The Electrical Grid: America

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The Electrical Grid Americas Funnest Crisis
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(No Transcript)
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History of the Power Grid Overview

• Historical Perspective
• Materials
• Capacity
• Regulations

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Early Transmission 1900-1935

• Electrification was largely a project of private
  industry
• Due to transmission expenses, early
  electrification was confined to cities
• 1917 American Gas and Electric created first
  long-distance high-voltage transmission line
• By 1930s, 90 of urban America had electricity

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Transmission Takes Off The 1930s

• Early 1930s 90 of rural America without
  electricity
• 1935 Roosevelt creates Rural Electric
  Administration
• 1937 REA helps bring electricity to 1.5 million
  farms
• 1939 Price of one mile of rural line dropped
  from 2000 to 600. 25 increase in rural homes
  with electricity

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REA Success

• 1942 50 of rural areas had electricity
• By the 1950s, electrification was brought to
  virtually 100 of rural areas

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Materials Early Transmission

• Initially, transmission lines were supported by
  porcelain pin-and-sleeve insulators
• Insulators were similar to those used for
  telegraph and telephone lines
• Low practical capacity limit of 40 kV

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Materials 1900-1950

• 1907 Harold W. Buck invents a new disc insulator
  
• Buck's invention allows practical insulators of
  any length to be constructed
• These insulators allow for the use of higher
  voltages

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Materials 1900-1950

• Side note Increasingly present hydroelectric
  power is transmitted via power transmission lines
• First US hydroelectric generator to supply the
  grid Niagra Falls
• Voltages increase throughout the 20th century to
  support the increasing hydroelectric supply

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Materials 1950-present

• The trend toward flexibility - connected cap and
  pin insulator strings - began to distinguish
  Hi-Lines as we know them today. Insulators
  appeared in many forms as higher line voltages,
  heavier conductors, and wider tower spacing
  became common practice.

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Underground Innovations Literally!

• Half of the capital expenditures for new
  transmission and distribution wires between
  1993-2002 has been invested in underground wires
• BUT Underground transmission lines account for
  only .2 of total transmission lines installed in
  2001
• Underground lines cost approximately 1 million
  per mile

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Capacity Factors

• Capacity of individual transmission lines
• 2. Capacity of the national grid

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High-voltage transmission technology has improved
Source www.wikipedia.org, Electrical Power
Transmission
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Transmission capacity has grown in the last three
decades
Source Edison Electric Institute (www.eei.org)
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But not as fast as demand
Source Edison Electric Institute (www.eei.org)
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Transmission Investment, 1975-2003
Source Edison Electric Institute (www.eei.org)
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Regulatory History

• 1935 Public Utility Holding Company Act
• (PUHCA)
• 1978 Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act
  (PURPA)
• 1992 Energy Policy Act (EPACT)

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1935 Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA)

• The Problem
• -Huge holding companies control nations
  electricity
• -Stock watering, fraudulent accounting
• The Solution
• -Allow SEC to break up huge interstate
  companies
• -Promoted smaller, vertically integrated
  companies in single geographic areas

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1978 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act
(PURPA)

• Helps non-utilities enter energy markets
• Co-generators
• Small renewable energy facilities

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1992 Energy Policy Act (EPACT)

• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) can
  order utilities to provide access to their
  transmission lines
• This power expanded in 1996, so that utilities
  provide a fair rate for all users of transmission
  lines

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The future - ?

• Can we update the grid?
• How will it be regulated?