Natural Disaster

Sandy at night

As recently as 2002, no system in America could gather and share real-time emergency situation information on power and natural gas infrastructure — a weakness exposed by the widespread destruction by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. A team of Energy Department experts remedied this situation by developing a system to do just that, and are now being recognized for their work. They… Keep reading →

Bill Bryan -- Sandy

Today the Department of Energy (DOE) is participating in America’s PrepareAthon! to promote nationwide, community-based actions that increase emergency preparedness and resilience. We encourage your participation because effective response to any emergency takes a community effort from the ground up. To help you and your neighbors prepare yourselves we have developed guidelines and information resources. As a… Keep reading →

LA Arboretum 3

The ability to flip a switch or push a button and turn on a light is often touted as a symbol of our industrial society’s accomplishments. Flipping that switch represents the incredible infrastructure of our power grid that gives you access to power when you want it. And yet, in many cases, it doesn’t always… Keep reading →

Santa Ana Winds And Hot Conditions Stoke Wildfire In Ventura County

Some innovative California cities are engaging in assurance planning practices to make their energy supply more resilient during a major disaster such as earthquake, wildfire or landslide that could disrupt the normal supply for weeks.  Their forward thinking includes the application of renewable distributed generation, microgrids, demand response, and other smart grid techniques and technologies… Keep reading →