Our nation's power grid, the patchwork system that transmits and distributes electricity from plants to consumers, is aging and stretched to capacity—especially in summer months when users face triple-digit temperatures, violent storms and power outages.
• Can 21st century electrical engineers use "smart grid" technology to prevent power outages?
• What are the challenges involved in linking new sources of energy, such as wind and solar, to the grid?
• Our stories will include a profile of an electric-power lineman who works on top of those poles that support the grid.
• Alex Chadwick will also explore the challenges when there's no grid at all, following the research of the Army's Rapid Equipping Force, which aims to incorporate new technologies to solve critical problems on the battlefield, like energy.
At 9am and 8pm.