EPRI Solutions for Next Western Power Crisis
Staff -- Consulting-Specifying Engineer, 12/1/2001
During the past summer, the Electric Power Research Institute suggested solutions to the 11-state Western power grid's next crisis:
- Upgrade existing power plants to increase their capacity by 5% via advantage maintenance procedures and cost-effective retrofits.
- Fix the problems in wholesale and retail power markets.
- Improve existing transmission capacity to achieve more throughput.
- Pursue a balance portfolio of generation sources to avert an over-reliance on natural gas.
- Move faster to interconnect distributed generation into the grid.
- Come up with a comprehensive plan for power supply that anticipates the escalating power use of a digital society.
To download the plan in its entirety from the Web, including a total of 18 specific recommendations for action, go to: www.epri.com
From Pure Power, Winter 2001.
