Using Analytics to Inform Post-Pandemic Resiliency Strategy

Utility learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic include valuable lessons about the role of analytics in increasing grid resilience to mitigate high impact, low probability events, including future pandemics and severe weather events brought on by climate change. New insights make a case for using resiliency metrics instead of traditional reliability metrics to direct investments designed to harden the grid. The data also underscores the growing importance of the role of external stakeholders including regulators and the general public in setting priorities as we match the capabilities of an increasingly responsive grid to an increasingly dynamic risk environment. While there are key differences between the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on utility operations and the grid versus the typical impact of weather-related events, a grid that is more resilient to weather-related events also provides resilience during a pandemic. The timeline to a post-pandemic normal is still unknown, but utilities can leverage the economic recovery that will follow the current economic recession to build a more resilient and sustainable grid with the support of analytic tools, models and metrics that enable dynamic grid operations and investment that address immediate and longer term risks.