Shorting the Grid: The Hidden Fragility of Our Electric Grid

When rolling blackouts come to the electric grid, they will be old news to the grid insiders.

Only the electricity customers will be surprised.

Grid insiders know how fragile the grid is becoming. Unfortunately, they have no incentive to solve the problems because near-misses increase their profits. Meredith Angwin describes how closed meetings, arcane auction rules, and five-minute planning horizons will topple the reliability of our electric grid. Shorting the Grid shines light on our vulnerable grid. It also suggests actions that can support the grid that supports all of us.

As a working chemist, Meredith Angwin headed projects that lowered pollution and increased reliability on the electric grid. Her work included pollution control for nitrogen oxides in gas-fired combustion turbines, and corrosion control in geothermal and nuclear systems. She was one of the first women to be a project manager at the Electric Power Research Institute. She led projects in renewable and nuclear energy. In the past ten years, she began to study and take part in grid oversight and governance. For four years, she served on the Coordinating Committee for the Consumer Liaison Group associated with ISO-NE, her local grid operator. She teaches courses and presents workshops on the electric grid. She and her husband George live in Vermont. They have two children and four grandchildren who live in the New York City area. Contact her at meredithangwin@gmail.com