Department of Energy Grid Report highlights resilient societies work on ‘Just-in-Time Fuel’

Nashua, NH — A long anticipated and controversial report by the U.S. Department of Energy on electricity markets and grid reliability highlights Resilient Societies work on the risk of just-in-time fuel for generation plants. Referencing analysis of Resilient Societies first presented in testimony to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the report concludes, “a dozen states that depend on high levels of just-in-time imports…may need greater planning and resilience measures to ensure fuel security.”

According to the work of Resilient Societies, major states at high risk of power loss from inadequate fuel security include Massachusetts, Nevada, California, Florida, Virginia, and New York. These states are also dependent on long-distance transmission lines vulnerable to physical attack, cyber-attack, solar storms, and electromagnetic pulse.

The populous states of California and Florida depend on just-in-time energy for two-thirds of their electricity consumption, while Massachusetts is 81% dependent on out-of-state energy sources for electricity. Washington DC is 100% dependent on outside energy sources for electricity.

“The Department of Energy report is a long overdue examination of market factors that cause blackout risks for the American public,” said Thomas Popik, chairman of the Foundation for Resilient Societies. “The electricity markets have not been designed to prioritize public safety or national security—intervention by lawmakers and regulators is urgently needed, before a catastrophe results in widespread loss of life.”

Table 4-3, “Dependence on Imported Just-in-Time Energy for Electricity,” on page 94 of the Department of Energy report shows risk metrics for individual states. This analysis was first presented in June 22, 2017 testimony to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as part of their annual Reliability Technical Conference. The full testimony of Resilient Societies can be accessed here. Page 93 of the Department of Energy grid report gives further explanation of Resilient Societies’ work.

The testimony of Resilient Societies to FERC includes a detailed scenario for a long-term grid outage and gives policy recommendations to prevent such a disaster.