Building resilient grids

Residents of many Canadian provinces enjoy reasonably reliable electricity service, finds the Globe and Mail in a new analysis—but reliability differs among provinces, with services in the country’s northern territories remaining largely unexamined.

Deciding to shut off power isn’t as simple is as it might sound. The executive director of the Strategic Energy Institute at Georgia Tech, talks about the risks and trade-offs utilities have to weigh in deciding how to respond during fire-risk conditions.

Vulnerable power grids increase the risk of wildfires. Deteriorating components and poorly maintained, aged infrastructure can spark wildfires, as was the case in the Camp fire in California in 2018.

A heatwave in the Gaza Strip with temperatures reaching 38°C has worsened power outages and sparked calls for protests from residents who lack electricity for cooling.

Higher than normal temps could strain grids that are not used to unprecedented heat waves.

Storm Arwen, described by the UK’s Met Office as “one of the most powerful and damaging winter storms of the last decade”, hit the east coast of Scotland and northern England in late November 2021.

As Puerto Rico seeks to improve power grid wiped out by hurricanes Maria and Fiona, can solar microgrids help keep the lights on?

The storm and tornado outbreak that recently barreled through the US Midwest, South and Mid-Atlantic was a devastating reminder of how much danger spring can deliver, despite it being the “milder” season compared to summer and winter.

Standards adopted by FERC include freeze protection steps, better cold weather preparedness plans and requirements to identify freeze-prone equipment