IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - September/October 2014 - 20

guest editorial

Ralph Masiello and Nicholas Abi-Samra

climate changes
how the power infrastructure needs to adapt

Since SuperStorm Sandy
wreaked havoc on the electrical infrastructure of the u.S. northeast in 2012,
there has been heightened awareness
in the press, public understanding, and
political consciousness of the risks that
severe weather and other extreme hazards
present to our infrastructures.
there is a general perception, backed up by various statistics and evidence,
that severe weather events
are occurring with greater
frequency than in the past.
and for a variety of reasons (such as aging assets
in some cases; certainly
more dependence upon interlinked infrastructures for
electricity, gas, communications, emergency services, and health care; increasing urbanization, especially
in coastal areas), there is a
perception that the overall
consequences are broader
and deeper than we faced in
the past.
no scientific claims
have been made that climate change, a.k.a. global warming,
is the specific driver behind any one
of the recent hurricanes, superstorms,
cyclones, floods, or this winter's polar
vortex. But there has been general discussion about the impact that elevated
atmospheric and sea temperatures and

sea level rise will have on the conditions that breed severe weather and thus
the frequency and severity.
While policy makers cogitate over
what mitigation measures to pursue and
advocates for different sectors push
for particular policies (or no policies at
all!), many planning and infrastructureresponsible entities are
busy doing their own
planning and implementing adaptation measures. this measure is
focused on adaptation to
climate change, including
how to increase infrastructure resilience to severe
weather as well as the industry's role in reducing
carbon emissions and how
to accomplish that without
compromising reliability
and energy security.
all of the articles in
this issue were prepared
and went to publication
well before the obama
administration announced
its intent to propose rules
for carbon emissions in
the electric power sector. this editorial
is being written the same week as that
announcement was made. We will not
add to the already more-than-adequate
coverage of the proposed rule making, other than to point out that most
scientifically informed observers have
commented that while it is very good
to see a start made, the proposed reductions, if enacted globally, would still

There is
a general
perception
that severe
weather
events are
occurring
with greater
frequency
than in the
past.

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPE.2014.2330523
Date of publication: 18 August 2014

ieee power & energy magazine

not be enough to maintain the goal of
a 2 °c rise. We think it is a given that
all infrastructure and indeed all human
activity will have to adapt to warmer
temperatures with the ancillary effects
projected in terms of severe weather,
higher sea levels, and so on. this issue
was put together as a report on early
work on planning for or implementing
that set of adaptations.
the electric power sector faces a
particularly large number of challenges:
✔ restrictions on carbon emissions
or more transparent cost allocations as in a carbon tax or a cap and
trade regime will force changes in
the generation portfolio.
✔ the u.S. administration's announcements on proposed u.S.
environmental protection agency
(epa) rules setting goals for reducing carbon emissions in the
electric power sector (as we write
this editorial) are a leading indicator thereto and a signal that change
is coming, even if not exactly or
necessarily in this form.
✔ the planning going on in many cities and states for increased flooding and severe weather is another
leading indicator. the state of
new york's "renewed energy
Vision" relies in part on distributed
resources to provide resiliency and
assist in carbon reduction.
✔ many major corporations have
plans in place to measure and reduce
their carbon footprint already. as
they apply this analysis to their
total footprint including embedded
september/october 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - September/October 2014