White Paper: Why (and How) America Should Upgrade Our Vulnerable Electrical Grid

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Feb 25, 2021, 14:12 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A new white paper from IEEE-USA, written by the nation's leading power engineers, addresses challenges and suggests solutions to current electrical grid shortcomings that are both technically feasible and economical.

Challenges facing the U.S. electric power grid include aging equipment, physical and cyber security threats, transmission losses, wildfires and extreme weather, interconnection issues and integration of renewable generation sources. The new white paper highlights solutions to these issues, including new technologies such as distributed energy resources, energy storage systems, microgrids, demand response, and more.

"Grid modernization is a pressing national imperative," said Kate Duncan, 2021 President, IEEE-USA. "Reliable generation and distribution of electricity is critically important to our economy, and to the health and safety of all. America needs to get serious about upgrading that infrastructure today to protect these crucial utilities."

"Today's electrical grid faces challenges as it transitions to a modern infrastructure that meets our needs in the 21^st century," said Will Robinson, Vice President of Government Relations, IEEE-USA. "The grid must become more sustainable, resilient, and reliable, while remaining affordable to all customers. New threats require new approaches, and this report shows how we can get there."

White Paper: Building an Intelligent Grid for the 21^st Century, was prepared by the Energy Policy Committee (EPC) of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-United States of America (IEEE-USA), with special assistance from EPC members Harold Adams, Dick Wakefield, Veronika Rabl, Kenneth Lutz, and Thomas Pierpoint. It is available for download at ieeeusa.org/advocacy/white-papers.

About IEEE-USA:
IEEE-USA serves the public good and promotes the careers and public policy interests of 170,000 engineering, computing and technology professionals who are U.S. members of IEEE, the world's largest technical professional organization.

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SOURCE IEEE-USA