Winter Resilience for Electric Power

NSF R2I2: Maximizing resilience to winter weather in future electric power systems

Overview

The goal of this project is to engage with electric utilities in the Midwest, particularly small public utilities, to understand the industry's needs for science tools to plan for winter resilience in the future, designing tools that will benefit electric power resilience in all communities. Michigan Tech leads this project with partners from multiple academic, government, and industry groups. This project is funded by NSF Award #2519254.

Research Questions

1. What do small municipal and cooperative electric utilities view as key risk factors for future winter planning?
2. What resources are needed for small utilities to integrate Earth system modeling in planning processes?
3. What are strengths and weaknesses of the current workforce in the small utilities with regard to future winter resilience planning in the Midwest?

Primary Objectives

• Connect experts in Earth system modeling, building energy efficiency, electric power systems modeling, and community-engaged research through a project Planning Committee.
• Conduct a series of workshops with small utilities and distribute a survey of industry experts to assess utilities' need for Earth system science translation to support winter resilience.
• Analyze key winter resilience challenges to electric power resilience and disseminate through workshops, publications, reports, and a conference session.

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

• This project is currently engaging with public power organizations in the Midwest states of Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri.  Public power utilities or affiliated organizations in the region are welcome to participate in the workshops and/or an online survey.
• Registration is open for four virtual workshops in the Summer of 2026. You can attend as many of the workshops as your schedule and interests allow. At the workshops, we hope to facilitate building a community of peers who can learn from each other and work together and with research collaborators. 
• A short online survey is open for individuals who work in the public power industry in the Midwest to share perspectives and experiences with winter weather impacts to energy systems and priorities for building resilient energy systems.
• This project is currently engaging with public power organizations in the Midwest states of Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri.  Public power utilities or affiliated organizations in the region are welcome to participate in the workshops and/or an online survey, which are particularly designed for small municipal and cooperative utilities and related organizations.

Planning Committee Membership

• National Lab of the Rockies
• Argonne National Laboratory
• National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
• Minnesota Center for Energy and Environment
• Cooperative Development Services (CDS)

Project Team