For Power Resilience, Let’s Build the Grid of the Future, Not the Grid of the Past

Imagine if we were still using telephone technology from the 1940s to communicate with our smart appliances.

In “Build the Grid of the Future, Not the Grid of the Past” in T&D World, S&C Chief Commercial Officer Mike Edmonds makes a case for investing in today’s technology on the power grid. Here are a few excerpts:

“As more critical aspects of our lives depend on access to power, the need to advance and modernize our electric grid becomes more urgent.

Recently, I’ve seen a number of articles that talk about “grid-modernization projects.” These so-called modern projects involve the deployment of technology invented in the 1940s, such as conventional circuit breakers or reclosers. While these were fine solutions back in the 1940s, before the energy transition and changing consumer expectations of service, don’t forget that at that time, the U.S. population was around 123 million and few homes had more than a few lights and a refrigerator.

Imagine if we were still using telephone technology from the 1940s to communicate with our smart appliances! We would not be very successful. Today, my smart refrigerator can talk to my smart phone to let me know when we’re out of juice at home.

To build a grid that handles the needs of today and anticipates the needs of tomorrow, we need innovative distribution grid technology.”

Read the full op-ed from Mike Edmonds in T&D World here.

Join us at DISTRIBUTECH 2024 in booth 3343 to learn more about building the grid of the future.