Electricity Conference on Emerging Behavior in the Changing Electric Energy Industry

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides travel support to enable graduate student participation in a conference held at Carnegie Mellon University on March 8-9, 2011, on the subject of "Emerging Behavior in the Changing Electric Energy Industry." As new and unconventional technologies become connected to the electric power grid, and the system is driven by qualitatively new economic and environmental objectives, new phenomena will emerge. Some of these may lower cost and improve reliability, but some will challenge the stability and reliability of the electricity system. For example, if a large proportion of residential and commercial customers have solar panels that feed electricity into the grid when the sun is shining, but abruptly require power when a cloud passes over the sun, the dynamic stresses on the grid will increase, perhaps to unmanageable levels. A system based on minimizing costs with current rules for preserving stability and reliability could lead to unacceptable service. Before making these changes in technology and management practices, it would be prudent to understand the challenges that the current system faces, the reasons for its relatively good record of reliability, and how the system will be challenged by the changes. The focus of the meeting is on unintended consequences of changes in the electricity system. Topics include causes, modeling, and dynamics of hard-to-predict emerging technical and economic phenomena. The meeting focuses on issues affecting the smart grid, dynamic pricing, and decentralized generation (including net metering for an area with a high penetration of solar self-generation). The objective is to identify fundamental approaches for transforming today's operating and planning industry practices, and to identify supporting policies that can manage short-and long-term uncertainty and ensure sustainable electricity services.