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| Overview Capabilities Staff Projects |
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Electric System Reliability
Reliable provision of electric service is an essential part of our modern economy. Homes and businesses depend upon electricity, and interruptions in electric service can have large economic costs. While most of the “unserved energy demand” in the United States results from problems in the distribution system, failures of the high voltage transmission grid and generating capacity inadequacies can have implications on a broad regional scale.
Synapse investigates a variety of issues pertaining to the reliability of the generation, transmission, and distribution systems that provide electricity. Our work includes:
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Evaluation of whether new electricity market structures are likely to lead to reliability problems, and identify policies address such problems |
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Determination of the levels of system reliability that are adequate for large interconnected utility systems |
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Evaluation of whether new utility generating and transmission facilities are needed to ensure adequate system reliability |
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Analysis of whether there exists excess generating capacity on electric utility systems, from both physical and economic points of view |
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Analysis of distribution system maintenance and reliability, and appropriate consideration of reliability in planning and ratemaking for distributed generation |
