The United States has received yet another disappointing mark for overall performance, this time in the energy infrastructure sector.
The American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) 2013 report card for America’s Infrastructure gave the US a D+ for Energy Infrastructure, stressing the need for a national energy policy that adapts to future energy needs, a speedier approval process for new transmission lines and construction of new infrastructure to satisfy growing demand.
The organization has estimated that the combined investment gap for electricity distribution and transmission infrastructure will be $94 billion by 2020.
“America relies on an aging electrical grid and pipeline distribution systems, some of which originated in the 1880’s,” said the ASCE.”Ongoing permitting issues, weather events, and limited maintenance have contributed to an increasing number of failures and power interruptions.”
The report notes that congestion at key points in the electric transmission grid are raising concerns about distribution, reliability and the cost of service. Black & Veatch’s 2013 Strategic Decisions in the US Electric Industry report noted that of 607 survey respondents, reliability topped the list of the industry concerns.
You can read the report in its entirety here:
