“We have improved the reliability of the system by 35% in the first two years of operations. It’s quite a record in the U.S. for any utility. It would be hard to find any that have improved by 35% in two years in frequency of outages, and 20% of duration of outages in comparison to the previous year.”

The 2023 Conference on Innovative Smart Grid Technologies - Latin America, sponsored by IEEE Power & Energy Society, focused on the theme of disaster recovery and network transformation in times of climate change. Puerto Rico’s unique experience with disaster preparedness and recovery in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria was a notable topic of discussion for the convening engineering and climate change experts.

NARUC held its Annual Meeting and Education Conference in November, closing out its three years of the theme “Connecting the Dots, Innovative/Disruptive Technology and Regulation.”

“Reliability and affordability will be center stage this next year, and I have encouraged committee chairs to address these issues in meetings. I look forward to healthy debates about different approaches to decarbonization, new methods for resource planning, permitting, and construction challenges, workforce shortages or proposed EPA regulations.”

Innovators and superstars of the energy and utilities industry attended Fortnightly Top Innovators 2023 at the historic Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. to learn, trade ideas, and network.

“How do we drill so we can access high-grade heat at 3, 6, even 10 miles underground? We’re pursuing this solution, millimeter-wave drilling, developed by at the MIT Plasma Science Fusion Center. We’re utilizing nuclear fusion technology to replace conventional drilling.”

“We’ve seen the cost declines often lag for customers in ways that they may see technology as being ready, but it’s not showing up as a meaningful bill impact. Where are some gaps between perception and reality?”

“Whatever innovation you’re going to do involves a bit of risk, most likely because it hasn’t been proven. How do utilities effectively link their innovation strategies with risk management?”

“It’s having locational pricing at a community aggregation level and being able to actively participate in a retail market and bring your products and services to the table, to provide real value to the grid by lowering demand, and the grid operator needs that demand to be reduced. That kind of innovation if it can happen, is a game-changer.”

“A lot of innovation is not just about the technologies and the people behind them, it’s also about consensus from across sectors on what we’re collectively trying to achieve. Having collaborations that bring in academics, NGOs, investors, and a wide variety of participants can help alleviate polarization.”