Electricity Today T&D Magazine

Moving utilities toward a modern energy system

BY RONNY SANDOVAL, Environmental Defense Fund

The need to build a smarter energy infrastructure has never been greater. Storms and other extreme weather events such as Hurricane Sandy continue to test the limits of the existing, century-old electric grid, prompting the need for increased resiliency in design and operation. Furthermore, a growing number of Americans have begun to show an interest in self-generation through renewables and other forms of on-site and distributed generation, thus requiring additional coordination of assets “behind the meter”.

Increased stakeholder awareness of the negative health and environmental impacts...