Whitfield Examines 21st Century Electricity Opportunities and Challenges

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 6, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The Subcommittee on Energy and Power, chaired by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) today held a hearing on “The 21st Century Electricity Challenge: Ensuring a Secure, Reliable and Modern Electricity System.” A strong electricity system is critical to our economic and national security, and today’s hearing focused on efforts to modernize the nation’s electric grid to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century.

“The challenges are significant – much of our grid is outdated, coal-fired generation facilities are shutting down at an alarming rate, reserve margins are inadequate in several regions, intermittent and remote renewable capacity is coming online, and cyber threats pose a growing concern,” said Chairman Whitfield. “But there are opportunities as well. Utilities plan to invest more than $60 billion in transmission infrastructure through 2024 to modernize the nation’s electric grid, while abundant fuel resources and advanced generation, storage, and distribution management technologies can help modernize and diversify the nation’s power portfolio. Further, ‘big data’ energy analytics and new information technologies offer a diverse suite of novel products and services that can identify and mitigate inefficiencies in the electricity supply chain while helping utilities meet changing consumer expectations.”