The Issue
Built largely in the 1960s or before, our electric power system cannot reliably run the kinds of digital devices on which today's economy depends. The effects of this inefficient, unreliable, and outdated electricity system are acutely felt each year at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). Like many other universities and municipalities, IIT is on the brink of outgrowing its current electricity distribution system.
A number of converging factors have brought the system to a tipping point:
- IIT is experiencing three or more power outages each year, at a cost of up to $500,000 annually in restoration expenses, lost productivity, and ruined experiments that often cannot be recovered.
- Its energy infrastructure is getting old and critical components are facing the end of their useful life.
- Demand for electricity to power the technology and research needs of its students, faculty, and staff is growing steadily.
- IIT will soon be renegotiating its wholesale contract with Constellation NewEnergy, as it expires in 2010.