Every time the wind blows hard here in Stump Town I loose power in my home. It's an inconvenience, but it could be more than that if an outage happens on a cold January night. The service interruptions remind me of the decrepit state of our nation's electrical distribution system, commonly referred to as "the grid" The grid is 100 years old in some places, mostly the northeastern seaboard, and it is falling apart. The grid is actually three connected networks not a monolith[see map]. If we manage to convert the US to more greener sources of power, our distribution system will not be able to handle it without some serious investment and overhaul.Deregulation of the electrical transmission industry has not been the magic bullet touted by free market zealots. Deregulation helped build numerous new power plants, but little new investment was made in transmission infrastructure. When the grid fails, it costs millions of dollars in lost business revenue, emergency services and damages. At the height of the great northeastern blackout of 2003, 50 million Americans were without power. One authoritative estimate is that the blackout cost between $7-10 billion. The problem is one that needs to be addressed on a national level so economies of scale can be achieved and integrated planning can take place. The cost of interstate electrical transmission is high and is usually born by ratepayers. Rate of return concerns have prevented regional utilities which have the primary responsibility for grid maintenance from undertaking improvements. There is an urgent need for a so-called "smart grid" that gives regional operators a quicker, clearer view of conditions on the system and the ability to remotely correct problems to better manage the flow of power. A smart grid will also be more resilient to natural disasters, sabotage, and have the ability to self-correct when routine problems occur. The federal government could equitably spread the burden to all Americans by subsidizing grid improvements that meet federal standards of efficiency and reliability, thereby encouraging private investment in transmission infrastructure. Money to bail out the fat cats on the Street of Broken Dreams or money for reliable, clean electricity that benefits all Americans? You choose. Now, where is that blasted candle?