Increase your network availability

1) U.S. energy Information Administration, 2021, Today in Energy, Viewed 8/1/2022, www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/U.S.-electricity-customers-experienced-eight-hours-of-power-interruptions-in-2020

2) M Brown, C Fassett, P Whittle, J McConnaughy, J Lo, 2022, Storms batter aging power grid as climate disasters spread, Viewed 8/1/2022, www.apnews.com/article/wildfires-storms-science-business-health-7a0fb8c998c1d56759989dda62292379

Utility power outages are on the rise in terms of frequency and duration, with growing risk to network availability if your outside plant is not prepared for extended battery runtime.

In the United States, major climate events and extreme temperature cycles are putting unprecedented demand on utility grids across the country.

• Unexpected extreme high or low temperature spells in a region place significant pressure on electric grids as more cooling or heating devices are used to for homes and businesses.
• The growing dependence on unreliable energy sources like wind and solar must be supported by reliable energy reserves to avoid energy shortages in cases where renewables aren’t producing.
• Most utilities carry very little reserve fuel supplies for electricity generation, instead relying on neighboring regions to sell short-term power at high rates in cases where un-forecasted demand exceeds supply. If additional power cannot be acquired then utilities are forced to force power outages, or “shed load”.
• Decades of inadequate capital investments into aging utility transmission lines are forcing outages in places like California to mitigate patterns of catastrophic wildfires sparked by faulty power lines.