A bigger grid, and a tougher one

A stronger Canadian grid is needed, argues the Free Press editorial from August 21. The case for such a grid should unsettle anyone who reads it. The editorial discusses how a coordinated attack on nine substations could bring down the American electrical grid, highlighting the thinness of the transformers needed for repair. These transformers have long lead times and are often sourced from countries on the U.S. president’s tariff list.

The North American system is effectively one machine, and a fault in Ohio can cause a blackout in Toronto. The editorial concludes that Canada needs an east-west grid of its own. However, it fails to ask why Canada's electricity supply is already at risk from just nine substations and long wait times for parts. The key reason lies in the design of the current system, which requires electricity to be generated instantly when it's consumed.

When a line fails, the load it was carrying does not stop existing; it shifts onto neighboring lines, causing overloads. The 2003 blackout described in the editorial was not a freak event. Two technologies have made this design obsolete: power electronics and batteries. Power electronics, or solid-state converters, can do the voltage conversion that transformers do and can be air-freighted in a matter of hours.

Batteries can provide memory for the grid, allowing it to absorb shocks and remain resilient. The editorial mentions a pilot project in Lund, Sweden, where a hundred kilowatt-hours of batteries in 10 buildings serving 270 apartments cut the grid capacity needed by 60 percent. The largest battery fleet is already arriving in driveways, as more and more electric vehicles are being purchased.

The EU has begun changing its laws to accommodate this new hardware, giving households the right to energy sharing. In Manitoba, a windstorm in July caused power outages for over 30,000 customers, most of them in Winnipeg. With batteries in those neighborhoods, most customers would have been without power for only minutes. The most significant takeaway is that investing in this technology is worthwhile, regardless of whether one believes a coordinated attack could happen.

The east-west line is a valuable asset, but it won't solve the underlying problem. Expanding the grid alone will not make it any more resilient if the substations remain vulnerable.