Transdisciplinary electric power grid science

TL;DR

This paper emphasizes the need for a transdisciplinary approach to understanding and managing the complex, ecosystem-like electric power grids that are vital for global human life, integrating multiple scientific disciplines.

Contribution

It advocates for a holistic, transdisciplinary framework to address the multifaceted challenges faced by modern power grids, combining insights from various fields.

Findings

Power grids are complex, ecosystem-like systems.

Interdependence of cyber, physical, social, and economic layers increases risks.

Holistic understanding is essential for resilient electricity access.

Abstract

The 20th-century engineering feat that most improved the quality of human life, the electric power system, now faces discipline-spanning challenges that threaten that distinction. So multilayered and complex that they resemble ecosystems, power grids face risks from their interdependent cyber, physical, social and economic layers. Only with a holistic understanding of the dynamics of electricity infrastructure and human operators, automatic controls, electricity markets, weather, climate and policy can we fortify worldwide access to electricity.