Galvin Electricity Initiative
The Galvin Electricity Initiative is a non-profit, public interest, organization working to develop and demonstrate a 21st Century U.S. electricity system that will always meet every consumer’s expectations for service confidence, convenience, and choice. In the context of the Initiative, the electricity system includes all the elements in the technology and value chain for electricity production, delivery and use across its broad range of applications.
The Initiative was officially launched in 2005, but its genesis dates back to the East Coast blackout of August 2003, which left nearly 50 million people without power. This event inspired former Motorola chief Robert W. Galvin to create the Initiative.
The role of Executive Director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative is played by Kurt Yeager. Galvin and Yeager first collaborated in developing the “Electricity Technology Roadmap” when Yeager was President of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Galvin served on EPRI’s Advisory Council.
The Initiative is comprised of two phases. During the first phase of the Initiative, Galvin and Yeager brought together more than 60 independent experts in power system design and advanced technology. They were encouraged to think beyond conventional infrastructure and regulatory issues to focus on what consumers want and need from the power system, and on the necessary components for creating a system that meets those needs. They were then tasked with reporting back on the existing technology used to build such a system, and exactly what such a system would look like for both consumers and businesses. The second phase is an implementation phase.