Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Energy, along with 17 utilities, has launched the Partnership for Energy Sector Climate Resilience, a voluntary program aimed at enhancing energy security against the impacts of extreme weather and climate change.
- According to the DOE, an effective strategy will require accelerated investment in "climate-resilient energy technologies, practices and policies." Utilities and regulators across the nation are beginning to look harder at strategies to help the electric grid handle the bigger, badder storms of the future.
- San Diego Gas & Electric will play a leading role in the partnership, Smart Grid News reports and company officials stressed that the collaborative nature of the project was key.
Dive Insight:
DOE launched the voluntary partnership program in collaboration with 17 utilities, but the said the focus on that sector is only the project's "initial step."
"A public-private partnership can provide an effective mechanism for cooperation on climate change resilience, and complement the ongoing DOE efforts focused on disaster and emergency response to national-level disasters and threats from cyber and physical threats," DOE said in the program's description.
Power companies and regulators in vulnerable areas are becoming increasingly focused on climate resilience, especially after Hurricane Sandy knocked out power to millions in the Northeast in 2012. Dick Bratcher, a senior principal at research and consulting firm DNV-GL, told Utility Dive that as sea levels are expected to rise throughout the century, the disaster events on the grid will increase in severity as well.
“The storm surge from a future Sandy combined with sea level rise between now and say 2050 or 2090 … would significantly impact Long Island,” Bratcher said. “About twice as many substations would be subject to flooding and damage.”
SDG&E President and COO Steven Davis said in a statement on the partnership that “collaboration between the public and private sectors will be vital to our nation’s preparedness for climate-related changes that could impact our country’s electric grid."
As part of the program, DOE said participants will develop strategies to reduce grid vulnerability to weather and climate change, and then "develop resources to facilitate risk-based decision making and pursue cost-effective strategies for a more climate-resilient U.S. energy infrastructure."
“The goal of this partnership is to identify the challenges our energy partners are facing today and how we can work together to develop some sustainable solutions,” Davis said echoed.
Utilities involved in the partnership include: Consolidated Edison of New York; Dominion Virginia Power; Entergy; Exelon Corp.; Hoosier Energy; Great River Energy; Iberdrola USA; National Grid; New York Power Authority; Pepco Holdings.; Pacific Gas and Electric; Sacramento Municipal Utility District; San Diego Gas and Electric; Seattle City Light; Public Service Electric and Gas; TVA; and Xcel Energy.