Electricity is the lifeblood of modern society. It lights our homes, powers our industry, and is why you can read this article in the first place. But modern demands for electricity are beginning to exceed our capabilities to support it. In the United States, over 70% of the transmission lines in service are over 25 years old, and much of the grid was originally constructed in the 1960s and 70s.
The new priority for the electricity industry is grid resilience, the ability to overcome events like extreme weather, mechanical breakdown, and sabotage. Enhancing grid resilience relies on embracing new technology, taking advantage of renewable energy resources, and rethinking how we distribute and use electricity.
Grid Reliability vs Grid Resilience
Before going further, it’s important to understand the distinction between grid reliability and grid resilience.
- Grid reliability focuses on reducing the probability of power interruptions through means like more reliable infrastructure and better preventative maintenance practices.
- Grid resilience is a measure of how well the grid functions when parts of it are disrupted, whether these disruptions are manmade or caused by nature.
The Objectives of Grid Resilience
The goals of grid resilience can be summarized as the following:
- Provide constant power to customers through effective management and coordination, balancing power supply and demand as needed.
- Withstand disruptions via constantly monitoring and adjusting the grid in real-time via industrial computers and tablets.
- Minimize outages by predicting potential incidents and tailoring grid output to maintain a steady power supply.
Challenges for Grid Resilience
Unsurprisingly, power grids face numerous challenges to their operation. The most common threats to a power grid are:
Natural Disasters
When extreme weather or other forms of disaster strike, power systems are often one of the first things to fail. The winter storm of February 2021 that caused Texas’s power grid to fail is a perfect case study of this issue, as the frigid temperatures meant that transmission companies couldn’t keep up with demand at the same time when natural gas producers couldn’t deliver enough fuel to power the plants.
Sabotage and Terrorism
Whether by physical or digital means, power stations are a tempting target for sabotage by state actors or extremist groups. Power grids are often the first targets during any armed conflict, so transfer stations and generator facilities must be prepared for these threats.
Mechanical Failure
At the end of the day, any system runs the risk of breaking down. An unintentional error or mechanical failure can cause a blackout just as easily as a hurricane can, and this issue will only become more prevalent as parts of the grid continue to age and deteriorate.
Key Measures for Power Grid Resilience
Power companies should focus their efforts on the following areas if they wish to improve their grid’s resilience.
- Grid Security Measures: This includes both physical and cybersecurity measures to ensure that power infrastructure and employees are safe. Effective training for workers is critical, such as teaching them to spot phishing attempts or signs of a potential intrusion. It also means investing in robust commercial security features like camera systems and data encryption. Many devices used to control power grids have no built-in security features, making them very vulnerable to man-in-the-middle or denial-of-service attacks. Implementing computers with cybersecurity protections in place helps prevent cyberattacks from spiraling out of control.
- Smart Grid Technologies: New technology, such as automatic outage detectors, smart meters, and artificial intelligence running on dedicated industrial AI box PCs, can help address outages and prevent them from occurring. Automated systems that distribute and optimize power usage without requiring human input can also make the grid more efficient, reducing waste.
- Decentralized Energy Sources: A key issue with the current power grid is that it is too centralized around large generators and distribution centers. If this single point in the network fails, its entire area goes dark. A system of smaller distributed generators supported by renewable resources removes this reliance. For example, residential and commercial properties equipped with solar panels are both more self-sufficient and can feed excess energy back into the grid when not using it for themselves. Decentralized distribution is also more efficient, as it doesn’t require energy to travel as far.
Enhance Grid Resilience with Cybernet Manufacturing
The demand for electricity will only grow, meaning providers must adapt to the changing times. Embracing grid resilience technologies will be key to delivering safe, reliable power in the future.
If your power company is looking for new tools to enhance its grid resilience, get in touch with the team at Cybernet Manufacturing. Our rugged industrial tablets and PCs are designed for the harsh rigors of the power industry and come with multiple features to enhance their security.