Most of us only pay attention to the national electrical grid when there is a huge blackout that covers several states, such as the one we had back in 2003 which shut down power to 8 states and 1 province. 

Al Gore and others who are thinking ahead about what we need to do tell us that there are two overarching things we need to do as quickly as possible to have any chance of combating horrendous climate change.  One is to implement a cap-and-trade program, which is what Washington State and other western states and provinces are doing with the Western Climate Initiative, due to begin being implemented in 2012.  The other is the upgrading of the national grid.

Amory Lovins, Chief Scientist at the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and Kitty Wang, also of RMI and an expert on the grid, state that we could rebuild the grid so that we give the consumer control over when and what kind of energy they buy through the use of smart, personal grid management techniques like demand response, renewables, energy efficiency, and smart metering.

Both were speaking as part of a panel of experts looking to provide positive solutions that involve all the sectors of the economy that use energy: automobiles, power generation, the grid, and the consumer.