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How a Smarter Grid Can Help Utilities Respond to an Existential Threat
Doomsday is approaching for electric utilities, according to many prognosticators. Though the term “doomsday” may be a touch strong, there is no doubt that new electricity generation technologies will...
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The Central Power Grid as a Back-Up Power Source
The traditional utility business model faces great upheaval, as I discussed in a recent blog entry. Adoption of distributed generation—and distributed solar generation in particular—threatens to make a...
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A Healthier Grid for the New Year
This photo shows a conventional recloser during a reclosing operation where the fault is still present. It’s the beginning of a new year, when many of us assess the last year and what changes we should...
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Making Renewables Convenient for Consumers
Recently, I was interested to see a survey showing that consumers value clean energy above reliability. Though I firmly believe that clean energy will play an essential role in our energy future, I...
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Microgrids: Threat or Opportunity for Utilities?
An energy storage solution is allowing BC Hydro to provide a back-up power source to the community of Field, B.C., and thus reduce the impact of power outages. Microgrids are not just mere hype. They...
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The Next Frontier in Power Reliability
After a winter plagued by extremely cold temperatures and numerous storms, frustration about power outages is continuing to grow. We have indeed seen deteriorating power system reliability over the...
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Solutions to Reduce the Shortest Power Outages
Momentary outages are expensive and inconvenient. As I discussed in a recent blog, momentary outages cost the U.S. billions of dollars every year. Today, there are new smart grid solutions that can...
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Planning for More Renewables? We Need to Plan for More Energy Storage, Too
You likely heard the biggest news in our industry last week—namely, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed new rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Under the...
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Who should pay for storage?
Energy storage is changing the world. I use the word “changing,” as opposed to “will change,” for a reason, as there are more than 750 megawatt hours of operational, grid-scale battery energy storage...
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Energy Storage Quickly Becoming a Capital-Deferment Tool
Utilities are deploying a variety of new technologies to improve their bottom lines. Distribution automation, for example, is helping reduce costs through greater efficiency, reduced truck rolls, and...
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