The State of the Electric Grid

Recently, a story ran on National Public Radio (NPR) about the state of the national grid. Actually, we should stop right there.  Its not really so much a “national” grid as it is a grid of independent power plants and transmission lines, owned by a variety of utilities and threaded together across the United States.  And its getting old and worn out.  Not to mention susceptible to hacking from spies.

So what are we going to do about it?

There’s no Social Security program to help the grid in its aging years.  So, its high time investments are made to update the electrical grid, make it smarter, and deal with the new energy issues facing us.  Consider this:

Electricity is generated as it is used. There is very little ability to store electricity. Because of this instantaneous nature, the electric power system must constantly be adjusted to ensure that the generation of power matches the consumption of power. On continental U.S. power grids, roughly 150 Control Area Operators serve this function by using computerized control centers to dispatch generators as needed.

This is not just something that you can read about and then put aside.  The electric grid is essential for national security, as well as public health and prosperity. We take grid-based electricity for granted, but there are so many communities around the world that lack the ability to meet requirements of food and water.  As noted by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability:

In 1940, 10% of energy consumption in America was used to produce electricity. In 1970, that fraction was 25%. Today it is 40%, showing electricity’s growing importance as a source of energy supply. Electricity has the unique ability to convey both energy and information, thus yielding an increasing array of products, services, and applications in factories, offices, homes, campuses, complexes, and communities.

Without an updated electrical grid, we’ll never get out of debt: its asset value is in excess of $800 billion, spread out through power plants, distribution facilities and transmission facilities.  A smart grid will help us implement more efficient renewable energy and reduce heavy loads on the grid, which will save us all additional money.  Prices for electricity vary widely from state to state:  If you live in Oregon, you can pay nearly half of what customers pay in California, for example!  Once we tap into our nation’s vast renewable resources, including solar and wind, we’ll be able to level the costs of electricity nation-wide.

The North American Electric Reliability Corps believes that the aging US electric grid will not be able to handle an influx of energy from new, renewable energy sources.  Fortunately, a new, smart grid is on its way.  Already in place in Miami, it is not a cheap proposition.  In exchange for investment now, we’ll reap the benefits of clean, reliable, affordable energy for years to come.

In short, Build Baby Build includes the call for construction of infrastructure to handle renewable-generated energy.

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to get daily updates!

No related posts.