An Infrastructure Plan for the 21st Century

An Infrastructure Plan for the 21st Century Cities and towns have been leading the way on new infrastructure partnerships and approaches. Postponing action is not an option.

Still, too often the federal government does not help as it should, failing to fund and prioritize infrastructure and relying on outdated standards. America’s outdated infrastructure is in dire need of a 21st-century overhaul. A D+ grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) says as much. Deteriorating roads, electric grid, waterways, airports, and seaports more than just inconvenie

nce the American people; they are liabilities to the country’s economic future, affecting employment, productivity, public health, and the average quality of life. For a federal infrastructure package to become reality, we need leadership in Washington to define how we will move forward and answer the trillion-dollar funding question around rebuilding and reimagining our nation’s infrastructure. The investments we make today in infrastructure should be forward-looking, sustainable, and resilient to address today’s needs and those of the 21st century. Aging Infrastructure – Our water infrastructure is beyond its 50-year life span, and some infrastructure is over 100 years old. We need to build on key water infrastructure wins like the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act and America’s Water Infrastructure Act. Unfunded Mandates – Cities, towns, and villages face an increase in federal and state unfunded mandates, with limited fiscal resources and state preemption on local ability to raise revenue. Infrastructure stands as one of the few nonpartisan issues in our political arena. Leaders at the local level know there is a long Congressional to-do list, but communities cannot continue to rely on short-term fixes. Affordability – Low-income households pay a disproportionate amount of their incomes toward water bills. Climate Change Impacts – Climate change will exacerbate current infrastructure challenges and create new challenges around water quality and availability. Pollution and Contamination – Be it lead, nutrients, PFAS, or pharmaceuticals; cities, towns, and villages are charged with providing clean and safe water. Aging Workforce – One-third of water and wastewater utility workers are eligible for retirement in the next decade, far exceeding workforce replacement needs in other sectors.

05/27/2024

The Met Council found more than $16 billion in development occurred within a half mile of high-frequency bus and rail transit.

05/27/2024

The 26.6 miles of new second track will allow the operation of an additional 14 weekday trains on the South Shore Line, which connects Northwest Indiana to Chicago.

05/27/2024

When the new federal excess liability cap number is published in early 2026, commuter railroads will have 30 days to acquire the additional coverage or likely face suspension ...

05/14/2024
The solution is clear: We need to upgrade our grid, build more high-voltage transmission lines that can carry electricit...
02/19/2023

The solution is clear: We need to upgrade our grid, build more high-voltage transmission lines that can carry electricity long distances, and use those transmission lines to better connect regions and communities to one another.

If we do, we will make sure people always have power when they need it. And in the process, we will unleash the potential of affordable and abundant clean energy.

Bill Gates writes about the need to upgrade our electric power grids, connect them to one another, and the importance of transmission to a clean energy future.

UTILITIES: Indiana consumer advocates say a series of proposed bills would incentivize and promote utility business mode...
02/10/2023

UTILITIES: Indiana consumer advocates say a series of proposed bills would incentivize and promote utility business models over customers’ interests. (Indianapolis Star)

A handful of bills moving through the Indiana General Assembly are pitting the financial interests of utilities against what advocates say is best for consumers.

Among those bills in the legislature are proposals to expand incentives for utilities to build natural gas plants, allow utilities to defer costs that customers will be on the hook for later, and give utilities first dibs on projects to upgrade and expand transmission infrastructure.

Supporters contend the legislation is important to maintain a reliable supply of electricity for Hoosiers. They point to recent reports and concerns raised about vulnerabilities across the region’s power grid as the energy industry undergoes a major transformation, including the expansion of power sources.

A handful of utility-related bills during the 2023 session work to strike a balance between energy reliability and consumer affordability.

John Oliver discusses the incredible amount of power we give electric utility companies, how weakly regulated they are, ...
05/20/2022

John Oliver discusses the incredible amount of power we give electric utility companies, how weakly regulated they are, and why they get such bad Yelp reviews.

John Oliver discusses the incredible amount of power we give electric utility companies, how weakly regulated they are, and why they get such bad Yelp review...

Texas Commissioners Considering New Distribution Interconnection Standards for Battery Storage ... The Electric Reliabi...
04/05/2022

Texas Commissioners Considering New Distribution Interconnection Standards for Battery Storage ...

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages that state’s electric grid, has an incoming power distribution problem bigger than you can hang a hat on.

Recent discussions within the Texas Public Utility Commission concerns challenges over vast amounts of utility-scale solar and energy storage capacity joining into the already massive and diverse ERCOT system. The TPUC also wants to figure out cohesive policy on handling that influx of solar and storage as it enters the distribution grid.

With some 65 GW of solar and storage already in the interconnection queue, the TPUC is concerned about an unknown amount of BESS eventually linking into the distribution system.

04/04/2022

The first laser-drilled microplastic filter is being tested in a wastewater treatment plant.

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