How to improve reliability by hardening the power grid
BY BO ZENG, WEI YUAN & LONG ZHAO, University of South Florida
North America relies heavily on its interconnected power grid. Throughout its history, the grid has provided years of reliable electricity to 300 million people to power home electronics, large industrial motors, critical machines in hospitals (that is, life support systems), among others. However, this reliability is now coming into question. The power grid is...
Improve protection with a layered security approach BY ERIC BYRES, Belden Inc. An age-old joke in the North American power industry states that if Alexander Graham Bell walked in the room today, he would not recognize the telephone, the technology, or its business model. However, if Thomas Edison...
A recently published report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlights the significant cybersecurity risks facing the nation’s power grid. One of the key findings in this report is that “the grid is becoming more vulnerable to cyberattacks - particularly those involving...
In 1989, the Québec grid collapsed as equipment protection relays tripped in a cascading sequence of events. Six million consumers were left without power for up to nine hours. The cause of this major outage was a geomagnetic disturbance (GMD). Geomagnetic disturbances occur during solar...
As the big push behind NERC CIP v5/v6 comes to some form of “conclusion”, most U.S. utility executives are breathing a huge sigh of relief. Their efforts to make their high and medium impact facilities compliant are finally completing. However for some insiders, there is a concern that a...
A coalition of large energy consumers and ratepayer advocates has filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), urging the agency to prohibit transmission owners from independently planning "local" transmission projects exceeding 100 kilovolts (kV). The coalition argues...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is seeking public input on proposed "ride-through" reliability standards for inverter-based resources (IBRs), including wind, solar, and battery systems. These standards aim to ensure that IBRs can maintain operation during grid disturbances, such as...
The rapid shift toward renewable energy resources (RERs) has placed significant demands on traditional power systems. To address these challenges, modern energy infrastructure is evolving into smart grids, leveraging advanced technologies like Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) to enhance grid...
A small town in North Carolina has filed a lawsuit against Duke Energy, one of the largest utility companies in the United States, alleging that the company has been deceptive in its efforts to downplay the environmental impact of its operations. The lawsuit, filed by the town of Smithfield, claims...
In a significant move that underscores the growing demand for reliable and sustainable energy to power the expanding digital infrastructure, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved an interconnection agreement between Talen Energy, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Exelon. This...
As the utility sector continues to evolve amidst technological advancements and regulatory changes, industry conferences offer invaluable opportunities for networking, knowledge sharing, and innovation. In 2025, several pivotal conferences will shape the future of utilities, addressing critical...
