What every American should know about electricity

• Electricity—America’s most important energy source. Electricity accounts for 38% of all primary energy consumed.
• Electricity—Use will grow dramatically. By 2050, overall demand for electricity will increase by one-third, according to U.S. government estimates. Main reasons: electric vehicles and electric heating. Charging EV’s can increase a home’s electricity consumption by 40%. Heat pumps to replace oil or gas burners add even more.
• Electricity—Less reliable sources are replacing dependable generators. Cleaner solar and wind resources are replacing reliable — but polluting—fossil fuel plants. Wind power depends on ever-changing weather. Electricity use typically peaks in the early evening, right when solar generation is fading. Technical fixes are yet to be invented.

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Why should you care?

• This affects you. Three trends—increasing electricity use, rapid closure of polluting plants, and growing reliance on intermittent solar and wind generators—could result in frequent rolling blackouts. We become at risk for total grid collapse, too.
• Challenges are complex. Our modern society needs reliable, resilient, clean, and affordable electricity. Emphasizing one goal to the exclusion of others results in poor public policy—and bad effects on society’s most vulnerable groups.
• Urgent action is needed. Leadtime for new electricity sources is at least 5-10 years: planning, permitting, construction, and transmission upgrades. If we don’t find and implement fixes well before a crisis occurs, our suffering will be long-term.

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What is GridClue™?

An online resource for local electricity data. GridClue uses official data from the U.S. Government to educate policymakers and the public on electricity sources and demand.

GridClue offers three unique tools:

• State Report Cards grade states’ electricity performance on an academic scale of "A" to "F" in four categories … Resilience, Carbon Intensity, Reliability, and Cost.
• Policy Scenarios allow users to adjust a state’s electricity options. Better choices make for better grades. New generation plants cost money—GridClue tells users how much.
• Electricity Adequacy compares historical peak demand to available resources. When reserves are low, blackouts are more likely.

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How can GridClue™ help?

• Democratized Data. Before GridClue, concerned citizens needed computer programming skills to make sense of government data sets. GridClue enables sophisticated analysis by "point and click." Online use of GridClue is totally free.
• Fact-based Discussions. When utilities are the only ones with resources to perform electricity calculations, policymakers and their constituents must depend on filtered data and intuition. GridClue allows everyone to "get on the same page" with objective, authoritative data from government sources.
• Accountability. With easy access to facts about electricity generation, citizens can hold utilities and their regulators to account. Politicians can make more timely, informed decisions on behalf of their constituents and the nation.