There’s probably a good chance that you’ve turned on your television, computer, or an appliance without giving much thought about the electric grid. But when there’s a power outage, it’s a different story. Suddenly, you’re asking yourself questions such as: What is the electric grid and who owns it? Who controls the grid and how is it controlled? What causes a grid blackout? What is the future of the grid? William L. Thompson, who retired from Dominion Virginia Power after thirty-eight years in the electric business, answers those questions and many more in this book for anyone curious about the electric grid and how it works. In plain, simple language, he reveals what goes on behind the scenes at grid control centers across the country. He also explains how electricity is generated through renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. He also examines the causes behind the largest blackout in United States history and how global warming and technological developments could permanently change Living on the Grid.

A nation unprepared : surviving the aftermath of a blackout where tens of millions of people over several states are affected.

The history of the grid, the world's largest interconnected power machine that is North America's electricity infrastructure. The North American power grid has been called the world's largest machine. The grid connects nearly every living soul on the continent; Americans rely utterly on the miracle of electrification. In this book, Julie Cohn tells the history of the grid, from early linkages in the 1890s through the grid's maturity as a networked infrastructure in the 1980s. She focuses on the strategies and technologies used to control power on the grid—in fact made up of four major networks of interconnected power systems—paying particular attention to the work of engineers and system operators who handled the everyday operations. To do so, she consulted sources that range from the pages of historical trade journals to corporate archives to the papers of her father, Nathan Cohn, who worked in the industry from 1927 to 1989—roughly the period of key power control innovations across North America. Cohn investigates major challenges and major breakthroughs but also the hidden aspects of our electricity infrastructure, both technical and human. She describes the origins of the grid and the growth of interconnection; emerging control issues, including difficulties in matching generation and demand on linked systems; collaboration and competition against the backdrop of economic depression and government infrastructure investment; the effects of World War II on electrification; postwar plans for a coast-to-coast grid; the northeast blackout of 1965 and the East-West closure of 1967; and renewed efforts at achieving stability and reliability after those two events.

The groundbreaking book that details the fundamentals of reliability modeling and evaluation and introduces new and future technologies Electric Power Grid Reliability Evaluation deals with the effective evaluation of the electric power grid and explores the role that this process plays in the planning and designing of the expansion of the power grid. The book is a guide to the theoretical approaches and processes that underpin the electric power grid and reviews the most current and emerging technologies designed to ensure reliability. The authors—noted experts in the field—also present the algorithms that have been developed for analyzing the soundness of the power grid. A comprehensive resource, the book covers probability theory, stochastic processes, and a frequency-based approach in order to provide a theoretical foundation for reliability analysis. Throughout the book, the concepts presented are explained with illustrative examples that connect with power systems. The authors cover generation adequacy methods, and multi-node analysis which includes both multi-area as well as composite power system reliable evaluation. This important book: • Provides a guide to the basic methods of reliability modeling and evaluation • Contains a helpful review of the background of power system reliability evaluation • Includes information on new technology sources that have the potential to create a more reliable power grid • Addresses renewable energy sources and shows how they affect power outages and blackouts that pose new challenges to the power grid system Written for engineering students and professionals, Electric Power Grid Reliability Evaluation is an essential book that explores the processes and algorithms for creating a sound and reliable power grid.

FINALLY!!!! - There is a book written about the electric power grid and how it is operated, that you can enjoy, and learn a great deal from. This book offers the reader an understandable explanation of what is occurring every second of every day on the electric power grid. There are many books about the power grid that are explanations suited for advanced industry experts or electrical engineering students. In fact, several of them are listed in one section of this book. However, this book offers the only explanation I am aware of that will appeal to a large audience ranging from your friend next door, to men and women in the industry who want to know more about how their job function fits in with all the other parts of the grid. It is written using more than 200 years of accumulated power grid operations experience from me, and five or six colleagues I used for advice and opinions. I am certain guys like Norm, Cliffy, Sammy and possibly even Woody would have a much better understanding of the power grid after reading this book. When you read it, you will learn about subjects such as: historical blackouts, what power grid operators are watching, the effects of Super Bowl Sunday and Christmas lights on the grid, the electric grid in Japan, and many, many other items of interest. If you've ever been curious what it costs to run some of the appliances in your home, you are looking at the right book, because that is explained as well. It is enjoyable to read, will someday make you look like a genius, and is guaranteed to make you laugh a few times while you read it. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The Power Grid: Smart, Secure, Green and Reliable offers a diverse look at the traditional engineering and physics aspects of power systems, also examining the issues affecting clean power generation, power distribution, and the new security issues that could potentially affect the availability and reliability of the grid. The book looks at growth in new loads that are consuming over 1% of all the electrical power produced, and how combining those load issues of getting power to the regions experiencing growth in energy demand can be addressed. In addition, it considers the policy issues surrounding transmission line approval by regulators. With truly multidisciplinary content, including failure analysis of various systems, photovoltaic, wind power, quality issues with clean power, high-voltage DC transmission, electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic interference, privacy concerns, and data security, this reference is relevant to anyone interested in the broad area of power grid stability. - Discusses state–of-the-art trends and issues in power grid reliability - Offers guidance on purchasing or investing in new technologies - Includes a technical document relevant to public policy that can help all stakeholders understand the technical issues facing a green, secure power grid

