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PUBLICATIONS

Quantifying Operational Resilience Benefits of the Smart Grid

Published

Author(s)

Cheyney O'Fallon, Avi Gopstein

Abstract

Automated systems for network protection, outage management, and restoration enable utilities to maintain service continuity through network reconfiguration even when confronted with a major hurricane. We employ a reduced form approach to evaluate the impact of interoperability investments on distribution system resilience and the propensity for customers to suffer sustained interruptions to their electric service during Hurricane Irma. This manuscript presents evidence that the expected number of interruption hours sustained during that hurricane was relatively lower for regions of the Florida distribution grid that made more interoperability enhancing investments, all else equal. We use advanced metering infrastructure penetration as a proxy and leading indicator of investment in interoperability enhancements. Employing only publicly available data resources, we conservatively estimate that Florida counties that made these enhanced interoperability investments realized nearly $ 1.7 billion of operational resilience benefits in the form of avoided customer interruption costs during Hurricane Irma.
Citation
Technical Note (NIST TN) - 2137
Report Number
2137
NIST Pub Series
Technical Note (NIST TN)
Pub Type
NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.TN.2137
Local Download

Keywords

Smart Grid, Interoperability, Community Resilience, Hurricane Irma, Distribution System, Advanced Metering Infrastructure
Electric power / smart grid

Citation

O'Fallon, C. and Gopstein, A. (2021), Quantifying Operational Resilience Benefits of the Smart Grid, Technical Note (NIST TN), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.TN.2137 (Accessed October 22, 2025)

Issues

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Created February 8, 2021, Updated March 1, 2021
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