#Us power grids map upgrade

But, in an effort to better understand and predict cascading power outages, a team of researchers from Northwestern has just released the most comprehensive analysis of its kind. Until now, there has been little information on why small, localized electrical failures, which are generally inconsequential, can sometimes disrupt large portions of the power grid like the one that occurred in 2003. Disruptions like this are not only inconvenient, but they can also inflict tens of billions of dollars in losses and are a hazard to public safety. The reason? A high-voltage power line in Ohio brushed against some overgrown trees and shut down causing cascading blackouts throughout the region.

Center for Molecular Quantum Transduction (CMQT)Īt 2:00 PM on August 14, 2003, approximately 50 million people lost electricity from the Midwest to New York City and up to Ontario.

Center for Catalysis and Surface Science (CCSS).

Center for Advanced Materials for Energy and the Environment (CAMEE).

Great Lakes Circular Economy Partnership.

Master of Science in Energy and Sustainability (MSES).

In 2019, the utility dealt with the threat by cutting power to millions of customers on high fire-risk days. PG&E, California’s largest utility, filed for bankruptcy in large part because of costs from wildfires in 20 linked to its equipment - fires whose increased frequency and severity have been tied to climate change.

They also face pressure to make their infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent because of climate change.

#Us power grids map upgrade

At the same time, utilities are making $100 billion in investments annually to upgrade their aging grids.

In California, more than 10 million customers now get their power supplied by a local government agency instead of an investor-owned utility in December, the state hit the milestone of 1 million solar rooftops. Monopoly utilities in Virginia and Arizona are threatened by efforts that would allow residents and businesses to pick their electricity provider and make it easier for renewable power producers to compete. Distributed energy technologies such as rooftop solar that offer customers greater control over their energy use are becoming more popular as they fall in cost. Large users like Google, Amazon, Facebook and Wal-Mart are defecting, opting to buy power directly from renewable power developers while still using the grid for delivery. Utilities are facing serious business challenges. Every one that unplugs is another blow to the utilities that must keep the power flowing, edging them closer to what’s often described a “death spiral.” At stake is not only the health of the grid, but the nation’s ability to shift to a greener energy future. More and more power customers are bypassing their local utility, in search of cleaner energy, including some of the nation’s biggest corporations. Electricity sales have flatlined as users have become more energy-efficient. But it’s not clear where the money will come from. Improvements would make the grid more reliable, resilient and efficient, cutting the nation’s carbon emissions. It’s also an aging dinosaur that sorely needs an upgrade to its more than $1 trillion in infrastructure. power grid, an interconnected system of generating plants, wires, transformers and substations that keeps the lights on for the homes, offices and factories of the world’s largest economy. The biggest machine on Earth delivers more than $400 billion of electricity a year across nearly 7 million miles of transmission and distribution lines.