“One of the best thriller writers on the planet.” —The Real Book Spy In the next thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling Mitch Rapp series, it’s a race against the clock when ISIS takes out the entire US power grid and throws the country into chaos. When Mitch Rapp captures ISIS’s top technology expert, he reveals that he was on his way to meet a man who claims to have the ability to bring down America’s power grid. Rapp is determined to eliminate this shadowy figure, but the CIA’s trap fails. The Agency is still trying to determine what went wrong when ISIS operatives help this cyber terrorist do what he said he could—plunge the country into darkness. With no concept of how this unprecedented act was accomplished, the task of getting the power back on could take months. Perhaps even years. Rapp and his team embark on a desperate search for the only people who know how to repair the damage—the ones responsible. But his operating environment is like nothing he’s experienced before. Computers and communication networks are down, fuel can no longer be pumped from gas stations, water and sanitation systems are on the brink of collapse, and the supply of food is running out. Can Rapp get the lights back on before America descends irretrievably into chaos? This compulsive thriller proves once again that the Mitch Rapp series is “the best of the best when it comes to the world of special ops” (Booklist, starred review).

Superconductors offer high throughput with low electric losses and have the potential to transform the electric power grid. Transmission networks incorporating cables of this type could, for example, deliver more power and enable substantial energy savings. Superconductors in the Power Grid: Materials and Applications provides an overview of superconductors and their applications in power grids. Sections address the design and engineering of cable systems and fault current limiters and other emerging applications for superconductors in the power grid, as well as case studies of industrial applications of superconductors in the power grid. - Expert editor from highly respected US government-funded research centre - Unique focus on superconductors in the power grid - Comprehensive coverage

“Power Grid Complexity” introduces the complex system theory known as self-organized criticality (SOC) theory and complex network theory, and their applications to power systems. It studies the network characteristics of power systems, such as their small-world properties, structural vulnerability, decomposition and coordination strategies, and simplification and equivalence methods. The book also establishes four blackout models based on SOC theory through which the SOC of power systems is studied at both the macroscopic and microscopic levels. Additionally, applications of complex system theory in power system planning and emergency management platforms are also discussed in depth. This book can serve as a useful reference for engineers and researchers working with power systems. Shengwei Mei is a Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua University, China. Xuemin Zhang is a Lecturer at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua University, China. Ming Cao is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

As the electric power industry faces the challenges of climate change, technological disruption, new market imperatives, and changing policies, a renowned energy expert offers a roadmap to the future of this essential sector. As the damaging and costly impacts of climate change increase, the rapid development of sustainable energy has taken on great urgency. The electricity industry has responded with necessary but wrenching shifts toward renewables, even as it faces unprecedented challenges and disruption brought on by new technologies, new competitors, and policy changes. The result is a collision course between a grid that must provide abundant, secure, flexible, and affordable power, and an industry facing enormous demands for power and rapid, systemic change. The fashionable solution is to think small: smart buildings, small-scale renewables, and locally distributed green energy. But Peter Fox-Penner makes clear that these will not be enough to meet our increasing needs for electricity. He points instead to the indispensability of large power systems, battery storage, and scalable carbon-free power technologies, along with the grids and markets that will integrate them. The electric power industry and its regulators will have to provide all of these, even as they grapple with changing business models for local electric utilities, political instability, and technological change. Power after Carbon makes sense of all the moving parts, providing actionable recommendations for anyone involved with or relying on the electric power system.