Do you notice anything strange about the image above? This is a real time image of the Americas taken at 11:15 PM EST August 14^th, 2003. What you should notice is a suspicious black cloud hanging over the north eastern United States and South Eastern Canada. This is a satellite image of the blackout of 2003. This week-long disaster cost the US and Canada an estimated $7-$10 billion in economic loss. This mishap is just an example of the weaknesses in our country’s archaic power grid which is in desperate need of improvement.

So what can we do to play our part in the East Tennessee to “put some brains back into our grid” regionally? I have 4 suggestions for you:

1. Find out ways to support the University of Tennessee’s CURENT program, an $18 million NSF sponsored program (visit http://curent.utk.edu/).
2. Discover ways your company can participate in EPRI projects aimed at smart grid technologies (http://smartgrid.epri.com/).
3. Pursue DOE funding for regional smart grid pilot projects, like this project in the Fort Sanders neighborhood in Knoxville (http://www.smartmeters.com/the-news/732-tennessee-neighborhood-ideal-for-smart-grid-pilot-project.html)
4. Call your local utility and install a smart meter on your home!