OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUPERCONDUCTIVITY IN THE ELECTRIC-POWER INDUSTRY

The Federal Energy Policy Act of 1992 has fostered the rapid evolution of a competitive electric power industry. Its implementation by the F ederal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the various state publi c utility commissions has created an opportunity for vastly expanded a pplication of superconducting devices in transmission and distribution systems. Historically, the entrance of new technologies into the elec tric power system has been a long laborious process. Conservative util ity technologists focused on reliability and long track records on som eone else's system. The long range planning process (5-10 years) requi red in the regulatory environment further delayed implementation of ne wer technologies. Finally, regulations that limited return on investme nt fostered high cost generation over transmission. This has changed. The functional unbundling of the utilities into generation, transmissi on, and service components has put in place new management teams. Regu lations are focusing on increased performance and reduced costs as wel l as reliability. A favorable environment is developing for a wide ran ge of new devices that include transmission enhancement SMES, MicroSME S for power quality applications, and superconducting fault current li miters, motors, generators, transformers and transmission lines. It is important for technologists to fully understand how the changes in th e S270B electric power industry are opening unprecedented opportunitie s for superconductivity as an enabling technology.