Word of the year? Resilient.

Ah, the end of the year – a time when we juggle wrapping up sales, hitting work targets, closing out school semesters, and—let’s be honest—trying to thrive (or even survive) during extended family gatherings. While the holidays bring a lot of cheer, they also come with their fair share of challenges. After all, even the finest pot roast can be ruined by an ill-timed political debate, and those perfectly coordinated family pajamas might not be enough to soothe the tears of a child who is certain Santa missed the memo. But amidst the chaos, there are quiet moments – those peaceful pauses by the glow of Christmas lights – that remind us that things are actually pretty good. The ups and downs during a family get together teach us something that can’t be bought – how to be grateful, loving, and resilient.

In the electric industry, resilience is the grid’s ability to anticipate, withstand, and recover quickly from disruptions. It’s both physical resilience (think sturdy power lines and tough substations) and operational resilience (like real-time monitoring, emergency responses, and recovery plans) that keep the lights on – especially when the holidays roll around and we really need that cozy glow. After all, no one wants a blackout while binge watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. As Chevy Chase would say, we all want “the hap-happiest Christmas.”

But as we embrace the future with more Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) – like rooftop solar, battery storage, and electric vehicles (EVs) – the grid faces new challenges. DERs have a lot of potential, but – just like families can clash on Christmas – DERs don’t always play nice with the traditional, centralized power plants we’ve relied on for years. Fortunately, Time-of-Use (TOU) rates and customer education are to the grid what libations can be to family events – and offer two key solutions: (1) shifting demand to off-peak hours and (2) encouraging the smart adoption and use of DERs.

When my kids were little, I carefully curated a holiday strategy to incentivize them to let me sleep in on Christmas morning. The secret? Assuring them that – if they let me sleep just a teeny bit more – they could have a breakfast of cookies, wear pajamas all day, and have a stack of batteries ready for their new toys. The result? We all got what we wanted – sleep for me, excitement for them. A perfect win-win. It’s a bit like how TOU rates work for electric customers and utilities. By incentivizing people to use energy when it’s abundant (say, during the day when solar power is at its peak) or when demand is low, TOU rates help ease the strain on the grid. Utilities are then able to rely less on fossil-fuel backup power, and everyone gets a lighter bill. Win-win!

And here’s where it’s important not to bury the lead – a lesson I learned the hard way after years of Christmas morning meltdowns. If I hadn’t mentioned the cookie breakfast beforehand, I doubt I would have gotten that extra hour of sleep. The same goes for electric customers. They need to know their options upfront. TOU rates and personalized rate education help customers understand how and when to engage with their utilities. By offering incentives to use DERs efficiently – based on actual usage data – utilities can better balance supply and demand, improving grid resilience and ensuring that we keep the lights on and the holiday spirit intact.

Buddy the Elf swears by maple syrup on spaghetti, proving that unexpected ingredients can work wonders. Similarly, shifting energy use, smarter DER adoption, and consumer education may seem separate, but TOU rates and engagement are the key to a smoothly running grid. In both the holidays and the electric industry, resilience makes all the difference.