The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has released the Climate READi: Power Framework, developed over more than three years through collaboration with a broad group of stakeholders. The framework offers a structured approach to assessing physical climate risk and identifying potential adaptation strategies for the electric power sector.
EPRI launched the Climate Resilience and Adaptation Initiative (Climate READi) in early 2022 with the goal of supporting more resilient planning, design, and operation of electric power systems. More than 40 utilities and over 100 organizations — including academic institutions, consultants, financial organizations, national laboratories, regulators, and government agencies — contributed to the development of the framework.
The publicly available framework is organized into three core areas:
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Physical Climate Data and Guidance: Offers methodologies for applying climate data to power system analysis through technically grounded and scientifically supported hazard assessments.
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Power System Asset Vulnerability Assessment: Provides tools to evaluate climate-related vulnerabilities across various power system assets and explore possible adaptation measures.
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System Modeling and Investment Prioritization: Introduces a modeling framework that integrates climate impacts with other planning considerations—such as load growth, decarbonization strategies, and regulatory factors—to inform long-term system resilience planning.
According to EPRI, the framework is designed to support a range of applications, from localized hazard analyses to system-wide risk assessments, aiming to aid utilities and other stakeholders in making resilience-informed decisions.
“In just the past three years, there have been 70 confirmed U.S. weather and climate-related disasters — a significant increase over previous years — and whose losses have each exceeded $1 billion,” said EPRI President and CEO Arshad Mansoor. “Extreme weather and climate are urgent problems, and the Climate READi framework provides the tools and resources needed to proactively address current and future risks as part of a reliable, affordable energy future.”
“Strengthening the electrical grid to be more resilient against extreme weather will be one of the electrical sector’s biggest challenges for years to come,” said Steve Powell, president and CEO of Southern California Edison and Climate READi’s board working group chair. “Climate READi is a data-driven, science-based framework that can help utilities get resiliency right. Its integrated, comprehensive approach can drive even smarter power system investment decisions for the benefit of customers, companies, and communities.”
