TransUnion’s (NYSE:TRU) revised mortgage pricing model, which was announced Oct 17, 2025, went live last week. At the center of this new model is VantageScore® 4.0, which delivers three critical benefits:
· Greater access to loans for qualified homebuyers,
· Lower costs and more certain prices for lenders and homebuyers,
· Protection of the safety and soundness of the U.S. mortgage market and economy.
“Consumers deserve a safe and cost-effective mortgage market and VantageScore supports these goals. We are proud to now offer VantageScore 4.0 for mortgage lending, as we have done for years for auto and card lending,” said Chris Cartwright, President and CEO of TransUnion. “VantageScore 4.0, combined with TransUnion, delivers unmatched predictive power as it leverages up to 30 months of trended credit data, along with rental and utility tradelines.
To accelerate adoption of VantageScore, TransUnion is offering VantageScore 4.0 for $4 per score in 2026, representing a 60% discount compared to a FICO score. This pricing enables lenders to keep underwriting costs flat compared to 2025, offering substantial savings for mortgage lenders and consumers alike. TransUnion is actively working with lenders, resellers and GSEs to drive adoption of this new, lower-cost, consumer-friendly option.
For decades, the mortgage industry has been limited by FICO’s monopoly, restricting lending choice and driving costs higher. FICO’s recent royalty hikes – over 100% for 2026 and more than 1600% over the last four years – are the primary driver of rising mortgage lending data costs. TransUnion’s approach of bundling great credit data with VantageScore 4.0 materially reduces prices and enables lenders to effectively manage their businesses without dramatic annual score price increases.
TransUnion’s market leading credit data is a foundation for safe underwriting, anchoring credit scores with the proven accuracy, fairness and reliability needed to keep the world’s largest mortgage market running safely and efficiently.
Learn more about how TransUnion is powering a stronger, safer and more affordable mortgage market.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of TransUnion’s management. Actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Any statements made in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations, events or developments, including statements relating to the pricing strategies, potential benefits and value propositions of product offerings of TransUnion and our competitors.We believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those risks described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and any subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Current Report on Form 8-K, which are filed with the SEC and available on TransUnion’s website. You should evaluate all forward-looking statements made in this press release in the context of these risks and uncertainties. As a result of such risks and uncertainties, we urge you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this press release.
About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)
TransUnion is a global information and insights company with over 13,000 associates operating in more than 30 countries. We make trust possible by ensuring each person is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this with a Tru™ picture of each person: an actionable view of consumers, stewarded with care. Through our acquisitions and technology investments we have developed innovative solutions that extend beyond our strong foundation in core credit into areas such as marketing, fraud, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for millions of people around the world. http://www.transunion.com/business
Mr. Riga brings over 25 years of commercial and operational experience with proven success leading transformative corporate development strategies and transactions
DUBLIN, Jan. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: JAZZ) today announced the appointment of Thomas Riga as Chief Business Officer, effective January 1, 2026.
Mr. Riga joined Jazz in April 2025 through the acquisition of Chimerix Inc., where he served as chief operating and commercial officer. In that role, he directed corporate strategy including the successful sale of Chimerix to Jazz. In addition to leading the transaction process and alliance management at Chimerix, he helped navigate a complex regulatory environment leading to successful U.S. approval and launch of the first approved therapy for H3K27M-mutant diffuse midline glioma affecting approximately 2,000 children and young adults in the U.S. annually. He brings more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry leading sales and marketing, business development, operations, and has held multiple C-suite positions across various organizations. In his role as chief business officer, he will lead execution of corporate development initiatives and drive strategic partnerships for the company.
“Tom is an exceptional leader with more than 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry and a proven record of driving strategic transactions,” said Renee Gala, president and chief executive officer of Jazz Pharmaceuticals. “He combines a passion for patients with deep commercial, operational, and corporate development expertise, having led over $2 billion in business development deals in the past five years. Tom played a pivotal role in the approval and launch of Modeyso™ (dordaviprone), the first treatment for an ultra-rare, aggressive brain tumor affecting primarily children and young adults. His commitment to patients who previously had no options is truly inspiring. I look forward to working with Tom in this new capacity to strengthen our corporate development capabilities and continue bringing innovative medicines to Jazz’s portfolio that transform lives.”
