Legacy and shockwaves: A spatial analysis of strengthening resilience of the power grid in Connecticut

Legacy and shockwaves: A spatial analysis of strengthening resilience of the power grid in Connecticut

Electricity

Energy transitions

Outages

Spatial modeling

Trimming

Vegetation management

Grid resilience and reliability are pivotal in the transition to low and zero carbon energy systems. Tree-trimming operations (TTOs) have become a pivotal tool for increasing the resilience power grids, especially in highly forested regions. Building on recent literature, we aim at assessing the temporal and spatial extents of the benefits that TTOs produce on the grid from three perspectives: the frequency, extent, and duration of outages. We use a unique dataset provided by Eversource Energy, New England's largest utility company, with outage events from 2009 to 2015. We employ spatial econometrics to investigate both the legacy and spatial extent of TTOs. Our results show TTOs benefits occur for all three metrics for at least 4 years, and benefits spillover to up to 2 km throughout the treated areas, with significant spatial spillovers across the state greater than direct effects. Implications lead to supporting TTOs as part of the hardening policies for utility companies, especially as home-based activities increase in importance in a post-COVID19 world.

112582

159

Gallaher, Adam

Graziano, Marcello

Fiaschetti, Maurizio

Energy Policy

2021

journalArticle

0301-4215

10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112582

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421521004523