Summary Strengthening the Grid Against Extreme Weather

Since 2008, over 21.5 million people worldwide have been victims of natural disasters. As the frequency and severity of these weather events continue to grow, so do the risks for the electric grid. Wildfires, winter storms, and tornadoes threaten the grid's reliability and increase the risk of power outages. By understanding these risks and how they affect grid reliability, we can explore solutions to mitigate them and draft policies ensuring a reliable and efficient energy supply.  

5 Things to Know About Improving Grid Reliability in Natural Disasters 

1. Electric grids are more susceptible to risks during and after extreme weather events, such as power disruptions or damage to components.

   Lightning strikes, earthquakes, floods and other weather events can damage various grid components, such as power lines or power plant equipment. Ice during winter storms may also cause these components to freeze over. This damage can then cause disruptions to the power supply. Widespread connected grids that fail are particularly susceptible to disruptions, as minor outages may turn into large-scale blackouts. Major electricity grid outages from natural disasters have increased by almost 80% since 2011.

2. Power utilities and state policy makers now have access to various tools and technologies to bolster grid reliability and weatherization.

   Smart meters, weatherization techniques, monitoring systems and predictive analytics are helpful tools to enhance grid reliability and resilience. Smart meters provide real-time data on power usage and generation, helping utilities manage peak demand and predict outages. Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems enable remote monitoring to recognize ordinary generation output and quickly identify hazards. Additionally, interregional transmission, or the ability to flow power among different regions, can provide power to affected areas from regions not currently affected by extreme weather.

3. Distributed energy resources (DERs) can contribute to grid reliability in a disaster.

   DERs, or small-scale power sources that can operate independently of the grid, offer a solution to the risks associated with widespread grid connections. Due to their separate operating components, DERs can be repaired quickly in a natural disaster. DERs typically involve using renewable energy generation, allowing them to not be dependent upon a centralized energy source. Certain renewables also do not require a fuel supply aside from natural resources like sun or wind or use battery packs; therefore, they may be less affected by issues with fuel supply chains.

4. Federal funding pathways exist to give governments and utility companies access to the funds needed to improve grid reliability and resilience.

   The Department of Energy's Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program, granted under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provides funding for grid resilience tools that focus on reliability, affordability, and renewability. Additionally, Title 17 (Clean Energy Financing), provides loans from the Department of Energy to give financial support to projects that use existing energy structure through methods like upgrading energy infrastructure to increase efficiency, replacing retired energy infrastructure with clean infrastructure and building new power facilities based around renewable energies.

5. Over the last three years, over 28 states have introduced legislation relating to grid modernization. Below are examples of enacted legislation related to strengthening the grid against natural disasters.

   State	Bill Name/Number	Year	Description
   California	SB 423: Energy: Firm Zero-Carbon Resources	2021	Requires the Energy Commission to integrate energy resources into their energy reports that can individually operate, especially during natural disasters. It also requires renewable energies to be integrated to diversify the state energy portfolio.
   Illinois	SB 2408: Energy Transition Act	2021	Allows local governments to enact community energy, climate and jobs plans. These plans include investing in grid modernization projects to make them more reliable when facing severe weather events.
   New Mexico	HB 245: Utility Distribution System  Hardening Act	2021	Allows utilities to request grid modernization projects from the state. These projects may include distribution system hardening projects for substations to make the grid more resilient.
   North Carolina	HB 951: Energy Solutions for North Carolina Act	2021	Seeks to modernize the electric grid by integrating renewable energy systems and distributed energy systems to enhance overall grid reliability while also promoting smart grid improvements.
   Alaska	HB 227: Municipal Energy Improvement Assessment Program	2022	Forms a commission to assess municipal energy and resilience assessment programs. These programs allow municipalities to finance energy efficiency and resilience improvements for privately owned utilities.
   Colorado	HB 1249: Electric Grid Resilience and Reliability Roadmap Act	2022	Mandates the State Resilience Office to create a roadmap on how microgrids can help energy output become more reliable and operate autonomously from the grid.
   Utah	HB 418: Grid Resilience Committee Act	2022	Creates the Grid Resilience Committee which shall acquire general knowledge about grid resilience and meet annually with the Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology Interim Committee to announce any proposed grid resilience recommendations.
   New Hampshire	SB 166: Electric Grid Modernization	2023	Allows the Public Utilities Committee to implement DERS, transactive energy, enhanced demand response and distributed generation and storage for grid modernization.