Toward a Smart Electric Grid

On August 14, 2003, the biggest blackout in American history struck the Northeast U.S. and parts of Canada. 50 million people lost power, and the blackout showed how vulnerable and even outdated our electricity system is. To fix that problem, some energy experts think it's time to upgrade to a "smart grid," one that uses digital technology to regulate itself. Vijay Vaitheeswaran is energy correspondent for The Economist magazine. In this interview, he explains why we need to take the power grid into the 21st century. Produced by David Levin. Interview by Terri Randall. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by ExxonMobil, David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Additional funding for NOVA scienceNOW is provided by the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. To read a full interview with Vijay Vaitheeswaran, go to pbs.org/nova/sciencenow