“I am honored to take on this new role of chief business officer at Jazz,” said Mr. Riga. “I’ve been impressed by the strength and vision of Jazz’s leadership team and look forward to advancing the company through innovative strategic transactions that leverage the existing expertise and capabilities of the company. Together, we will continue to build on our proven corporate development engine to deliver shareholder value and, most importantly, make a meaningful impact for patients with unmet medical need.”
About Jazz Pharmaceuticals Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: JAZZ) is a global biopharma company whose purpose is to innovate to transform the lives of patients and their families. We are dedicated to developing potentially life-changing medicines for people with serious diseases – often with limited or no therapeutic options. We have a diverse portfolio of marketed medicines, including leading therapies for sleep disorders and epilepsy, and a growing portfolio of cancer treatments. Our patient-focused and science-driven approach powers pioneering research and development advancements across our robust pipeline of innovative therapeutics in oncology and neuroscience. Jazz is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with research and development laboratories, manufacturing facilities and employees in multiple countries committed to serving patients worldwide. Please visit www.jazzpharmaceuticals.com for more information.
Contacts: Jazz Media Contact:Kristin BhavnaniHead of Global Corporate Communications Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc CorporateAffairsMediaInfo@jazzpharma.com Ireland +353 1 637 2141 U.S. +1 215 867 4948
Jazz Investor Contact:Jack SpinksExecutive Director, Investor Relations Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc investorinfo@jazzpharma.com Ireland +353 1 634 3211 U.S. +1 650 496 2717
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Zoom meetings are piling up in your calendar. Ping! Your supervisor just messaged you, asking for a quick update on a project.
Later, a frustrated co-worker wants to hop on a video call to walk through the process for posting on your organization’s website; it’s too complicated to explain via email.
Does any of that sound familiar?
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses and organizations into remote work. In the years since, what began as a safety measure has, in certain ways, reshaped workplace culture. Many workplaces have restored in-person schedules; in others, remote or hybrid options have had mixed results.
Researchers at Binghamton University are investigating the advantages and challenges of remote-work practices from different angles, leaning into their expertise in areas such as leadership development or navigating complex systems. Keenly aware that students are entering a workforce with new expectations about the dynamics of office life, Binghamton researchers are beginning with basic questions:
How can we build virtual teams to optimize creativity and the flow of ideas?
What’s the most effective way to stand out as a leader in virtual workplace settings?
Can you manage virtual teams as effectively as in-person groups?
How can companies make work-from-home practices sustainable?
The most obvious benefit of a virtual work environment is enhanced flexibility. It has improved accessibility for employees by reducing travel and encouraging a healthier work–life balance, says Hiroki Sayama, distinguished professor of systems science and industrial engineering and an expert on complex group dynamics.
“There are things you can accomplish more effectively online and things that work better in person,” Sayama says, “so instead of viewing it as one option being better than the other, managers would benefit by looking at which option is best suited to meet the objective.”
A study published in January 2025, co-authored by Sayama and Shelley Dionne, dean of Binghamton’s School of Management, offered insights into how people should be organized to develop the best ideas. Larger teams of people with diverse backgrounds tend to produce more conservative — almost “safer” — ideas because everyone vetted them from their own areas of expertise, according to the study. Those who interacted with fewer group participants felt more isolated, but they also produced stronger ideas.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has documented the potential staying power of remote-work practices. It found the percentage of remote workers in 2021 was higher than in 2019, and major industries — including finance, technical services and corporate management — still had more than 30% of their employees working remotely in 2022.
A Pew Research Center survey showed that three years after the pandemic, 35% of workers with jobs that could be performed remotely were still working from home full time.
“How much innovation happens in virtual settings compared to face-to-face settings? It depends; there’s increasing scientific evidence that we’re perhaps missing in virtual meetings many of those ‘serendipity’ moments that could have happened if you’re in the physical office, bumping into people throughout the day and having those smaller conversations that help generate ideas,” Sayama says. “In virtual settings, it’s easy to focus more on the prescribed agenda items, logging off once the meeting is over, instead of those random connections that could lead you in new directions.”
Standing out in a virtual crowd
Sitting around a table as a group makes the banter between team members feel more natural. You can read a person’s facial cues and gauge how others respond to ideas.
