Resilience and Equity in Smart Community-Utility Energy Planning (RESCUE)
Resilience and Equity in Smart Community-Utility Energy Planning (RESCUE)
Sponsored by LSU Institute for Energy Innovation
Embedded Files
The primary objective of this project is to redefine energy resilience from a community-focused perspective, particularly in high-risk, socially diverse areas such as New Orleans. To achieve this, we aim to develop and integrate equitable resilience into the planning, management, and restoration of the energy grid, emphasizing the inclusion of solar-plus-storage and other distributed energy resources tailored to the needs of low-income communities. This approach requires sophisticated yet scalable decision-making and control strategies that can accommodate the complexities of coordinated grid-community operations.
The project will implement equitable cooperative utility-community resilience planning and energy management strategies to enhance energy resilience and ensure the continuation of essential services during severe weather events, especially for disadvantaged communities. To validate the proposed resilience planning and assess restoration effectiveness, we will conduct tests on synthetic systems.
The need for this project is underscored by the following critical issues facing Louisiana:
Power Outages: In 2020, the average resident endured 60 hours without electricity—eight times the national average, the highest in the nation
Economic Impact: Annual losses due to power outages average $7,600 for local businesses, significantly surpassing the cost of property taxes
Health Risks: Currently, 2,283 New Orleans residents depend on power for medical devices, with 158 living within a half mile of a Community Lighthouse
Fatalities Post-Disaster: Following Hurricane Ida, 20 deaths in the New Orleans area were linked to the storm, with 18 directly attributable to the resultant power outages
These statistics not only highlight the vulnerabilities but also underscore the urgency and necessity of enhancing resilience through targeted, integrated actions.
Principle Investigators
Principle Investigators
Amin Kargarian
Emre Ozdemir (LSU Civil & Environmental Engineering Department)
Mehdi Farasat (LSU ECE Department)
Student Researchers
Student Researchers
Fredrica Arthur
Sarah Sanjoh
Farshad Amani
Amirhossein Ghorbansarvi
Alumni
Alumni
Mohadese Movahednia
Cheick Bamba
Project Products
Project Products
M. Movahednia, A. Kargarian, "Community-informed Resource Allocation Optimization For Power Grid Resilience Against Flood Hazards", Electric Power Systems Research, 2025.
F. Arthur, F. Amani. A. Kargarian, "Community-Aware Reliability Metrics for Strategic Battery Storage Placement in Distribution Systems," IEEE Texas Power & Energy Conference (TPEC), 2025.
Google Sites
Report abuse