Tag Archives: electric power

Building the Resilience of the Electric Grid

The electric power transmission and distribution system (the grid) is an extraordinarily complex network of wires, transformers, and associated equipment and control software designed to transmit electricity from where it is generated, usually in centralized power plants, to commercial, residential, and industrial users. During natural and man-made disasters, destruction of the grid cascades well beyond whether the lights turn on, impacting among other basic services such as the fueling infrastructure, the economic system, and emergency services. Our reports discuss vulnerabilities of the grid, ways in which communities respond to widespread outages and how to minimize these impacts, and how resilience can be encouraged and built into the grid in the future. All are free to read online or download.

The Future of Electric Power in the United States

The Future of Electric Power in the United States

Electric power is essential for the lives and livelihoods of all Americans, and the need for electricity that is safe, clean, affordable, and reliable will only grow in the decades to come. At the request of Congress and the Department of Energy, the National Academies convened a committee of experts to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of …[more]

Bringing Fusion to the U.S. Grid

Bringing Fusion to the U.S. Grid

Fusion energy offers the prospect of addressing the nation’s energy needs and contributing to the transition to a low-carbon emission electrical generation infrastructure. Technology and research results from U.S. investments in the major fusion burning plasma experiment known as ITER, coupled with a strong foundation of research funded by the …[more]

Models to Inform Planning for the Future of Electric Power in the United States: Proceedings of a Workshop

Models to Inform Planning for the Future of Electric Power in the United States: Proceedings of a Workshop

Providing a reliable and resilient supply of electric power to communities across the United States has always posed a complex challenge. Utilities must support daily operations to serve a diverse array of customers across a heterogeneous landscape while simultaneously investing in infrastructure to meet future needs, all while juggling an …[more]

Communications, Cyber Resilience, and the Future of the U.S. Electric Power System: Proceedings of a Workshop

Communications, Cyber Resilience, and the Future of the U.S. Electric Power System: Proceedings of a Workshop

Electric power is a critical infrastructure that is vital to the U.S. economy and national security. Today, the nation’s electric power infrastructure is threatened by malicious attacks, accidents, and failures, as well as disruptive natural events. As the electric grid evolves and becomes increasingly interdependent with other critical …[more]

Enhancing Urban Sustainability with Data, Modeling, and Simulation: Proceedings of a Workshop

Enhancing Urban Sustainability with Data, Modeling, and Simulation: Proceedings of a Workshop

On January 30-31, 2019 the Board on Mathematical Sciences and Analytics, in collaboration with the Board on Energy and Environmental Systems and the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, convened a workshop in Washington, D.C. to explore the frontiers of mathematics and data science needs for sustainable urban communities. The workshop …[more]

Analytic Research Foundations for the Next-Generation Electric Grid

Analytic Research Foundations for the Next-Generation Electric Grid

Electricity is the lifeblood of modern society, and for the vast majority of people that electricity is obtained from large, interconnected power grids. However, the grid that was developed in the 20th century, and the incremental improvements made since then, including its underlying analytic foundations, is no longer adequate to completely …[more]

Mathematical Sciences Research Challenges for the Next-Generation Electric Grid: Summary of a Workshop

Mathematical Sciences Research Challenges for the Next-Generation Electric Grid: Summary of a Workshop

If the United States is to sustain its economic prosperity, quality of life, and global competitiveness, it must continue to have an abundance of secure, reliable, and affordable energy resources. There have been many improvements in the technology and capability of the electric grid over the past several decades. Many of these advances to the …[more]

The Resilience of the Electric Power Delivery System in Response to Terrorism and Natural Disasters: Summary of a Workshop

The Resilience of the Electric Power Delivery System in Response to Terrorism and Natural Disasters: Summary of a Workshop

The Resilience of the Electric Power Delivery System in Response to Terrorism and Natural Disasters is the summary of a workshop convened in February 2013 as a follow-up to the release of the National Research Council report Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System. That report had been written in 2007 for the Department …[more]

Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System

Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System

The electric power delivery system that carries electricity from large central generators to customers could be severely damaged by a small number of well-informed attackers. The system is inherently vulnerable because transmission lines may span hundreds of miles, and many key facilities are unguarded. This vulnerability is exacerbated by the …[more]

Improving the Nation’s Electric Power Grid: Challenges and Opportunities

 

The electric power and distribution system in the United States is a critical component of our infrastructure that people rely on every day. It is a complex network of wires, transformers, and associated equipment and control software designed to transmit electricity from where it is generated, usually in centralized power plants, to commercial, residential, and industrial users. As the U.S. infrastructure has become increasingly dependent on electricity, vulnerabilities in the grid have the potential to cascade well beyond whether the lights turn on, impacting basic services such as the fueling infrastructure, the economic system, and emergency services. Our publications explore how to create an electric power grid for the future – one that optimizes operational efficiency and is resilient against attacks and disasters.

 

Analytic Research Foundations for the Next-Generation Electric Grid

Electricity is the lifeblood of modern society, and for the vast majority of people that electricity is obtained from large, interconnected power grids. However, the grid that was developed in the 20th century, and the incremental improvements made since then, including its underlying analytic …

[more]

Mathematical Sciences Research Challenges for the Next-Generation Electric Grid: Summary of a Workshop

If the United States is to sustain its economic prosperity, quality of life, and global competitiveness, it must continue to have an abundance of secure, reliable, and affordable energy resources. There have been many improvements in the technology and capability of the electric grid over the …

[more]

Enhancing the Resilience of the Nation’s Electricity System

Americans’ safety, productivity, comfort, and convenience depend on the reliable supply of electric power. The electric power system is a complex “cyber-physical” system composed of a network of millions of components spread out across the continent. These components are owned, operated, …

[more]

The Resilience of the Electric Power Delivery System in Response to Terrorism and Natural Disasters: Summary of a Workshop

The Resilience of the Electric Power Delivery System in Response to Terrorism and Natural Disasters is the summary of a workshop convened in February 2013 as a follow-up to the release of the National Research Council report Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System. That …

[more]

Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System

The electric power delivery system that carries electricity from large central generators to customers could be severely damaged by a small number of well-informed attackers. The system is inherently vulnerable because transmission lines may span hundreds of miles, and many key facilities are …

[more]