Planning for future climate conditions is critical as the electric power sector continues to face operational and planning challenges from climate-related events such as extreme temperatures, prolonged drought, wildfires, ice storms, flooding, and hurricanes. Impacts from these events include direct physical damage to utility assets; operational challenges when extreme weather events render assets unavailable or lead to reductions in asset efficiency, output, or capacity; and planning challenges when changes in chronic climate conditions or extreme weather alter planning assumptions that form the basis of system design.
Documentation of how different climate variables and climate hazards can impact different components of the electric power system is an important first step in being able to identify and assess potential vulnerabilities to climate change. For three years, EPRI’s Exploring Climate Impacts in Utility Operations and Planning Interest Group (ECI IG) has focused on systematically characterizing the potential impacts of climate change (“climate impact pathways”) across the entire electricity system, from generation to the grid to the customer, which led to the development of a “Library of potential types of climate-related impacts and response options” for the electric power system. In 2023, the scope of the ECI IG expanded to include climate impacts to sectors adjacent to the electric power sector. Insights for impacts to roads and rail system, the gas-electric interface, and telecommunication infrastructure are included in the 2024 version of this document.
Drawing on in-house expertise in climate analysis, engineering studies, and power system modeling, EPRI convened an expert forum where participants could: (1) evaluate the scientific understanding of changes in climate conditions and extreme weather events that affect the electric power system, (2) characterize potential impacts of these climate variables on various components of the electricity system or adjacent sectors, and (3) identify an initial set of potential response options. This encyclopedic resource summarizes discussions and insights from the ECI IG and served as a foundational input for EPRI’s Climate Resilience and Adaptation Initiative (Climate READi). Efforts are ongoing in Climate READi to further understand climate impacts to and adaptation strategies for power sector assets.
Authors Laura Fischer and Diana Grandas