EPRI, is an American independent, nonprofit organization that conducts research and development related to the

generation A generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It can also be described as, "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and gr ...

, delivery, and use of

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

to help address challenges in the energy industry, including reliability, efficiency, affordability, health, safety, and the environment. EPRI's principal offices and laboratories are located in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

;

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

;

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

;

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

; and Lenox, Massachusetts.

History

In November 1965, the Great Northeastern Blackout left 30 million people in the United States without electricity. Historic in scale and impact, it demonstrated the nation's growing dependence upon electricity and its vulnerability to power loss. The event marked a watershed moment for the U.S. electricity sector and triggered the creation of the Electric Power Research Institute. Following the blackout, leaders in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

held hearings in the early 1970s about the lack of research supporting the power industry. Dr. Chauncey Starr, then the Dean of the

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

School of Engineering and Applied Science, led the initiative, proposed by Congress, to create an independent research and development organization to support the electricity sector and address its technical and operational challenges. In 1972, at a formal hearing of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, Starr presented a vision for the Electric Power Research Institute to serve Congress's mandate for objective, scientific research. Starr served as the first President of EPRI for five years and formally retired at age 65, but continued to work at EPRI for the next 30 years.

Research

According to EPRI's 2018 Research Portfolio, EPRI's work encompasses research in technology, the workforce, operations, systems planning and other areas that guide and support the development of new regulatory frameworks, market opportunities, and value to

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...

consumers.

Generation

EPRI's generation research focuses on information, processes and technologies to improve the flexibility, reliability, performance, and efficiency of the existing fossil-fueled and renewable energy generating fleet.

Nuclear

EPRI conducts research on nuclear cost-effective technologies, technical guidance, and knowledge transfer tools to help maximize the value of existing nuclear assets and inform the deployment of new nuclear technology.

Power Delivery and Utilization

EPRI's distributed energy resources and customer research area focuses on distributed energy resource (DER) integration, efficient electrification, connectivity and information technology enabling an integrated grid and

cyber security Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...

guidance. The transmission, distribution, and substation research focuses on improving transmission asset management analytics, technology for mobile field guides, robotics and sensors to automate asset inspections, and improving understanding of electromagnetic pulse (EMP).

Technology Innovation

EPRI researches and develops early-stage and breakthrough technologies that could lead to promising concepts, new knowledge, and potential breakthroughs.

References

External links

Official EPRI—Electric Power Research Institute websiteEPRI PortfolioEPRI Journal
{{authority control Energy research institutes Engineering research institutes Electric power in the United States Energy in California Research institutes in the San Francisco Bay Area Non-profit organizations based in Palo Alto, California 1973 establishments in California Research institutes established in 1973