Community Resilience Mapping Tool Catalog

Across the electric power sector, planning with equity and resilience has never been more urgent and never more achievable. Today’s utility leaders are navigating unprecedented change: surging demand from electrification, AI, and data centers; the need to strengthen the grid for resilience; and the responsibility to ensure communities are not left behind. At the same time, leaders now have access to an expanding ecosystem of data, from natural hazard risk and infrastructure vulnerability to equity indicators and DER hosting capacity.

But navigating this range of resources can be time-consuming and complex. That’s why SEPA created this Catalog: to help energy …

Energy Allies Communities and Utilities Building Resilience Together

In recent decades, utilities and communities have witnessed how the combination of aging electric grid infrastructure and increasingly extreme weather leads to more frequent and longer power outages. The costs have been steep—up to $150 billion annually for U.S. homes and businesses. Beyond the economic impacts, communities suffer health and safety threats when residents lose heating or cooling, and emergency services become strained.

It is increasingly clear that communities and utilities must strengthen their energy systems to ensure these impacts are minimized or avoided. So, what defines strengthening an energy system? There are a variety of terms used to describe …

Optimizing Energy and Load Management in Island Microgrids for Enhancing Resilience Against Resource Interruptions

The increasing integration of distributed renewable energy sources (RES), energy storage systems (ESS), electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, and demand response (DR) mechanisms has significantly enhanced microgrid deployment. However, the operational complexity and vulnerability of islanded microgrids to disruptions, especially during renewable energy fluctuations, pose critical challenges. Existing approaches primarily focus on minimizing operational costs or emissions but fail to simultaneously address load curtailment, voltage stability, and resilience under uncertain conditions. In this paper, we propose a novel resilience-oriented energy and load management framework for island microgrids, integrating a multi-objective optimization function that explicitly minimizes load curtailment, energy losses, voltage …

Optimizing Energy Resilience to Support Medically Vulnerable Residents in Multifamily Affordable Housing

Power outages can quickly turn into a health crisis for the millions of Americans that rely on electricity for home medical devices, including life-support equipment (such as dialysis machines and ventilators) and technologies for independent living (such as electric wheelchairs, refrigeration for medicine, and internet for telehealth appointments). Many electricity-dependent residents live in multifamily affordable housing communities, yet affordable housing providers have limited access to programs that advance the development and affordability of backup power resources.

This report outlines opportunities for solar paired with battery storage to maintain electricity to essential services, both in-unit and in communal spaces, at multifamily …

Radiological Protection During Armed Conflict: Improving Regulatory and Operational Resilience

The conflict in Ukraine has highlighted pressing concerns regarding radiological protection and the need to enhance both operational and regulatory resilience during times of armed conflict. While the core principles of radiological protection remain sound, it is crucial for all nations to strengthen their plans and procedures to better manage emerging threats and increased uncertainty.

In response to these complex challenges, the NEA Committee on Radiological Protection and Public Health (CRPPH) and the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA) co-hosted a workshop in Oslo from 22 to 24 November 2023. The workshop, titled “Radiological Protection During Armed Conflict”, gathered …

Building Community Resilience: How Local Leaders are Advancing Resilience Hubs & Bolstering Critical Infrastructure

The latest report from the Alliance for a Sustainable Future – a joint effort of C2ES and The U.S. Conference of Mayors to help cities and businesses collaborate on sustainable development— highlights city-oriented case studies that advance climate resilience. One of the goals of the Alliance is to inform mayors, local officials, and business leaders of innovative new strategies that could present an opportunity for their own communities to reach their climate goals.

The following case studies showcase the variety of resilience spaces and hubs that are emerging in communities around the country and the role of local governments. They …

Radiological Protection During Armed Conflict: Improving Regulatory and Operational Resilience

The conflict in Ukraine has highlighted pressing concerns regarding radiological protection and the need to enhance both operational and regulatory resilience during times of armed conflict. While the core principles of radiological protection remain sound, it is crucial for all nations to strengthen their plans and procedures to better manage emerging threats and increased uncertainty.

In response to these complex challenges, the NEA Committee on Radiological Protection and Public Health (CRPPH) and the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA) co-hosted a workshop in Oslo from 22 to 24 November 2023. The workshop, titled “Radiological Protection During Armed Conflict”, gathered …

Equitable Resilience: Opportunities to Advance Solar Paired with Battery Storage in Historically Marginalized Communities

The number of solar and battery storage installations nationwide is increasing year-over-year. Yet, these technologies remain largely inaccessible to historically marginalized communities, including low-income communities, communities of color, and environmental justice communities. As power outages continue to increase in occurrence and severity – due, primarily, to more extreme weather events and the failure of outdated fossil-fuel polluting energy infrastructure – the economic, reliability, and resilience benefits of battery storage will be more important than ever.  

This report by Clean Energy Group (CEG) presents findings resulting from the Resilience, Storage and Grid Benefits Community of Practice, an effort through the Equitable …

SEPA and NRECA Resilience Planning Playbook for Electric Cooperative Utilities

Electric cooperatives (co-ops) across the U.S. are navigating an evolving energy landscape shaped by increased electrification, the adoption of distributed energy resources, policy-driven decarbonization goals, and the growing impact of extreme weather events. Recognizing the evolving energy landscape, SEPA and NRECA developed the Resilience Planning Playbook for Electric Cooperative Utilities as a resource for other electric cooperatives to navigate new approaches to resilience planning.

This report includes case studies, best practices, and real-world insights from cooperative utilities developed through a workshop and several interviews. This report focuses on the resilience planning approach identified in SEPA’s Resilience Planning Playbook for States …

Confronting Heat Challenges—Cross-Sector Strategies for National Resilience: A Report from the 2024 HeatWise Policy Partnership Summit

The HeatWise Policy Partnership Summit is a key component of a cyclical two-year program that encompasses stakeholder engagement, event planning, biannual convening, reporting key findings, and outreach to policymakers. During the 2023 engagement phase, Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at the Nicholas Institute, held regular meetings with legislators and agency leaders at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as with leaders from the philanthropic, finance, and insurance sectors, and community and faith-based organizations. These discussions informed the three core themes for the inaugural HeatWise Summit:

– Rural Heat Vulnerability: Developing tailored strategies for rural …