power grid news stories on Newser

Do We Need to Protect Grid From Sunstorms?

Rob Quinn — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:14:51 CDT

The peak in the 11-year cycle of solar flares happens next year, but electricity regulators have made little progress in deciding how much protection the power grid needs, the Wall Street Journal finds. They are reviewing records as far back as the 1859 "superstorm," the strongest solar storm ever recorded,...

Scientists Warn of 'Catastrophic' Solar Storm

Mary Papenfuss — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 04:38:00 CST

Prepare yourself for yet another potential disaster. Scientists are warning that we face a one-in-eight chance of a massive "catastrophic" solar storm by the year 2020. A colossal "megaflare" from the surface of the sun could cause trillions of dollars in damage to electrical systems, and could take a decade...

Your Electric Bill Is Going Up

John Johnson — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:40:35 CDT

The Daily Beast delivers some bad news after looking at the regulatory filings of utilities across the country: Electric rates are going up, and they won't be coming back down for a while. The problem is that the utilities have to make badly needed repairs to the nation's creaking power...

Huge Power Outage Hits California, Arizona

John Johnson — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:08:34 CDT

A massive power outage has left more than 1 million people in the dark in California, Arizona, and Mexico, reports AP . San Diego is especially hard hit. No definitive word yet on what triggered the problem about 4pm local time, but authorities made a point to rule out terrorism. "To...

Obama Tags $3.4B for Smart Energy Grid

Harry Kimball — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:04:28 CDT

President Obama will roll out a plan to use $3.4 billion in stimulus funds to modernize the nation’s electrical grid today. The “smart grid” spending will go to private contractors, utilities, and municipal governments in grants of between $400,000 and $2 million. The administration expects $4.7 billion...

Exercisers Boost Power Grid

Jess Kilby — Mon, 18 May 2009 06:20:00 CDT

Exercise buffs who hop on an elliptical machine for half an hour can power a laptop for an hour with the generated energy, thanks to a tweak made by a young Florida entrepreneur. The technique takes advantage of a generator already built into a popular model of the cross-trainers. About...

US Seeks 'Ethical Hackers' to Combat Cyber Threats

Harry Kimball — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 11:55:06 CDT

To combat the rising threat of attack on the nation’s computer networks, the US government is turning to the dark side for help, the AP reports. A call has gone out for so-called “ethical hackers” who “think like the bad guy” to work with Homeland Security to identify and counter...

New Power Source Catches a Wave: Ocean Tides

Harry Kimball — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 13:37:50 CST

In the search for renewable energy, Europe and the US are turning to one of the earth’s most abundant resources—the tides, Bloomberg reports. Technology developed three decades ago to turn tidal energy into electricity in developing countries is finally finding traction in the West. The largest grid-connected turbine, able...

Google CEO: Energy Bailout Is a Must, Too

Kevin Spak — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:35:30 CST

Google CEO Eric Schmidt thinks the government needs to fund a massive reinvention of America’s energy infrastructure, opening up the grid to startups and funding innovation, Information Week reports. It’s crucial “that small startups with funny names get founded and funded in the new regime,” said the adviser to President-elect...