reliability

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) new grid study is based on analyses of federal government data collected between 2002 and 2017, a period it notes fostered critical developments in the nation’s power sector. Here are some of report’s most thought-provoking charts. [gss ids=”109885,109881,109883,109877,109865,109867,109869,109875,109873,109871″] For an in-depth analysis about the DOE’s grid study, see: DOE Grid Study Points Finger […]

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) much-anticipated study on grid resilience and reliability elicited immediate chatter from a variety of industry stakeholders, from power generators and trade groups to environmental and clean energy advocates. The 187-page study essentially notes that unprecedented changes are transforming the electricity industry. Over the past 15 years, market forces—namely, cheap natural […]

Complying with reliability standards requires considerable resource planning. The tools and suggestions provided here may help engineers conform to new generator relay loadability requirements. But compliance

Beyond major reliability events that have prompted regional blackouts in the past, the U.S. grid faces “imminent danger from cyber attacks,” warns the second installation of the Obama administration’s Quadrennial Energy Review (QER). Here are other key trends outlined in the comprehensive study of the nation’s electricity system. The QER, available on the DOE web site, identifies the threats, […]

Reliability and cybersecurity ranked as the two most important issues currently confronting the electric industry, according to surveys completed by 672 qualified utility, municipal, commercial, and community stakeholders for Black & Veatch’s “2016 Strategic Directions: Electric Industry Report.” It’s not particularly surprising to see reliability rank at the top of the list. “Reliability has always […]

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the largest public utility in the US, is installing ABB’s static var compensator (SVC) technology to help ensure system reliability as fossil fuel component of total energy mix declines. SVC’s enhance grid stabilization and at the same time enable a smarter grid. The ongoing quest to deliver power with a lower […]

Public benefits offered by the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) far outweigh the costs, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said as it released a review of the 2012-finalized rule’s cost implications. The final cost consideration—released just days before power plants that received a one-year extension must come into compliance with the rule—was prompted by […]

Although other renewable sources of energy may be growing at a faster rate, more electricity continues to be generated in the U.S. by conventional hydropower than by wind, solar, and geothermal power combined

Legal marijuana, cultivated indoors on a large scale, poses a growing threat to electrical safety and a booming new business demand for electric power. Legal marijuana cultivation is posing electrical problems in three of the four states where recreational cannabis use is now permitted. The problem is that indoor growing operations—long a production staple when […]

In a Monday morning session at the annual meeting in Austin of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), panelists and commissioners traded comments on challenges and successes related to integrating increasing levels of renewables while ensuring reliable grid operation. David Boyd, VP of government and regulatory affairs for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator […]