One thing often not talked about in MAS is the power grid. The role that different power generation utilities and users interact on a large scale and the pricing mechanisms that allow users and governments to buy and sell power across large geographic areas. The North American power transmission grid is considered by many to be one of the largest machines that's ever been made [1]. The various agents and interactions across the grid make it a generally robust system, with utilities being able to control the amount of energy being used and produced. 

One state left out of both North American grids is Texas, which has its power grid disconnected from the rest. During the 2021 winter storm, utilities were able to charge high amounts for gas and electricity as supply outpaced demand [2]. This auction-like system is similar to what we would see in a free market or ascending auction, with utilities being able to increase costs to curb demand. Without robust infrastructure and interconnectedness, Texas suffered one of the worst storms in history as power plans went offline and the network had to shed load [1]. Practical Engineering has an excellent video describing this [1]. I bring this up because the power grid directly impacts our daily lives. Still, people rarely stop to think about the intricacies and millions of daily interactions that keep the grid and our daily lifestyle operational.

Another topic I wanted to discuss is the issues that solar adoption faces, known as the “duck curve,” which shows how solar output is inverse to demand at that time of the day [3]. At times of the day, such as the morning and when people return home from work, energy usage is the highest. However, solar energy is often the weakest at this time, so we have this apparent mismatch in production capacity. Addressing how such utilities can be better optimized alongside developing new energy storage systems will aid the power grid in being more robust. I have linked some videos in the sources that will be a good primer for anyone interested in this topic.

Sources:

[1] What Really Happened During the Texas Power Grid Outage? Accessed: Dec. 22, 2023. [Online Video]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08mwXICY4JM

[2] E. D. and E. Foxhall, “Appeals court says state agency set electricity prices too high during 2021 winter storm,” The Texas Tribune. Accessed: Dec. 22, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/17/puc-appeals-court-uri-prices/

[3] The “duck curve” is solar energy’s greatest challenge. Accessed: Dec. 22, 2023. [Online Video]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYLzss58CLs