Figure 1.2: Share of Energy Used by Appliances and Consumer Electronics Increases in U.S. Homes

Figure 1.2: Share of Energy Used by Appliances and Consumer Electronics Increases in U.S. Homes

Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), U.S. Energy Information Agency

Over the past three decades, the share of residential electricity used by appliances and electronics in U.S. homes has nearly doubled from 17 percent to 31 percent, growing from 1.77 quadrillion Btu (quads) to 3.25 quads.

This rise has occurred while Federal energy efficiency standards were enacted on every major appliance, overall household energy consumption actually decreased from 10.58 quads to 10.55 quads, and energy use per household fell 31 percent.

http://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/reports/electronics.cfm

Long-term planning to meet this potential demand centers on the balance of fuels. Despite environmental concerns, the U.S. allows increased drilling and production of oil and natural gas using hydrofracturing (“fracking”)² driving natural gas prices lower and quickly increasing supply (with a side benefit of driving electricity demand through the electrification of fracking fields). At the same time, gas turbine manufacturers continue to improve gas-fired turbine efficiency adding increased flexibility in following load demand and shaping wind generation.

Variability and uncertainty of wind and solar energy requires flexible and reliable power sources to maintain reliability standards. Natural gas plants can be brought on line relatively quickly when demand spikes and can serve as replacements for retiring coal plants. Natural gas is abundant in the United States, so using it does not hurt the nation’s trade balance and provides domestic jobs. Natural gas quickly becomes the “fuel of choice” for both new and replacement generation. The challenges for natural gas include the uncertainty of continued long-term supply from shale gas, the long-term potential for price volatility, the need for new transmission and delivery infrastructure, and public concerns about air and water pollution resulting from the use of fracking technology.

Renewable energy and environmental activists and advocates focus on three concerns: (1) The environmental impacts of fracking used for oil and natural gas production; (2) Curbing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, and (3) The effects of extreme weather events, particularly the continuing severe drought in the western U.S., which leads to additional application of dry-cooled generation. These issues become more pressing as the U.S. moves towards “energy independence” through domestic oil and gas production.

Land use and endangered species are part of the discussions about transmission system expansion. The public, well informed about these issues, continues to support policies protecting the natural environment despite continued uncertainty about the economy. When both technological innovations and careful public involvement in project development are key aspects of system expansion, there’s support for moving new technological solutions into the market. Even without federal pressure, some states are continuing to pursue clean energy solutions in direct response to voters’ demands.

Policy makers understand the long-term planning challenges in this period of economic recovery period along with changing dynamics within the power system. As part of their responses to FERC 1000, public utility transmission providers publish a white paper on Balancing Authority (BA) consolidation, which serves as a framework for institutional changes in the WECC region, including tighter planning coordination.

As 2017 comes to a close, an uncertain US economy continues to slowly pick up momentum, while the WECC region maintains an annual economic growth rate of 2.5%. Population growth within the WECC region’s population coupled with continued economic growth increases energy demand placing new pressures on the electric grid. As a result, utilities will have to increase generation and distribution in the coming decade. Most utilities initiate processes to allocate the capital for the IT infrastructure upgrades necessary to create, implement, and take advantage of the long-discussed grail—the “smart grid.” (See Figure 1.3 on the challenges of smart grid growth).

Figure 1.3: The Smart Grid” at a Crossroad

Source: January, 2013, Public Utilities Fortnightly, quote from Jack Azagury, of Accenture Corp.

Before the smart grid can become a reality, much less leave the infancy stage, utilities need to prepare for an onslaught of data - and not just a doubling or triple - but an increase of multiple orders of magnitude.

Currently utilities are hindered by old legacy IT that cannot deal with this data inflow - much less communicate effectively with each other - and they are upgrading very slowly.

The realization of the smart grid and all of the benefits will be delayed much farther into the future than most forecasts anticipate.

The technology is there; it only needs to be refined and standardized into easy-to-use applications so power companies can smoothly integrate them into their operations.