Electricity Research, Development and Analysis

The Office of Electricity (OE) leads the Department’s research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) programs to strengthen and modernize our Nation’s power grid. OE programs support activities, primarily through competitive solicitations, with key objectives: • RD&D system monitoring and diagnostics, advanced data analytics, and robust control technologies and enhance the reliability and performance of the electricity system, mitigate large-scale blackouts, prepare for, and respond to the impacts of natural disasters, and adapt to evolving system needs, emerging risks, and interdependencies. • Characterize risk and uncertainty across multiple utility and infrastructure boundaries for increased resiliency. • RD&D of technologies, tools, and techniques required by the distribution grid to maintain and improve reliability and resilience. • Develop solutions to strengthen information security and resilience of the electricity delivery system against cyber-related threats. • Accelerate bi-directional electrical energy storage technologies as a key component of a reliable, resilient, and affordable future-ready grid. • Enhance and advance the components and technologies that make up the electric power T&D infrastructure (i.e., grid hardware). • Rapidly assess new grid systems and subsystems by testing integrated technology suites in controlled pilot environments prior to the hardware and software being deployed by industry in operational environments.