Electricity Today T&D Magazine

Why technologies are important to grid modernization

BY MANI VADARI, Modern Grid Solutions

Electricity is one of the cornerstones of our economy. A modern electric grid is critical for our economic and national security. The National Academy of Engineering has called the North American power grid the “supreme engineering achievement of the 20th century”. Today’s power grid was designed to deal with a power delivery paradigm that we are slowly moving away from. The grid was designed for a one-way flow of energy from large centralized sources of supply to large and somewhat distributed locations of consumption. It was also designed for a demand-following dispatch paradigm in which demand changed independently and was followed by supply making all the adjustments. However, this conventional system is quickly becoming obsolete.

As we move into the second decade of the 21st century, new stresses and requirements are emerging such as increasing demand,...