Bryce Yonker, executive director of Grid Forward, was invited by the Sen. Sinema (AZ) to provide testimony via WebEx in a virtual hearing entitled “Strategies for Improving Critical Energy Infrastructure.” This hearing for the Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs appeared on live stream this Weds Oct 27th at 2:30 pm eastern / 11:30 am pacific. You can watch the full recording here.
Update: Bryce answered questions after the prepared remarks. You can view his testimony and answers to Senator’s questions by downloading this document:
According to the subcommittee, the hearing “will examine the impact of weather events and other challenges that impact price stability, highlight the need for generation diversification, and demonstrate the importance of resiliency of our energy infrastructure. The hearing will also review ongoing Federal efforts to make permitting for energy related projects more efficient, and how the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council will help the United States meet energy infrastructure needs, including providing Native American tribes sufficient opportunities and consultation related to energy projects.”
Bryce will be summarizing his remarks across four classes of advanced grid capabilities:
- Advanced Forecasting: Due to increasing unpredictability and severity of weather, the industry needs more sophisticated, higher resolution forecasting of load and supply to manage the grid.
- Real-Time Monitoring and Automation: As advanced sensing and monitoring are added to grid assets, we must move into advanced and automated controls of our electric grid systems so that real-time awareness leads to fast action for enhanced grid reliability.
- Strategic Planning: With rapid technology and market changes, grid operators and communities need support to develop broader strategic plans with actionable roadmaps to meet tomorrow’s challenges.
- Grid-Enhancing Deployment: Investing in advanced grid deployments is the foundation for making progress for community resiliency a reality, and we have already seen early successes for this strategy.
Bryce will close expressing support bipartisan infrastructure package which, along with the Energy Act of 2020, provides an urgently needed down payment to advance much needed grid resiliency capabilities.
It is critical that Federal resources align with local realities to ensure that our electric grid can remain safe, reliable, and affordable. To support our national prosperity, our grid must also become increasingly flexible, efficient, clean, equitable, secure and, as we are talking about today, resilient.
Bryce Yonker, Executive Director, Grid Forward
You can download his written remarks for the subcommittee here.
