Hacking your electric company

National Geographic will air a TV docudrama where in enemy hackers cause electric power failures nationwide.  With the juice out, water systems stop delivering water, cell phones stop celling, gasoline pumps won't pump, freezers thaw out, the Internet goes off the air, along with TV and radio.  Wired phones may last longer, but don't count on it.  In short, Western Civilization crumbles.
   One simple rule would prevent this.  No control signals of any kind may be transmitted over the public internet or the plain old telephone system (POTS).  Companies must be required to string private wires, preferably optical fibers for all remote control and monitoring. 
    Reason.  Connect anything to the public internet, and every hacker on the planet has access to it.  All the hacker needs is to learn the control codes and he can order the remote controled machinery to do anything he likes, go off line, shut down, blow up, you name it.  Whereas  with a private line, the hacker has to get a ladder and climb a pole to tap into it.  Fiber optic is even better, you cannot tap fiber optics, you would have to cut the fiber, insert a splitter, and then rejoin the cut fiber.  Few hackers will climb a pole, let alone splice optical fiber.  And you have to be there, you cannot climb an American pole from your basement in Lower Slobbovia. 
    Companies won't like this, it's expensive.  Using the public internet or POTS is free, where as a private line costs you, for installation and maintenance.  The power companies won't  comply unless the public utility commissions demand it. 
   If they don't,  better check out your backup generator.