The same can’t always be said if you’re in a virtual meeting. Osterhout Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship Chou-Yu (Joey) Tsai, who co-authored a study in 2024 on cultivating leaders in virtual teams, says dominating a team discussion in a virtual setting doesn’t necessarily make a person a better leader. In virtual teams, where people cannot pick up on nonverbal cues as easily, a person’s responsiveness to other team members plays a significant role in whether they’re perceived as a leader.
But for that leadership to be effective and teamwork to be successful, Tsai adds, all the group’s participants must also speak up.
“Hybrid models are probably the most effective, because you still have some people in the same room to directly engage with others in a conversation. That can’t happen in purely virtual teams, so unless you have a specific role assigned to everyone involved in the virtual team collaboration, it might not function as effectively,” Tsai says. “At the same time, we found the best way to mimic those essential social cues in a virtual setting is to directly state your reaction or what you’re thinking instead of just your facial expression.”
But there’s another layer to ensuring remote or hybrid workplaces achieve positive results, and it’s the backbone of research by School of Management doctoral student Yu Wang. By digging into remote-work practices used to varying extents by 200 of the top law firms across the United States, she’s learning how these approaches could impact human capital, firm productivity and employee satisfaction.
As a strategic policy, Wang says, working from home helps companies reduce costs such as rent and operational expenses, which can prove valuable for employers in high-cost city centers.
Wang’s research has led her to believe businesses can benefit from optimizing their remote-work policies, even though there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” solution. If it’s implemented properly, she says, a remote or hybrid approach could expand job applicant pools and be especially beneficial for some groups, such as pregnant women and people with disabilities.
“Providing remote or hybrid options helps organizations retain talent, especially in industries such as law firms or technology, where employees value autonomy a lot,” Wang says. “Allowing companies to access a broader client base without needing to build new physical offices could also help them unlock new market opportunities while avoiding increasing costs.”
A generational shift and looking ahead
When lockdowns prompted by the pandemic sent employees home, students also had to adapt to learning in remote classroom environments. While this shift reshaped how students approach learning, it also influenced their expectations about flexible work schedules.
Tsai views the continued use of remote or hybrid work as an opportunity for educators to cultivate interpersonal skills that might be conveyed more naturally in person but could make a more substantial impact in virtual settings.
He has also noticed that the current generation of students is more acclimated to socializing online through social media platforms, so it’s no surprise that they might instinctively prefer a meeting on Zoom.
“If we don’t reinforce those skills and show how to integrate those in virtual settings, you could run the risk of people losing a sense of meaning to their work,” Tsai says. “It can be much harder to mimic the close mentorship among colleagues in a virtual space; you don’t learn from your co-workers in the same way, and if you do learn, it’s at a much slower pace.”
This trend could easily continue for a decade or longer as the younger workforce becomes more entrenched, Sayama says, potentially clashing with the viewpoints of older managerial generations.
However, one avenue he’s exploring is how the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) systems might enhance or exploit virtual work environments.
Whether it’s AI-driven transcription services or using AI in communication algorithms, tools could help improve efficiency in remote workplaces, as long as they don’t completely replace human connections. Sayama says a similar dynamic arose when email became a mainstream asset, and for the younger generation, integrating online technology into the workplace has become routine.
Looking ahead, the trick will be recognizing when AI should serve as an asset and not a replacement.
“If we’re meeting face-to-face, there’s little room for AI to intervene,” Sayama says. “But as online working environments drive more transition in the coming years, we will likely see more automated communication processed by algorithms.”
Organizations could ensure the long-term success of work-from-home practices by establishing effective mentoring and support systems, Wang says. These could include cross-location communication mechanisms to help employees stay connected, build trust and strengthen team cohesion regardless of where they work.
“To make working from home a sustainable strategic practice, organizations need to go beyond simply ‘allowing’ employees to work remotely by also providing strong internal management support,” Wang says. “This includes leveraging human resource systems to ensure that remote employees have equal access to growth and career development opportunities, such as promotions, training, performance management and recognition.”
King of Prussia, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that bridge repairs will occur on eastbound Route 3 (West Chester Pike) under a $5.2 million project to improve traffic flow and relieve congestion through Interstate 476 Interchange in Marple and Haverford townships, Delaware County.
Motorists are advised of the following travel restriction:
Motorists are advised to allow extra time when traveling through the work area because significant backups and delays may occur. All scheduled activities are weather dependent.
