This area of research is focused on the analysis and assessment of trends in electric power system reliability, including contributions to the development and use of reliability performance metrics and the cost of power interruptions to customers.
Electricity and Bulk Power Reliability Metrics and Trends
A common management precept holds that you cannot manage something effectively unless you can measure it. Grid reliability performance metrics are essential for managing reliability because they provide a quantitative, objective basis for evaluating the efficacy of actions taken to maintain or improve grid reliability. LBNL, with help from industry and government agencies, conducts research on reliability metrics and methods to ensure collection of consistent, comprehensive information about reliability performance. LBNL’s work also assesses trends in reliability as a basis for assessing the impacts of reliability policies, practices, and technologies over time.
The Economic Value of Reliability for Electricity Consumers
The value that consumers place on reliable electricity service can be used to assess the economic efficiency of investments in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution systems. LBNL’s research evaluates which customer segments would benefit most from potential system improvements and quantifies the risks associated with different operating, planning, and investment strategies. LBNL has developed customer damage functions that estimate power interruption costs based on the number of customers affected; their rate class; and the time of day, season of the year, and length of the interruption. This information has been used to develop a national estimate of the annual consumer cost of power interruptions.
