From repoweramerica.org in 2009 "The Problem: The US electricity transmission and distribution system – or ‘grid’ -- is in critical need of an upgrade. It is o

From repoweramerica.org in 2009 "The Problem: The US electricity transmission and distribution system – or ‘grid’ -- is in critical need of an upgrade. It is old, balkanized and too limited in its reach. The current grid is a series of independently operating regional grids – it can’t meet the needs of a nation whose economy would benefit substantially from the system optimization that comes with national interconnection. Its limitations and vulnerability to failure are also reported to cost the nation $80 billion to $188 billion per year in losses due to grid-related power outages and power quality issues.1 And most critical to clean energy development, areas rich in renewable resources like solar, wind and geothermal are currently not well-served and thus have no ‘highway’ available to move power outputs to the markets where that power is needed" I wrote a post on ZDnet http://www.zdnet.com/article/al-gores-unified-smart-grid-vision-for-repowering-the-usa-will-it-happen/ http://www.zdnet.com/article/al-gores-unified-smart-grid-vis... discussing efforts for a unified grid, but haven't seen much progress since then to support the demands of electric vehicles.