The improvements under this project include the delineation of the westbound Route 3 (West Chester Pike) off-ramp to the northbound I-476 on-ramp from the signalized intersection at South Lawrence Road. The traffic signal will no longer control the lane and will be free flowing. The northbound I-476 on-ramp will be restriped. South Lawrence Road will maintain the same lane configuration including dual left-turn lanes and a right-turn-only lane.
A new channelized right-turn lane will be constructed at the intersection of Route 3 (West Chester Pike) and northbound I-476 off-ramp/on-ramp to accommodate vehicles from South Lawrence Road to northbound I-476.
A new cantilever overhead lane designation sign structure will be also installed along westbound Route 3 (West Chester Pike), east of North Lawrence Road. The ADA curb ramps and pedestrian facilities along the corridor will be evaluated and updated, as necessary, to meet current ADA standards.
Road-Con, Inc. of West Chester, Chester County, is the general contractor on the project, which is financed with 100 percent federal funds.
For more information, visit the Route 3 (West Chester Pike) and I-476 Interchange Improvement Project webpage.
Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,200 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional X alerts.
Find PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects at www.pa.gov/DOTprojects. Subscribe to PennDOT news and find transportation results in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties at www.penndot.pa.gov/District6.
Find PennDOT news on X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
MEDIA CONTACT: Helen Reinbrecht, hreinbrech@pa.gov
Squire Patton Boggs has advised global Fintech leader Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) on its acquisition of Acolin, a leading European provider of cross-border fund distribution and regulatory services.
The team advising Broadridge Financial Solutions was led by Corporate partners Julian Ciecierski-Burns and Paul Lewis in London, and involved specialist lawyers in the UK, France and Germany.
Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR) is a global technology leader, employing over 15,000 associates in 21 countries, that powers investing, corporate governance, and communications to help improve business performance and transform investor experience. Its technology and operations platforms process and generate over 7 billion communications annually and underpin the daily average trading of over $15 trillion in equities, fixed income, and other securities globally.
Acolin is a Zurich-based distribution support provider serving more than 350 clients, offering access to over 3,000 distributors across 30+ countries and providing comprehensive solutions spanning fund registrations, legal representation, and ongoing compliance management. The acquisition of Acolin expands Broadridge’s distribution solutions for asset managers, helping them enter new markets and grow assets, while also strengthening its regulatory services for the global asset management industry.
Julian Ciecierski-Burns said, “We are delighted to support our client Broadridge on this latest acquisition. It was a pleasure collaborating with their team to help deliver an important transaction for the company. The combination will strengthen Broadridge’s fund compliance and regulatory services internationally.”
Ryan A. Green, Vice President, Senior Legal Counsel at Broadridge, said, “Our thanks go to Julian and Paul and the team at Squire Patton Boggs who did a superb job across multiple jurisdictions in this project. Their commerciality, guidance and insight are always much appreciated.”
BoP, NBP lead gains; analysts warn rally reflects recovery from depressed levels not definitive re-rating
Seven Pakistani banking stocks ranked among the top performers in the Asia-Pacific region in 2025, supported by a combination of low base valuations, improving profitability, a relatively high interest-rate environment, balance-sheet clean-up, and renewed investor confidence in Pakistan’s macroeconomic outlook during the year.
Pakistani banking stocks were led by the Bank of Punjab (BOP), the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Askari Bank Limited and Bank of Khyber in the top four spots according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence. This is followed by United Bank Limited (UBL), Bank Makramah Limited and Faysal Bank at different spots in a list of 15 banks.
As per the data on best-performing Asia-Pacific bank stocks based on total shareholder return as of December 31, 2025, BOP recorded the highest return at 333.8%, followed by NBP with a gain of 301.3%. Askari Bank placed third among Pakistani lenders with a return of 194.2%. The data highlights a strong showing by Pakistani lenders compared with peers across the Asia-Pacific region during the year.
“The performance reflects a combination of low base valuations, improvement in profitability, elevated interest rates, balance-sheet clean-up, and better investor sentiment toward Pakistan’s macroeconomic outlook during 2025,” Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, told The Express Tribune. He added that smaller and mid-sized banks generally outperformed larger peers as part of a valuation re-rating cycle.
