Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
THE PRESENT
Basic Functions and Purpose
America is a nation hungry for electrical energy, and it is fed by a large system of
complex machinery, all connected, that can start and end in vastly different places. The
electricity that runs to your house may have been derived from coal, natural gas, wind, nuclear
energy, hydro energy, the sun, biomass, geothermal energy, or a number of other smaller energy
sources (“Electricity Delivery System” page 1). It may have travelled underground or above
ground for thousands of miles or just a few blocks. In some cases, the electrical energy powering
your laptop or refrigerator may come from a different country. But there’s only one way that the
electrical energy gets to its destination: the electric grid.
The electric grid can be defined several ways. It could describe the entire electrical
process, from generation to transmission to distribution, or it could simply describe the last two
legs of that process—transmission and distribution. This paper will explore all three components
of the electrical process, but will focus more heavily on the second and third properties of the
electrical system, as they are most closely associated with the electric grid. The grid is a vital
contributor to modern society, and some even consider it to be the most integral part of today’s
world. The U.S. Department of Energy states that “economic prosperity, national security, and
public health and safety cannot be achieved without it” (“Gridworks” 1).
1
The electric grid’s theoretical reach is massive, too. The physical component—described
by some as “the world’s biggest machine” (Lerner 1)—is just a means to a more important end.
The grid exists because, without a way to distribute electricity to the masses efficiently, people
would have “trouble meeting basic needs for food, water, shelter, law, and order” (“Gridworks”
1). The reach of the grid, both physically and theoretically, is easy to see on a map, but is even
easier to see when one large region loses power for a day or two.
2
owned utilities varies greatly by region of the U.S.: 97.4 percent of energy in New England is
produced by shareholder-owned companies, while only 42.1 percent is in the Northern Midwest
(“Electricity Delivery System” 3). Even though the government only provides about an eighth of
the nation’s electricity, it regulates the prices and rates-of-return for all shareholder-owned
utilities, effectively exercising much more control than its 15 percent contribution to total power
would suggest. All of these systems for distribution operate as “franchise monopolies as
established by state law” (“Gridworks” 2).
The electricity sector’s economic significance “is staggering. It is one of the largest and
most capital-intensive sectors of the economy” (“Gridworks” 1). The costs most heavily
associated with operating a utility are the construction and refurbishing of old equipment and
input costs for fuel. Power prices across the U.S. have risen up to 29 percent this year, in part
because many companies are being forced to upgrade equipment or build new plants. The cost of
building one new mile of 138 kV single circuit line is $390,000, while one mile of 345 kV
double circuit line will run, on average, $1,710,000. Even an upgrade from a 69 kV to a 138 kV
line will cost $400,000 (“Electricity Delivery System” 5). The cost of building transmission
plants and distribution plants rose 23 and 21 percent from 1996 to 2005, respectively
(“Electricity Delivery System” 6). Nuclear reactors cost around $10 billion each for South
Carolina Electric & Gas (Davidson 1), a number that extends across the industry landscape. Not
helping matters is the fact that fuel prices have risen dramatically in recent years, too. Coal, for
example, has doubled in price, and natural gas’s price has risen 50 percent (Davidson 1). These
increases in capital costs and fuel prices have affected both utility companies and consumers.
One hundred and one million electricity customers in America, nearly every household
and business, spend $247 billion each year for the ability to be wired and wireless. The average
price per kWh is about seven cents (“Gridworks” 1). With the increases in fuel prices and power
plant innovations and repairs, customers can expect to see their bills rise up to 25 percent now,
and up to 115 percent in the next few decades (Davidson 1). Currently, there is often no price
distinction between heavy-load and light-load; however, if electrical load pricing becomes
widespread, “when generation is in short supply and prices rise, more and more customers with
accurate pricing [would be] likely to turn off loads” (“Electrical Load...” 1). This system would
benefit utilities and consumers alike and would likely put the brakes on high price increases for a
bit.
THE FUTURE
Changing Demands
The equivalent of 937 new 300 MW power plants is needed to meet growing demand for
electricity by 2025, according to the Energy Information Administration. That’s 281 gigawatts of
new generating capacity (“Electricity Delivery System” 1). But, in opposition of this trend has
been the trend in construction of new facilities. While electricity demand has increased by 25
percent since 1990, construction of new facilities has decreased about 30 percent (“Gridworks”
2). This has resulted in more bottlenecks in the system, which has meant more distribution
losses, which ultimately means a higher price for electricity consumers. To solve the supply-and-
demand problem, many agencies such as the Department of Energy, FERC, the Edison Electric
Institute, and the Electric Power Research Institute have advocated adding physical capacity.
These costs would “certainly be in the tens of billions of dollars,” and Energy Secretary Spencer
3
Adams insisted that “the people who benefit from the system have to be a part of the solution
here” (Lerner 5). What will surely happen is that consumers will continue to see rising prices;
both the do-nothing approach and the build-something approach will result in higher prices for
everyone, including consumers. Two promising technologies are microturbines and fuel cells
(Overbye [II] 8), both of which will provide a bit of power for a few people very close to the
source. These technologies will likely produce cheaper electricity, but will count on deregulation
of the industry, something many shy away from discussing.
