In This Issue
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CommentaryWildfire Risk Is Rising. Electric Cooperatives Are Acting—Congress Must Too
Wildfires are no longer isolated disasters limited to the western United States—they are a growing threat to communities, infrastructure, and electric grid reliability nationwide. For the 42 million Americans served by electric cooperatives, the risk is especially acute. Co-ops power more than half the nation’s landmass, primarily in rural areas where wildfire danger is highest […]
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TechnologyAdvanced Weather Forecasting: How Sub-Kilometer Models Are Reshaping Utility Risk and Wildfire Decisions
As fire-weather risk expands beyond California, utilities are turning to sub-kilometer, asset-level forecasts to support public safety power shutoff decisions they can defend in front of regulators. When the National Weather Service (NWS) issued routine convective outlooks on the morning of May 27, 2025, public guidance for the Houston metro called for widespread 30 to […]
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T&DHow the Power Sector Is Bracing for a More Violent Climate
Utilities, federal agencies, and the national labs have finally assembled the tools to harden the grid against an increasingly hostile environment. The question is whether they can put them together fast enough. When a line of storms tore across the Northeast in late April 2025, racing from Ohio into central Pennsylvania, meteorologists recognized the signature […]
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SafetyThe Heat Is On: Summer Safety for Power Crews
Summer is the season utilities brace for. Demand peaks as air conditioners run flat out, equipment runs hot, and the workforce that keeps the grid alive does so under some of the year’s most punishing conditions. The same months that strain transformers and conductors also strain the people climbing structures and pulling cable beneath them. […]
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T&DGrowing Grid Strategy: Undergrounding Power Lines to Withstand Weather
The power generation sector, including electric utilities and grid operators, recognizes the value of moving equipment underground to mitigate outages, lessen risks to assets, and reduce the chances of that equipment causing a wildfire.
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T&DAdvanced Technologies Tackling Task of Grid Hardening
Companies are deploying a variety of strategies in efforts to strengthen the power grid against severe weather and other issues.