17 INSIGHT | Tracking the Future In 2020, the average U.S. electricity customer experienced eight hours of service interruptions. That’s the highest average since the EIA began collecting electricity reliability data in 2013. Extreme weather events are increasingly stressing an already overburdened grid. From hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts to extreme heat and cold, engineering assumptions and grid planning criteria often seem obsolete. 2021 was a prime example, most notably because of Winter Storm Uri that left many in the southern U.S. without power. According to the 2022 State of Reliability Report, published by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), February’s weather phenomenon demonstrated that a significant portion of the grid was unable to supply electrical energy during extreme weather. The concern continued into the summer, as NERC highlighted the risk of summer blackouts in many parts of the country. On top of weather concerns, NERC also cited geopolitical events, new vulnerabilities, new and changing technologies, and cyber criminals and hackers as serious concerns when it comes to grid reliability. The current administration has put significant weight on reducing carbon emissions by replacing base load power plants with intermittent resources. Although power plants have been historically located near population centers, renewable resources are often located far away. In 2021, President Joe Biden announced that the United States set a goal to reach 100 percent carbon and pollutionfree electricity by 2035. Both the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act will provide incentives for utilities and developers to ramp up investment in renewable energy resources – as well as the transmission lines to meet these goals. As the U.S. power grid accelerates the transition towards these renewable energy sources, the proper infrastructure must be in place to facilitate that shift. None of this is possible without wire and cable, which moves power from where it is generated to where it is needed, when it is needed. The investments in wire and cable manufacturing plants open the door for such improvements. The infrastructure we build today must serve for generations to come. In many parts of the country, one of the biggest challenges for increasing levels of renewable energy is overstressed transmission grids that are unable to accommodate more renewable resources. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, 90 percent of planned renewables cannot interconnect to the grid due to lack of capacity. While renewable generation projects can take as little as one year to complete, transmission projects can often take a decade or more to reach full operation. Domestic wire and cable manufacturing companies are investing in their manufacturing facilities; with each dollar put in, whether to retool current plants to produce new products, or expand current facilities to accommodate more production, companies open the door for new and innovative solutions that will increase the reliability of the current grid, helping to meet future challenges. STATE OF RELIABILITY U.S. CLIMATE CONCERNS BOLSTERING CABLE INFRASTRUCTURE President Biden visits Brayton Point Prysmian Group welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden on July 20, 2022 to the site of its future submarine power cables plant in Brayton Point, Massachusetts, where it is investing $200 million to support the development of wind power as part of the U.S. energy transition. Our energy transition is happening, and U.S. cable manufacturers are rising to the challenge. The massive electrical infrastructure expansion that is needed will require more U.S. capacity, which will create more U.S. jobs. Important building blocks include shorter supply chains to meet tight project deadlines, and innovative designs that lower cost and power losses while increasing capacity and reliability as we build the grid of the future. Joe Coffey | Prysmian Group Director of Transmission
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