{"id":21025,"date":"2022-04-25T13:40:47","date_gmt":"2022-04-25T20:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.parsons.com\/?p=21025"},"modified":"2024-09-17T15:01:45","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T19:01:45","slug":"modernizing-our-electric-grid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.parsons.com\/2022\/04\/modernizing-our-electric-grid\/","title":{"rendered":"Modernizing Our Electric Grid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Modernizing<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Graduating from college with a degree in electrical engineering in the 1980s, I expected to be working in advanced electronics and computer engineering, but there I was in an industry that had had little technological change in decades and appeared to move at the speed of a snail in terms of modernization. The introduction of desktop computers, along with the ability to model distribution systems and apply spreadsheets to more advanced load forecasting techniques, were the pinnacle of nerd excitement for me back then. More recently, the changes in the industry, and demand for innovation, have been staggering. After spending the bulk of my career focused on distribution planning and operations, I was extremely fortunate to spend my last 5 years in a group devoted to \u201cGrid Modernization\u201d, helping the company begin to navigate a number of new challenges, including the need to model the distribution system in ever greater detail, while incorporating a variety of distributed energy resources (DERs). Nirvana for my inner grid geek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I now have the privilege of working for Parsons and being involved in an industry that will play a huge role in helping states, municipalities, and utilities with this challenge of aggressive, long-term modernization of the grid. This series will be devoted to the subject of grid modernization and will delve into the elements of the grid most impacted by this truly epic evolution that has only begun to get underway. Future articles will focus on the transmission and distribution systems, vehicle electrification, battery storage, and other new technologies at the grid edge. Each of these areas present exciting project opportunities for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned above, when I first started in this industry, technological advances were minimal, but the system worked \u2026incredibly well, I might add! The electric grid has long been described as one of the greatest achievements of the 20th<\/sup> century, and I could not agree more. Society has been provided access to a huge supply of energy in an incredibly simple, efficient, and cheap manner. \u201cCheap\u201d is a relative term, of course, and the rising cost on electric bills is of concern to many people. Bear in mind, though, that a single kilowatthour (kwhr) of electric energy (costing around 20 cents here in Connecticut) is the human-energy equivalent of a full day of vigorous yardwork, or a few hours of bench pressing 100 pounds! An average household uses around 15-20 kwhr per day, not including heat or air conditioning. All that energy for about the same cost as a coffee and bagel. Not a bad deal when you consider that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The grid has become so ubiquitous to daily life, that it is scarcely noticed or considered\u2026at least until it suddenly becomes unavailable. Fortunately, that is rare in most of the country. In general, electric service is available 99.9+% of the time for the majority of households, meaning the average time spent without power is only a few hours per year. It won\u2019t stay that way forever, of course, at least not without proper maintenance, repair, and replacement as components of the grid reach end of life. That time has come for many grid assets, and with the growing demands of DER integration and the electrification of transportation and heating loads, investment in the grid is poised for tremendous growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Modernizing<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In concert with the recently passed infrastructure bill ($65 billion of which is dedicated to the electric grid), three key issues will be driving major investment in the electric grid:<\/p>\n\n\n\n