Technological Innovation
It is no secret that the electricity sector is a bit overdue for some upgrades; “the majority
of the existing capacity is 30 or more years old” (“Gridworks” 1). There have been some minor
technological changes in recent years, though. For instance, almost half the capital investments
in new wires for transmission and distribution from 1993 to 2002 were for underground wires,
even though they currently cost four times as much to construct as above-ground ones
(“Electricity Delivery System” 5). However, building “large power plants, often involving
investments of billions of dollars, started to be viewed as unacceptable risks” in the mid-eighties.
Therefore, there was a rise in popularity of demand-side management programs. This rise in
popularity was not large enough to start any major revolutions, though, and there has been little
change in that area—until now.
Three new ideas are each garnering support, as each promises to reduce costs for
everyone in an age of ever-growing energy costs. The first is a return to the idea that demand-
side management programs can effectively increase energy efficiency and load reduction. This
technology rests on the premise that real-time pricing, when made available to consumers, will
“enable a closer match between demand and supply on a continuous basis” (“Electrical Load...”
1). There are three technological innovations riding on the coattails of this school of thought—
minigrids, power parks, and flexible AC transmission systems (“Electrical Load...” 1). All
promise more efficient ways to deal with load handling, whether it’s with more responsive
electronics or sheer locality.
The second is the idea of a “superconductor,” a “solid ceramic compound that conducts
electricity more efficiently than traditional copper wires” (Ruggiero 1). In a June 27, 2007 press
release, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it was providing $51.8 million to five
companies working on the emerging technology of semiconductors. The report says that the
semiconductors “have the potential to alleviate congestion on an electricity grid that is
experiencing increased demand” and that “research [is] critical to improving power delivery
equipment” (Ruggiero 1).
The third area that is seeing support is that of “smart grids.” The Energy Independence
and Security Act of 2007, Section 1301, states that it will “support the modernization of the
Nation's electricity transmission and distribution system to maintain a reliable and secure
electricity infrastructure that can meet future demand growth and to achieve each of the
following, which together characterize a Smart Grid” (SEC. 1301 1). “The following” refers to a
list of ten goals the government has for a “smart grid,” including “timely information and control
options,” “deployment of ‘smart’ technologies…for metering, communications,…and
distribution automation,” and “identification and lowering of unreasonable or unnecessary
barriers” (SEC. 1301 1). The act calls for an advisory committee to be established that will
oversee the planning of the “smart grid.” Essentially, the smart grid gives the governmental go-
ahead for every plausible technological advance in the electricity sector.
4
Climate and Environmental Changes
The rapidly changing environment (mostly in the form of climate change and its
externalities), will have a great effect on the U.S. electric grid. Currently, the warmer summers
across the U.S. place a very heavy, and in the case of the August 14, 1998, Northeastern
blackout, overly heavy strain on the grid (Lerner 4). If our world were to continue to get warmer,
there would be an even longer stressful period for the grid every year, and there would naturally
be more system failures. Also, the thermal limits on power system components are much stricter
on warmer days, which would cause them to “fail more frequently, age faster, and require more
maintenance and earlier replacement” (Overbye 20).
The electric grid will also be affected indirectly in addition to directly. The uptick in
extreme weather as a result of global warming and pollution increases will take its toll on the
grid, causing problems ranging from fallen trees to new design needs to more extensive
emergency planning. The anticipated migration of people will also put higher loads on areas
where there were previously light loads, and vice-versa. This is an inefficient way to handle a
limited and expensive resource. Many plants use water to power their turbines or to help
maintain safe temperatures, but with an increase in global warming, changes in river runoff
would potentially change the course of the rivers, or even render them dry (Overbye 20).
5
Figure A
6
Figure B
7
Figure C
8
Figure D
9
Works Cited
Brain, Marshall. How Power Grids Work. How Stuff Works. 9 Sept 2008 <http://www.
howstuffworks.com/power.htm>.
Davidson, Paul. “Price jolt: Electricity bills going up, up, up.” USA Today 20 June 2008.
<http://www.eere.energy.gov/de/electrical_load.html>.
Electricity Delivery System, The. U.S. Department of Energy. 7 Sept 2008 <http://www.
energetics.com/gridworks/pdfs/factsheet.pdf>.
/electricity_grid.html >.
Grid Architecture and Function. U.S. Department of Energy. 9 Sept 2008 <http://www.eere.
energy.gov/de/grid_architecture.html>.
Gridworks: Overview of the Electric Grid. U.S. Department of Energy. 9 Sept 2008
<http://www.energetics.com/gridworks/grid.html>.
Lerner, Eric J. “What’s Wrong with the Electric Grid?” The Industrial Physicist
minigrids.html>.
Overbye [II], Thomas. Reengineering the Electric Grid. American Scientist. 29 Sept 2008
<http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/reengineering-the-electric-grid>.
10
Overbye, Tom, et. al. The Electric Power Industry and Climate Change: Power Systems
cgi-serc/getbig/publicatio/reports/2007report/pserc_climate_change_final_rpt_june07
.pdf>.
power_crunch.html>.
power_parks.html>.
Ruggiero, Julie. DOE Provides up to $51.8 Million to Modernize the U.S. Electric Grid System.
bin/query/F?c110:8:./temp/~c110gpboE8:e929784:>.
11