PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The United States Department of Energy announced on Tuesday that up to $3.46 billion will be invested in Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program investments across 44 states to further strengthen electric grid reliability.
Pennsylvania will be seeing the investments build onto PPL Electric Utilities Corporation's already-present smart grid innovation, and eventually take shape into becoming "The Grid of the Future".
The $49,500,000 grant awarded to PPL will be used to create an automated grid that predicts failures, reduces outages, increases resilience and improves customer affordability.
The Grid Deployment office lists the additional anticipated outcomes and benefits of "The Grid of the Future" as follows:
- Advance Pa. state electrification goals by building a more reliable grid.
- Reduce outage duration and prevent faults due to system disruptions during extreme weather events.
- Increase the use of advanced automation technologies for greater energy reliability during disruptive events.
- Deploy advanced data analytics with artificial intelligence and machine learning to monitor outages, forecast changes in demand and enhance real-time grid operations
- Decrease outage durations and outage frequencies, helping to ensure reliable electricity service for over 800,000 people living in disadvantaged communities (DACs).
- Catalyze workforce development and the retention of skilled labor in local communities by creating up to 225 new job opportunities across the value chain.
- Pay all laborers and mechanics under this project no less than the prevailing wage.