The list also included several Japanese regional banks, which posted triple-digit returns despite relatively small market capitalisations. Their performance was largely driven by expectations of monetary policy normalisation, improvement in net interest margins, and restructuring efforts within Japan’s regional banking sector. The strong showing of banking stocks coincided with a broader rise in Pakistan’s equity market. The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 52% in rupee terms in 2025, while total market capitalisation at the Pakistan Stock Exchange increased by 39% to Rs19.7 trillion, or approximately $70 billion.
According to Topline Securities, the banking sector remained a key focus for investors due to valuation catch-up, net interest income growth, and capital gains recorded by certain banks. In its Pakistan Strategy report for 2025, Topline identified commercial banks as one of the best-performing large-cap sectors, alongside cement and fertiliser.
On a sectoral basis, the market capitalisation of listed banks rose by 85% during the year, compared with increases of 81% in cement and 57% in fertiliser. Topline noted that earnings growth, dividend resumptions, and stronger balance sheets supported performance across select banks.
While the Asia-Pacific data places Pakistan’s banks at the top of the 2025 performance rankings, analysts caution that the rally reflects a recovery from depressed levels rather than a definitive re-rating based on structural reforms. The key test for the sector will be its ability to sustain profitability and asset quality as interest rates decline and macroeconomic risks re-emerge.
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National Laboratory of the Rockies Helps Kauai Tap Into a New Source of Strength That Can Stop Electric Oscillations
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Rows of batteries on Kauai island provide more than just power: They stabilize the grid. A project between the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, NLR, and several more partners showed that electronics can offer equal grid strength to spinning resources. Photo by Connor O’Neil, National Laboratory of the Rockies
Kauai, one of the most remote islands of Hawaii, stands steady among the timeless crash of ocean waves. Electric waves, however, almost crashed Kauai’s power system in an instant.
Kauai consistently provides among the lowest electricity rates of any island in Hawaii thanks to Kauai Island Utility Cooperative’s (KIUC’s) addition of new power sources, many of which rely on electronic devices called inverters.
But with more inverters on their system, KIUC identified grid oscillations they had never seen before—not the normal 60 Hertz frequency, but an imbalance of energy across the island. If left unchecked, the oscillations could cause reliability problems, power outages, and equipment damage.
As power systems around the world integrate inverters, they are entering a new physics of operations. The new physics mixes electromechanics and power electronics—machines and semiconductors—and it just happens that the isolated utility KIUC is one of the first places to face these challenges at scale.
Over three years, a team led by the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory, investigated Kauai’s oscillations with every tool available and others they had to invent. They not only found the source and solutions to the problem but also developed a general framework that any utility can use to stabilize and strengthen its grid using modern, power-electronic-based resources.
National Laboratory of the Rockies researchers and Kauai Island Utility Cooperative workers tour a control room on Kauai’s south shore. Photos by Connor O’Neil, National Laboratory of the Rockies
A Warning Ripples Through
As an electric cooperative, KIUC is small and remote enough compared to other utilities that it can try new strategies with less risk and more freedom, but large enough that it provides lessons to utilities all around. Being a small utility, it also needs to keep solutions as simple as possible.
“We still manually decide which units come online. We do dispatch calls over the radio and calculate the day-ahead generation with a spreadsheet,” explained Richard “RV” Vetter, KIUC’s Port Allen power station manager.
Even as Kauai added more inverter-based power and battery storage throughout the 2010s, the operators used their intuition to keep the grid operating correctly.
“Our requirements for operation were informed by our experience with our grid,” said Brad Rockwell, chief of operations at KIUC. “We know how low our voltage dips during transient events, and we know which settings will keep the grid stable. This is our system—we know how it works.”
But in November 2021, what happened on the grid defied its operators’ intuition.
At 5:30 a.m., the island’s largest gas generator unintentionally tripped offline, as generators occasionally do, causing island-wide frequency to dip. The inverter-based plants on the island automatically ramped up power to restore frequency, but an oscillation appeared that caused frequency and voltage to wobble throughout the island.
Power lines transmitted electrical oscillations back and forth on 33-mile-wide Kauai island. The oscillations compelled Kauai Island Utility Cooperative to study its grid stability and, with NLR, deploy stabilizing controls with battery systems. Photos by Connor O’Neil, National Laboratory of the Rockies
Twenty times a second, an electrical wave sloshed through transmission lines, pushing the frequency near to prescribed limits and dropping around 3% of customers off service until it dissipated a minute later.
