SURVIVING THE SURGE: STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING ELECTRICITY IN THE FACE OF GRID INSTABILITY

Historically, business leaders have not had to prioritize electricity when auditing or improving their supply chain management.

- PETER FOLLOWS

Often buried under umbrella categories such as utilities, maintenance, cost control and green initiatives, electricity has long been an assumed commodity. But, as the North American electrical grid faces rapidly increasing challenges, and the rate of outages continues to rise, the supply of electricity may no longer be as simple as flipping a switch.

There is an urgent need for businesses to adopt a proactive approach to managing their supply of electricity as part of an overall supply chain strategy. This is particularly true for organizations experiencing rapid growth.

Navigating Grid Challenges

The demands on the North American grid are escalating dramatically, driven partly by the electric vehicle (EV) market and the growing energy needs of data centers. (1) Suppliers are struggling to keep up, and many experts are predicting significant electricity shortages over the next five years.

The challenges of sudden growth are not helped by a decades-old infrastructure that is in desperate need of repair, expansion and modernization. Renewable energy sources are expanding rapidly, but harnessing the power they provide is not as straightforward as it is sometimes made out to be.

Thousands of solar, wind and battery projects are queued to connect to the U.S. electric grid, but they may never get the opportunity, in part due to the grid’s lack of capacity to handle new power sources. This is exacerbated by the long and arduous process of obtaining permits for new transmission lines, a process that can take up to 15 years. (2) Complicating things further, the fluctuations and intermittent nature of these renewable sources requires a resilient, intelligent and flexible grid capable of ensuring a consistent energy supply. (3) (4)