Galvin Electricity Initiative: Heat Wave-Related Blackouts Preventable with Smarter, More Reliable Electricity Grid

**Interview Alert**

WASHINGTON, July 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Record-breaking 100-degree temperatures along the East Coast this week could leave millions without power in dangerously hot conditions. East Coast electricity consumers will experience the consequences of having an outdated power grid that is ill-equipped to accommodate high demand when air conditioners are required to work longer and harder during heat waves. According to Kurt Yeager, executive director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative, these demand-related blackouts do not have to be the norm.

Yeager is calling for the implementation of existing technologies to modernize the grid to ensure a reliable supply of electricity, regardless of demand, temperatures or weather conditions. Yeager and the Initiative point to distributed generation in the form of smart microgrids as the best solution to quickly and effectively meet the administration's energy goals to protect the nation's power sources; deliver clean, alternative forms of energy to consumers in the U.S.; and provide more reliable, quality power. While President Obama's support for smart grid modernization and energy efficiency programs is a step forward, Congress must take it further by adding provisions in energy and climate legislation for distributed generation controlled by the consumer.

WHO:  Kurt Yeager, executive director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative, president emeritus of the Electric Power Research Institute, chair of the World Energy Council Study on Energy and Climate Change and co-author with Robert Galvin of the book, Perfect Power: How the Microgrid Revolution Will Unleash Cleaner, Greener, and More Abundant Energy

WHY: "Today's power interruptions and reliability issues are the result of our reliance on an aging, energy-inefficient electric power system that drains the U.S. economy of at least $150 billion each year due to losses during power outages," said Yeager. "To fundamentally improve grid reliability and strengthen our economy, policymakers, regulators and utilities must focus on and invest in comprehensive, community-scaled smart grid deployment projects — such as smart microgrids — that maximize consumer, economic and environmental benefits that supply our lives with clean, reliable power and provide electricity when we need it the most."

WHEN:   Interviews are available by request. Contact Crystal Borde at 202-248-5448 or [email protected] .

The Galvin Electricity Initiative was launched by former Motorola CEO Robert W. Galvin to transform our electric power system into one that is reliable, efficient, secure and clean, and meets the needs of 21st century consumers. In 2010, the Initiative is accelerating its campaign to spark a migration toward a consumer-driven electric power system in select states. The campaign goal is to promote grid modernization through policy reform to pave the way for Perfect Power smart microgrids that place top priority on serving consumers and businesses with reliable, high-quality, clean power. For more information about smart microgrids and the Galvin Electricity Initiative, visit www.galvinpower.org/microgrids and follow http://twitter.com/perfectpower.

SOURCE Galvin Electricity Initiative