Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group
habitat conservation + working landscapes
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The Rising Cost of Blackouts: National Lab Data
Discover the rising economic toll of U.S. power outages and how cutting-edge data tools are helping planners drive smarter investments in grid resilience.
In this webinar, attendees will gain valuable insights into the significant economic implications of power outages in the United States. Leveraging data from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the upgraded Interruption Cost Estimate Calculator (ICE 2.0) from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), we will explore the costs associated with major power outages over the past seven years.
Participants will learn about a disaggregated, event-based analytical approach that provides county-level cost estimates and highlights trends in the economic impact of power failures.
Key topics will include:
- The substantial annual financial burden of power outages on customers, which has escalated dramatically in recent years.
- A detailed examination of the 2024 outbreak of significant outages, influenced by a catastrophic hurricane season, and its staggering costs.
- How state and utility planners can utilize event-level cost estimates to enhance decision-making for grid reliability and resilience investments.
- Insights into the integration of outage cost data into ORNL’s TASTI-GRID initiative, designed to optimize planning for grid improvements.