Other states in the U.S. are building formidable regional cooperation plans to safeguard their power grids, but California remains largely isolated. A proposal this year to bolster grid collaboration in the West was unsuccessful, but shouldn’t be viewed as a deterrent to a critical step for California’s energy resilience.Mark Specht is the Western states energy manager and a senior analyst for the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The Western power grid is going through a major transformation as states and utilities strive to boost reliability and fulfill their clean electricity goals. California legislation that would have been a first step toward enhancing grid collaboration in the West did not advance last month, but that should not stop us from more actively planning for a robust energy future at such a critical juncture.and upgrading the transmission network.