The Grid summary

So, the invention of the parallel circuit was a game-changer, but there was still no major grid to connect to. Several smaller entities owned their own private power plants and left cities entangled in an endless web of wires.

For instance, major metropolitan areas like New York City had wildly woven webs of wires dangling from rooftops and street poles. In some neighborhoods, the tangle of wires had gotten so bad that you could barely see the sky.

By the year 1902, 815 municipal electricity companies had cropped up across the United States; by 1907, that number had grown to over 1,000.

Historically, however, it was a time of monopolies, such as John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust, which, having been founded in 1882, had come to dominate 90 percent of global oil production just 25 years later. Or consider US Steel, American Tobacco and AT&T, all of which had established monopolies in their respective industries.

So, Insull had a storage problem. To overcome it, he realized he needed to build a customer base that collectively used electricity around the clock so that all the power his plants generated would be put to good use.

To attract a variety of customers, including manufacturers, homeowners and transportation companies, Insull slashed his prices. The result was a dramatic uptick in customers, and he was soon selling electricity to several hundred thousand people. Compared to the 5,000 customers he had in 1892, this was a huge leap forward toward his dream of monopolization.

Do you think a coal-powered power plant turns 100 percent of the coal energy it burns into electricity? Not even close.

In 1892, the average power plant operated at a measly two-percent efficiency rate. This rate gradually rose to 40 percent by 1940, and the coal tycoons of the day assumed it would keep going up and up.

The oil embargo may have caused a spike in electricity prices, but it also drastically increased public awareness about energy conservation. This marked a major shift since the electric companies had always promoted ever-greater consumption to allow for increased production, lower prices and bigger plants.

Their influence in this respect had a major impact on households, too, which were stocked with all manner of appliances from refrigerators to air conditioners. But thanks to the oil embargo, people were becoming aware of how much energy these household conveniences used and were quickly learning how to conserve.

Enough about the past; the present day poses some pressing problems too since the grid, which expanded exponentially in the twentieth century, is growing old.

Its aging and cumbersome infrastructure means that even minor malfunctions can have swift and sweeping consequences. Blackouts are a good example, as they can have potentially grave repercussions.

Have you ever heard of a smart grid? This upgraded infrastructure does everything the electric grids of the past could, but utilizes digital technology to improve efficiency, for example by better monitoring consumption.

It sounds great, but unfortunately, many Americans are troubled by the idea, because it strikes them as a form of surveillance.

Do you remember when Hurricane Sandy decimated the East Coast of the United States in 2012? This colossal storm affected close to 50 million people, restricting or cutting off their access to clean water, public transit and power.

For many, it was a wake-up call that the way energy is produced today needs to be reconsidered. As a result, there are now many more people, politicians included, who are advocating for resilience.