Innovative Technologies to Strengthen the Grid
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Featuring leading experts and stakeholders in the efficiency community, Alliance events move us toward our goal of a more energy-efficient world through starting dynamic conversations on principal issues, launching new initiatives, and honoring champions.
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The Environmental and Energy Study Institute, in partnership with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), invites you to a briefing on innovation in electric grid technologies and the opportunity being provided by the Department of Energy's Quadrennial Energy Review (QER). The QER was launched this January to advance a 21st century energy policy that, among other things, seeks to improve electric grid resilience. The electric grid faces unprecedented threats in the United States, including extreme weather, cyberattack, and physical vulnerabilities which urgently need to be addressed.
Speakers from the Department of Energy (DOE), G&W Electric, Siemens, and Commonwealth Edison will discuss the concept and purpose of the QER and the need to reform our energy policy to strengthen the nation's electric transmission and distribution grid, as well as the technologies available today that are making it happen.
Speakers for this forum are:
•The Honorable Jerry McNerney (D-CA)
•Dr. Karen Wayland, Deputy Director for State and Local Cooperation, Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis, Department of Energy
•Erich Keller, Automation Engineer, G&W Electric - Bolingbrook, IL
•Kenneth Geisler, VP for Strategy, Smart Grid Division, Siemens - Minneapolis, MN
•Anil Dhawan, Senior Electrical Engineer, Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) - Oak Brook, IL
Extreme weather events are the number one cause of power outages. Tornadoes, hurricanes, and flooding can be particularly disruptive to above-ground transmission networks, and such events are occurring more frequently. The number of federal disaster declarations hit 99 in 2011, shattering the 2010 figure of 81, which itself was substantially above the yearly average of 35 since 1953. And nature isn't the only threat. According to a 2013 study by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, attacking just nine of the country's 55,000 substations could be enough to cause a coast-to-coast blackout on a hot summer day. Coordinated, precisely targeted attacks could cause the entire grid to collapse, taking months to restore.
The good news is technologies available today can mitigate such threats and help utilities, grid operators, and electricity customers respond when disaster strikes. The challenge is deploying these new technologies given the complex regulatory structure and financial incentives governing electric infrastructure investment.
This event is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Amaury Laporte at alaporte@eesi.org or (202) 662-1884.
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