power grid

The Inflation Reduction Act, which U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) negotiated in July, was signed into law by President Biden on Aug. 16. As a result, electric vehicle (EV) buyers (for both new and used vehicles) will get generous subsidies from the federal government—totaling as much as $7,500 per EV. Nearly […]

While much of the world lives life as usual, DTEK—the largest private investor in Ukraine’s energy sector—is focused on providing reliable service amidst war and uncertainty. “Today, the major topic for us is to provide stability in durations of electricity sector in Ukraine and also do everything possible to prepare for winter season,” DTEK CEO […]

Hurricanes are one of the most destructive forces in nature. Hurricane season in North America runs from June 1 to November 30, peaking between August and September, and 2022 would be the seventh straight year of above-average hurricane activity, if predictions are correct. A typical Atlantic hurricane season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and […]

A Fault Isolation Service Restoration module, part of an Advanced Distribution Management Solution, has improved grid reliability, and reduced outages and outage durations, for customers of PPL Electric

Climate and extreme weather are increasingly impacting energy systems around the world. Whether it is prolonged, extreme cold in Texas, wildfires in California, high winds in the Midwest, or the recent prediction for an above-normal 2022 hurricane season, it is clear extreme weather events are testing the resilience of the North American grid. Changes in […]

As solar, wind and other renewable resources play a larger role on the power grid, renewables’ essential partner—energy storage—must keep pace to provide power at peak hours when the sun doesn’t shine, and the wind doesn’t blow. Rechargeable zinc batteries offer an ideal energy storage solution; they can release power back to the grid for […]

Enel, a multinational power company with operations in 30 countries and more than 90 GW of power generation capacity in its portfolio, is leveraging its global expertise as the world’s largest privately owned operator of digitally managed power distribution grids, by expanding its Gridspertise business to the U.S. market. First launched in Europe and Latin […]

Reports from U.S. agencies indicate the use of renewable energy continues to grow. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. consumed a record amount of renewable energy in 2020. In addition, renewable energy in the U.S. grew for a fifth consecutive year, accounting for 12% of the total U.S. energy consumption. It was […]

In January, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) launched its new Building a Better Grid initiative. The DoE’s stated intention for the program is to create a more robust transmission system that will restore the nation’s electrical grid through expanded access and greater resilience. The initiative emphasizes supporting generation and distribution of clean energy, and […]

Millions of American citizens rely on the power grid for every aspect of their lives, making it a critically vital system that cannot afford to be disrupted. But as the materials shortage continues to hamstring the energy sector, more public utility companies face the threat of potential shutdowns that could leave millions with electricity. COMMENTARY […]

Power networks today face two major challenges: aging infrastructure and complex intermittent power flows caused by the worldwide transition from fossil-based fuels to zero-carbon resources. With some of the

S&C Electric Co., an employee-owned company with global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, rolled out an innovative solution designed to mitigate nuisance outages for power customers located on the grid edge. The new VacuFuse II Self-Resetting Interrupter has the ability to test if a fault is temporary, and if so, it automatically restores power, eliminating the […]

As the regulator for much of our nation’s wholesale electric and natural gas markets, actions by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) directly impact the U.S. economy. The agency’s response to

While 2021 kicked off short on optimism given chaos from the COVID-19 pandemic, the year was characterized by an extraordinary series of critical energy crises. Power blackouts, brownouts, interconnection mismatches, severe fuel shortages, and near-misses affected nearly every region in the world. Here’s a brief look back at some of the events that characterized 2021. […]

Today’s electric power grids are evolving at an alarming pace. Distributed energy resources are quickly taking the place of central power stations, making grid operators’ jobs of managing power flows in

Globally the energy transition is addressed through policy frameworks that target energy-related CO2 emissions reductions and power grid digitalization and automation, achieving a more efficient use of our resources. That is, as long as that electrification is based on clean, renewable energies. Renewable energies both help us to solve a planetary problem and introduce new […]

Project will utilize real-time and forecasted dynamic line ratings to help unlock capacity for increased renewable energy integration November 4, 2021, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK – Massachusetts-based LineVision, Inc. has partnered with a large power utility in Northern Ireland to install its patented non-contact sensors to monitor 33kV overhead power lines in the region. The […]

Experts claim power grid infrastructure needs to be upgraded to accommodate the vast amount of renewable energy expected to be added to the system in coming decades. That could require billions of dollars in investments, millions of hours of planning and permitting work, and years of construction in the field. Another option that could help […]

Pairing renewable resources with energy storage systems makes a lot of sense. However, grid operators are still developing frameworks for handling these hybrid projects but they may need to be treated

Emerson Electric Co. said it will merge its software business with rival Aspen Technology (AspenTech) in an $11 billion deal that will bring together both companies’ expertise in industrial software applications. It’s the latest move by Emerson to support the rapid growth of digitization in the power generation industry. “We saw an attractive opportunity to […]

Burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation is by far the largest contributor to greenhouse gases, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Renewable power generation is taking off, but more than 60% of North American energy generation is still carbon-based. The percentage is even higher in other parts of the world. Optimizing the […]

Reston, VA and San Francisco, CA ( September 23, 2021) — Intelligent energy network provider GridPoint today announced its partnership with Leap, an energy marketplace provider, with the two companies collaborating on the development of virtual power plants (VPPs) to provide flexible electricity capacity and energy efficiency savings in times of peak demand and when […]

With record high temperatures and wildfires gripping the West, utilities have asked residents to cut down on power usage to reduce the strain on overburdened systems. As we’ve seen following countless crises, the U.S. energy grid is being pushed to its limits. Fortunately, a $1 trillion infrastructure bill is on the horizon, and with it, a significant opportunity […]

The proliferation of renewable energy is necessary for communities and countries to meet their goals of reducing carbon emissions, but it also presents new challenges for those managing power distribution. Much of the world’s renewable energy is now generated and stored by distributed energy resources (DERs), such as residential solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles […]

Energy companies continue to work on providing solutions to optimize the power grid, part of their efforts to support the integration of renewables and help ensure the reliable delivery of electricity. Such systems are part of the digital transformation of power generation, bringing increased flexibility to the power supply, supporting faster power restoration after outages, […]

The way we generate and distribute electricity has become a Rubik’s cube for power companies, regulators, and consumers. The need to reduce carbon emissions linked to climate change by investing in renewables is acknowledged by most experts. At the same time, recent unusual weather events have demonstrated that there is also an urgent need to […]

The mid-February blackouts in Texas have raised a lot of questions about power grid reliability. While investigations into the underlying causes of the outages could take a while to complete, and I don’t

Reliability performance is core to the utility industry. Utilities strategically design and invest in their system to maximize reliability performance—traditionally measured by System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI), System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), and/or Consumer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI). These quantitative metrics largely drive utility investment decisions, shape strategic priorities, dictate regulatory approvals, […]

When evaluating resource adequacy requirements, many power companies and grid operators have used a methodology that originated more than 70 years ago. This probabilistic reliability approach has generally performed adequately through the years. It has generally evaluated loss-of-load events occurring at frequencies of one-day-in-10-years (1-in-10) to be acceptable in terms of system reliability. However, it’s […]

While not a new occurrence, in recent years wildfires have wreaked havoc across the western U.S. We have also seen Mother Nature batter coastlines and landscapes around the globe, and the ever-mounting pace of