IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2021 - 4

editors' voice

Barry Mather and Steve Widergren

energy security
ensuring affordability & availability

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPE.2020.3043566
Date of current version: 19 February 2021

4

ieee power & energy magazine

systems in the face of change and associated system challenges as seen
by the higher penetration levels of renewable energy generation, increased
adoption of new grid technologies,
and market developments for grid
services to address an expanding suite
of operational issues. Guest Editors
Antonio Conejo and Federico Milano
have assembled an international
contingent of experts in various specialized areas of operational security
to provide a truly comprehensive perspective of the wide range of challenges and solutions evolving in this
space. In total, the seven feature articles
include perspectives from six countries
and seven separate power systems. The
feature articles discuss the following:
✔ the operational challenges being
managed in Texas, given sustained growth in renewable energy generation capacity
✔ an in-depth analysis of the interdependency of California's natural gas and electric power system
to ensure the secure operation of
the electric power system as it is
modernized
✔ the challenges to and impacts on
power system short-term stability being experienced and addressed in Ireland as higher levels of renewable energy operate
within the system
✔ a view of how the Danish power
system can meet operational security and decarbonization goals
harmoniously
✔ the operational security issues realized in the strongly interconnected
Swiss power system as the power
systems of both Switzerland

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A

AS THE WORLD FACED THE
g r i p s of t h e C OV I D -19 p a n demic, the mere idea of potential
lockdowns sent packages of toilet paper flying off the shelves.
That has been followed by the
loss of jobs and income that staggered economies globally. Fortunately, power and energy system
operation has remained largely
stable. But imagine the further
hoarding and pandemonium that
would ensue should the electrified
world's societies confront shortages in access to the energy on
which they have become so dependent.
Think of the economic collapse that
would transform the orderly operation
of businesses and governments. Anxiety at the thought of the reactions to
such situations does more than lead to
lack of sleep. Many of us in this business have jobs that directly consider
the short- and long-term availability of
uninterrupted energy access. Most of
the rest of us work to see that energy is
delivered safely at an affordable price.
These two aspects form the foundation
for exploring energy security.
A host of global, regional, and local
issues inspires socioeconomical trends
and policies that drive changes in the energy supply chain. Our energy systems
are evolving in response to these trends
and policies as spurred on by seemingly
faster leaps in technology-based capabilities. The responses to climate change, and
the factors that may encourage it, have
given rise to advancement in renewable
resources being produced at cost-effective

rates. This leads to an associated reduction in more traditional fossil supply systems characterized by an abundance of
spinning mass to which we have applied
decades of engineering advancement in
design and paradigms for system operation. Innovation in batteries, sensing,
communications, and information technology gives rise to economic drivers for
cooperative operating arrangements that
harness greater efficiencies and offer future promises of robustness and resilience
in response to system operation perturbations. But this new type of system is
not so familiar. Now, as in the past, our
industry is responding to change to better
understand the complex interplay of these
emerging shifts so that we may attain
some level of proficiency in managing
these evolving power and energy systems.
May our success in this endeavor afford
us a moment to rest as we summon new
strength for the next set of energy security
challenges that are sure to follow.

In This Issue
The articles in this issue explore the operational security of the world's power

march/april 2021
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IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2021
