CEO of Lewis Tree Service, one of the leading providers of vegetation management services in the United States.
Electricity has come a long way since 1879, when it was first sold in the United States. Initially, the California Electric Light Company only produced enough power for 21 electric lights. Fast-forward to 2023, and the country’s electric grid is an engineering marvel that integrates power lines, transformers and a transmission and distribution (T&D) network that few could have imagined in the late 1800s.
The U.S. Department of Energy reports that today, the grid generates more than 1 million megawatts of capacity connected to 600,000-plus miles of transmission lines. To put that into perspective, a single megawatt hour is equivalent to 1.2 months of electricity for an average American home or 3,600 miles driven by an electric car.
The grid is an ecosystem of manufacturers, service providers and government officials at federal, state and local levels, all working together to run one of the most reliable electrical systems in the world.
Lighting Our Way To A Better Future
It seems clear that the very fabric of modern society depends on the reliable delivery of electricity. From the smallest village to the largest metropolis, utility companies and their partners work to ensure access to reliable, secure electricity. Our national security and the health and safety of citizens across the country depend on it.
However, the grid is aging, and we are forcing it to do more than it was originally designed to do. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the demands of heating homes and businesses place the heaviest burden on the electric grid. Changing weather patterns are pushing the boundaries of winter and summer temperatures to new extremes and bringing damaging storms, which pose an ongoing threat to the electric grid.
Fortunately, there are several ways for business leaders to help offset this heavy burden.
1. Partnering With Mother Nature
Although it may come as a surprise to some, trees and other vegetation can have a positive impact on the nation’s energy system. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, an urban tree canopy can cool city temperatures up to 10 degrees during summer months because trees help absorb heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It’s one of the many ways energy co-exists with the environment, with Mother Nature contributing to making the infrastructure more resilient and reliable. Businesses can help by teaming up with nonprofit organizations focused on planting trees to deliver more than just aesthetic benefits. One nonprofit plants a tree for every dollar a business or individual donates; so even a small donation, by corporate standards, can make a big impact on the environment and the grid.
2. Grid Hardening
The Department of Energy (DOE) reports that by 2030, the U.S. must expand electricity transmission systems by 60%. To meet increasing power demands for electric vehicles and electric home heating—and reduce power outages from extreme weather—the U.S. may need to triple its capacity by 2050.
Powering up the grid starts with weatherizing through a process called “grid hardening.” This involves assessing potential risks in the grid and taking strategic actions to proactively mitigate them. For example, businesses and homeowners who have trees near power lines should assess the risk of weather causing an outage. Working with a vegetation management contractor and your utility provider can help ensure that power lines are clear of limbs and branches that could interfere with the reliable delivery of electricity. (Full disclosure: My company offers this service, as do others.) And we can all contribute to the resiliency of the grid by contacting our utility provider if we identify potential risks.
3. Adopting Smart Technologies And Practices
The DOE has enacted the Grid Modernization Initiative (GMI) to make the grid “smarter” by implementing advanced metering infrastructure, highly sophisticated distribution boards and circuit breakers, load control switches, smart appliances and a wide array of renewable and efficient energy sources.
Business leaders and homeowners can also play a role by adopting smart technologies, including light and temperature control systems and energy-efficient appliances. It’s equally important to be smart consumers of energy. Developing good habits like turning off lights when they’re not needed and working from home, if possible, are great ways to reduce energy consumption and pave the way to a smarter energy future.
While delivering reliable electricity presents unique challenges for everyone in the energy ecosystem, there are many reasons to be optimistic. For instance, the DOE’s Building a Better Grid Initiative launched in 2022. The program is designed to activate the nationwide development of new and upgraded high-capacity electric transmission lines and support investments to modernize the flexibility and resilience of the distribution system. These types of initiatives and innovations, coupled with the investments put forth by the DOE and the diligence of everyday people and business leaders, can go a long way toward helping the utility sector fulfill its mission to provide secure, reliable, clean and affordable electricity to everyone.
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