhance the security and reliability of the energy infrastructure and facilitate recovery from disruptions to the energy supply both domestically and internationally. Last month President Obama nominated long-time Department of Energy official Patricia Hoffman to helm the Office of Electricity and Energy Reliability, which has been tasked with creating a national smart grid. In a Senate hearing last year Hoffman said the United States faces challenges as it secures the power grid and the information systems that will connect with it and control it.

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