In the United States, power demand is surging. Lighting, air conditioning, and numerous outlets are present in just about every home, apartment, and commercial location. Moreover, cars, buses, and trains are all prevalent forms of transportation that are reliant upon electricity. Because of lifestyle and technology, the demand for energy is an all-time high. And, within the next 25 years, power demand is expected to grow from its current peak by 50%. This equates to a whopping 5,178 Terawatt hours, which would power the entire internet for 15 days, but only powers 100 million homes for an hour. So how does the US power grid compare against the forecasted energy demand?
Currently, the US power grid is between 40 and 70 years old. This is to say that parts like transmission lines and transformers that make up the grid are incredibly old, and most are near their end of service date. Not only does this make it hard for them to accommodate to function for the present day, but it is nearly impossible for them to consistently provide the energy demand for the next few decades.
Fortunately, US electrical supplies companies are stepping up to help modernize the system. Companies like ELSCO offer new transformers that would not only serve as function replacements, but would also be more future-proofed than current infrastructure. Moreover, the new transformers are expected to be much more efficient, meaning more energy sent back to the grid and less overall strain on the infrastructure.
Ultimately, the future is powered by electricity and it is unlikely that it will change. To ensure the US power grid can keep up with the energy being demanded, upgrading infrastructure is non-negotiable. Between the better efficiency and the higher capacity, new power grid infrastructure would help the power grid keep up with both the present and decades to come.
Source: ELSCO
