T&D World Live will feature a learning lab prior to the beginning of the conference, held on Monday, Sept. 30 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. It will take an overview of transmission and distribution planning for the next couple of decades as an old grid faces new challenges. See below for further detail and be sure to look for registration for the pre-conference workshop at https://events.tdworld.com/2024.
No-Regrets Strategies for Transmission and Distribution
In the next 25 years the world of transmission and distribution will change drastically with some distribution circuits providing up to 10 times the electricity they do today. The grid will be stressed during winter night as peak shifts to support transportation and winter heating. The grid tends to last 40 or more years, so half of the grid likely will not get upgraded by 2050, and the other half needs to be built to deal with the higher demand. Demand that could be two-way, exporting during the day, and importing at night. Most upgrades are 70 percent labor and 30 percent materials and equipment. Some materials (like wooden poles) may not be available others may have lead times measured in years. Changes to regulations may make building or upgrading new distribution or transmission more difficult and expensive, further slowing the pace of upgrades.
This session lead by Doug Houseman, a principal consultant with 1898 & Co. and long-time contributor to T&D World magazine, will look at some of the "no regrets" strategies and tactics that will lower the cost of upgrades and stretch scarce dollars to do more. Regulators are going to be tough negotiators on new capital investments as the cost of energy rises and will look to minimize cost increases for infrastructure. The session will deal with everything from poles and structures to construction standards, to real estate, software, communications, protection, and other no regrets moves that a utility can make to be ready for the future. After all no one wants to bring a new electric vehicle home and find out they are not able to charge it at night.
