Abstract
Widespread outbreaks of infectious disease, i.e., the so-called pandemics that may travel quickly and silently beyond boundaries, can significantly upsurge the morbidity and mortality over large-scale geographical areas. They commonly result in enormous economic losses, political disruptions, social unrest, and quickly evolve to a national security concern. Societies have been shaped by pandemics and outbreaks for as long as we have had societies. While differing in nature and in realizations, they all place the normal life of modern societies on hold. Common interruptions include job loss, infrastructure failure, and political ramifications. The electric power systems, upon which our modern society relies, is driving a myriad of interdependent services, such as water systems, communication networks, transportation systems, health services, etc. With the sudden shifts in electric power generation and demand portfolios and the need to sustain quality electricity supply to end customers (particularly mission-critical services) during pandemics, safeguarding the nation’s electric power grid in the face of such rapidly evolving outbreaks is among the top priorities. This paper explores the various mechanisms through which the electric power grids around the globe are influenced by pandemics in general and COVID-19 in particular, shares the lessons learned and best practices taken in different sectors of the electric industry in responding to the dramatic shifts enforced by such threats, and provides visions for a pandemic-resilient electric grid of the future.
Highlights
E LECTRIC power grids, as the most complex manmade cyber-physical system to date, have been traditionally designed to operate reliably under normal operating conditions and withstand potential outage-inducing events
With the sudden shifts in the use of electricity experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated challenges it embarked on various grid operation and control practices, we suggest designing the “Real-Time Operational Awareness for Electricity Demand Management Amid Pandemics (ROADMAP)”
Absenteeism is the main issue challenging the power grid operation and control. This should be addressed in future research, especially looking at how many employees an electric utility can lose before critical functions are not able to be completed
Summary
E LECTRIC power grids, as the most complex manmade cyber-physical system to date, have been traditionally designed to operate reliably under normal operating conditions and withstand potential outage-inducing events. This paper is a wide-ranging overview of the effects of pandemics on electric utilities, power grid, and load demand. The evening peak has flattened as compared to the traditional setting where there would be a peak around 5-6 PM as people get home from work These changes can challenge the system operators responsible for ensuring a reliable delivery of power to end-use consumers. The engineers and managers sent home are responsible for maintenance, testing, and design of modern power grid facilities such as substations, protection schemes, and service Many of these employees hold certifications in their roles, and such personnel cannot be replaced [1]. The loss of critical employees poses challenges in storm response, maintenance, and service planning
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