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Oregon public power utilities Emerald PUD and the Eugene Water and Electric Board, along with Oregon electric cooperative Lane Electric, have been collaborating to develop simple, common terminology related to wildfires. The three utilities are looking to reduce public confusion during fire weather events.
Utilities face several challenges as they address an increasing number of outages. About 83% of major U.S. power outages between 2000 and 2021 were driven by weather-related events, according to Climate Central. As customers grapple with these rising power interruptions, 65% report that they’re frustrated with utilities’ impersonal communications. However, utilities can now address this communications challenge by taking advantage of AI. Rather than simply reacting to outages as they happen, power providers can embrace intelligent, customized, and proactive messaging that humanizes these crises for their customers.
Utilities face several challenges as they address an increasing number of outages. About 83% of major U.S. power outages between 2000 and 2021 were driven by weather-related events, according to Climate Central. As customers grapple with these rising power interruptions, 65% report that they’re frustrated with utilities’ impersonal communications. However, utilities can now address this communications challenge by taking advantage of AI. Rather than simply reacting to outages as they happen, power providers can embrace intelligent, customized, and proactive messaging that humanizes these crises for their customers.
Marking the 20th anniversary of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which created the modern-day reliability framework, the NERC Board of Trustees recently affirmed their commitment to assuring the reliability and security of the North American grid by approving the ERO Enterprise’s 2026 budgets and accepting the 2025 ERO Reliability Risk Priorities Report.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Aug. 19 announced that GE Vernova has committed to investing at least $41 million into the company’s Center of Excellence for steam and generator assembly and testing in Downtown Schenectady.
The Connecticut Green Bank and GoodLeap on Aug. 13 announced a strategic partnership to develop and operate Virtual Power Plants across Connecticut.
The Tennessee Valley Authority and Bicentennial Volunteers on Aug. 15 announced $655,000 in robotics awards for 179 schools and non-profit organizations that serve youth across the TVA’s seven-state region.
Iowa public power utility Cedar Falls Utilities is advancing plans to build a new energy center in Cedar Falls, it noted in a recent post on its website.
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are breaking technical barriers with faster circuit breakers to enable and protect the modern electric grid, ORNL recently reported.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality State Energy Office is investing $5 million in permanent and mobile microgrids that will provide accessible power in the wake of future weather disasters, it said on Aug. 12.