![]() ![]() Yet, only six of them are full Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) - sometimes referred to as Independent System Operators, a nuanced distinction and yet another acronym that we shall spare the readers from - with the mandate and authority to conduct transmission planning for their region. Today, there are 12 different transmission planning regions, all of which except for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). To make matters worse, the high-voltage, long-distance electric transmission lines that form the backbone of each of these grids are largely planned in even greater local isolation. These are called the Eastern, Western, and ERCOT interconnections - three separate power grids that are almost completely isolated from one another, electrically speaking. The US power grid is, in fact, highly fragmented and consists of not one, but three different sections. But in the aftermath of winter storm Elliott and the rolling power outages its frigid cold inflicted on many Americans, we need to ask ourselves: is this machine a match for these types of extreme weather events blanketing the country with ever increasing frequency and ferocity? The Reality It is indeed an engineering marvel: a network of several hundred thousand miles of power lines connect thousands of electric generators to power households and businesses across the contiguous United States. The US electric grid is often referred to as the greatest machine in the world. ![]()
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