Maintaining the power grid during and after major storms is quite an undertaking. Not only will the weather damage the infrastructure, but it will also hinder efforts to make repairs. However, it’s important to make the local power grid a priority because of how it impacts the local economy and residents.
Damage to the Grid
First, the high winds in major storms, such as hurricanes or tornadoes, can wreck both power lines themselves and the poles to which they’re attached. Further, the high winds can throw debris around, which can also cause damage to transformers and/or generating stations, particularly when it comes to tornadoes.
During winter months, ice storms, even those with mild winds, can cause significant damage through the formation of ice on the wires. Further, this kind of storms make driving hazardous, and people who are driving could lose control of their vehicles and smash into electrical poles and/or substations of one kind or another.
Information from Climate Central indicates that weather outages have increased by 67% during the period from 2000 until 2021. This shows that the aging grid and associated infrastructure are becoming less and less able to handle major weather events.
Even renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines and solar panels, can experience adverse effects from high winds, higher-than-normal temperatures, or both. And, they can also be damaged during major storms by flying debris in the same manner as older systems.
Emergency Response to Grid Damage During and After Storms
When there’s debris everywhere, it’s difficult for vehicles of any type to navigate the roads that are so affected. Also, damage to the grid creates situations that are both dangerous and lethal, making repairs difficult. In these situations, the interruption to electrical service can last for hours, days, or in the most serious cases, weeks.
During the worst weather events, getting anywhere to fix damaged or destroyed grid infrastructure is largely impossible because of debris. Additionally, the roads themselves could be impassable. The emergency vehicles crews would use to get to where the problems are could also be damaged or destroyed. Therefore, it’s usual to wait for the storms to pass before attempting to repair the damaged grid.
Also, because many of the systems and tools that emergency crews use to repair the grid also rely on electricity to function, such repairs would take far longer than usual. This is especially true if key physical features of the grid, such as poles, wires, transformers, and the like, have to be replaced in total rather than be repaired.
Possible Improvements
When the systems of the grid are destroyed beyond repair, then it provides the authorities in the locality with the opportunity to replace the destroyed components with better options. In some cases, that could involve moving wires underground, adding other renewable sources to the grid, and other improvements to the grid’s infrastructure. By improving the power grid too, it offers more protection against future storms, thus also improving the quality of life for the citizens who might be in the way of the next major storm.
