.png)
Hi everyone,
With everything happening globally—severe weather events, cyber threats, aging infrastructure, and the rapid integration of renewable and inverter-based resources—power grid resilience has become one of the most critical issues facing the energy sector. Here are a few trends and challenges that have stood out recently:
1. Climate-Driven Stress Events: Heatwaves, floods, and wildfires are no longer rare disruptions. We’re seeing more frequent and longer-duration outages caused by extreme weather. The need for adaptive infrastructure and real-time response strategies is more urgent than ever.
2. High Penetration of IBRs (Inverter-Based Resources): IBRs are changing grid dynamics—from stability and inertia to protection coordination. The recent blackouts in high-renewable regions showed how misconfigured protection schemes and lack of ride-through capabilities can amplify disturbances.
3. Cyber-Physical Resilience: Cybersecurity is now directly tied to resilience. The ability to detect, isolate, and recover from cyber incidents must be part of any resilience plan. Yet, many utilities still treat IT/OT security and physical resilience as separate silos.
4. Grid Modernization vs. Fragmentation: We’re modernizing fast—microgrids, VPPs, advanced sensors—but integration is still a bottleneck. Systems don’t always talk to each other, and visibility gaps persist, especially at the distribution level.
5. Workforce and Decision-Making Gaps: Resilience isn’t just about tech—it’s about trained operators, good policies, and situational awareness. As older workers retire, we need a new generation that understands both legacy and modern systems and can make decisions under pressure.
Here are some questions for you:
What’s your utility or region doing to improve resilience?
How are you modeling or quantifying resilience (e.g., resilience curves, metrics)?
Are there new tools or approaches you’re using (digital twins, AI-driven response, DERMS, etc.)?
Would love to hear your thoughts—let’s crowdsource some ideas.