Photo courtesy of Jill Tietjen

Jill S. Tietjen, P.E. (Applied Math ’76)

Electricity is one of the most critical infrastructure components of our country’s economy. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave energy the grade of “D” (down from a “D+” in 2003) in its 2005 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, and that fact should give each of us cause for concern.

Why should we be concerned? Because that “D” means that the investment in the electric grid has not kept up with demand: not enough assets have been built, and the aging fleet of equipment that is currently installed has not been upgraded to meet growth demands. The resulting shortfall in reasonably priced and reliable electricity will jeopardize the nation’s prosperity and adversely affect our quality of life.

The electric utility infrastructure has three components: generation, transmission and distribution. Generation consists of the power plants where electricity is produced. The transmission system consists of the large towers, wires and associated equipment that move the electricity from the power plants to the population centers. The distribution system consists of smaller wires and associated equipment that move power from the transmission system to the actual end user — our homes, businesses, hospitals and other consumers.

The U.S. fleet of more than 900,000 megawatts (MW) of generation is aging rapidly; many are more than 30 years old (the original design life). With an average size of 250–500 MW for new generating units, replacing 200,000 MW or existing generation systems would mean the construction of 400 to 800 new generating units.

Most major transmission lines were built in association with the power plants, so they are dated as well. Both the physical components (power plants and wires) and the technological components are antiquated. The most recent significant advance for the transmission system occurred in the 1970s when 765-kilovolt lines were introduced. Likewise, the most recent significant advance for conventional large central station power plants also occurred in the 1970s. There have been advances in materials and electronics, but essentially we are powering a component critical to our society’s infrastructure — the entire spectrum of electric utility operation — with 30- to 40-year-old technology. The forces of NIMBYism (not in my back yard) — and her sisters, BANANA (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone), NOPE (not on planet Earth) and NIMTOO (not in my term of office) — further complicate the situation by making the construction of power plants as well as of transmission and distribution lines increasingly difficult. Yet, as the economy continues to grow, the demand for electricity nationwide continues to increase at a rate of just under 2 percent per year.

I hope that we will find our way and fix our electric utility system before the ASCE gives it an “F.” Only through significant investments in the generation and transmission systems (including conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy) will we have enough power in our future.

What do you think? To respond to Reflections, send an e-mail to vef-info@virginia.edu.