While this disruption was not disastrous, it was a warning. The oscillation prompted KIUC to seek the help of long-time partner NLR, which soon after launched the DOE-funded Stability-Augmented Optimal Control of Hybrid PV Plants with Very High Penetration of Inverter-based Resources (SAPPHIRE) project, focused on addressing the challenges experienced in Kauai and beyond.
Searching for the Source
Oscillations like Kauai’s are not entirely mysterious to the power sector. They have been reported globally and are evidently on the rise. Despite this, each one is studied like an individual anomaly, not an emerging trend. Operators lack a standard policy to treat the problem.
“When we first jumped into Kauai’s grid, there was no general framework for industry to solve the oscillation problem. These kinds of issues are usually first seen on small, isolated grids, so Kauai gave us an important chance to understand stability,” said Jin Tan, project lead at NLR.
“First, we asked, ‘What does the real data tell us?’” Tan said.
Her team gathered KIUC’s historical data from phasor measurement units and digital fault recorders—common grid sensors—which they used to identify the origin of the oscillation: two inverter-based power plants.
Photo by Bryan Bechtold, National Laboratory of the Rockies
“But data alone has limitations,” Tan explained. “You can only see which plant is causing the oscillations, not how. So, we leveraged model-based methods, too.”
They built not just a model of Kauai but the highest-detail electromagnetic-transient model possible—something that is rarely done by utilities when commissioning new generators, but that could reach the root of the problem.
This animation of Kauai’s power system recreates the oscillations that occurred on the island in November 2021, using real data from the event. Frequency begins to oscillate after a synchronous generator trips but is eventually arrested. Using this visualization and event analysis, the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative and NLR identified the instability source and a suitable improvement. Video by National Laboratory of the Rockies
Using the model plus the data, NLR’s team reran the event many times, discovering which inverter settings were instigating the oscillations. Purdue University helped validate the findings via small-signal analysis while NLR’s team validated it with hardware testing using the NLR ARIES platform.
All said, the team had built a miniature Kauai grid in Colorado, replicating everything down to the exact same inverter model. Thanks to such exhaustive modeling, NLR now had the capability to test new inverter controls and verify their stability before deployment in the field, and Kauai now had a solution to prevent future oscillations.
They did not have to wait long to discover if it worked.
NLR built a scaled-down version of Kauai’s grid using the ARIES platform. With this mock power system and real event data, they modeled the moment Kauai’s grid suffered an electrical oscillation. This allowed the team to determine optimal inverter settings for Kauai to avoid similar events. Photo by Josh Bauer and Bryan Bechtold, National Laboratory of the Rockies
Electronic Stability Is Put to the Test
Coincidentally, in 2023, the same large generator tripped, just like two years prior. The same electrical wave shot through the Kauai grid, and the same inverter-based plants responded. This time, no oscillation occurred.
The difference was that grid-forming controls had been added to the inverters—a paradigm shift in how power systems derive strength and stability.
“We’ve gotten to the point where inverters are dominating our entire resource mix,” Rockwell said about KIUC. “Here in Hawaii, we have very limited resource options in the first place, and, without a doubt, inverter-based resources are the cheaper option.”
First fueled by burning sugarcane waste, then oil, then broadening to hydropower, biomass, then inverter-based resources, Kauai has continually searched for a resource mix to reduce costs and improve robustness to wildfires. To that end, KIUC has grown its inverter-based supplies, often running hours of the day on domestic generation alone.
But as KIUC found, inverters have different electrical characteristics, which manifest at the levels reached on Kauai. Most evident, inverters lack the mechanical inertia of spinning generators, which historically steadied power fluctuations.
Left: KIUC’s Richard “RV” Vetter, KIUC’s Port Allen power station manager, stands by a generator shaft under repair. Right: The oil-fired generator that tripped initially triggering the grid oscillations. Kauai island still contains oil-fired generation for baseline power and also uses technologies like synchronous condensers, which are spinning reserves that supplement mechanical inertia. Photos by Connor O’Neil, National Laboratory of the Rockies
“We’re ending up with a grid that’s basically a bunch of synchronized computers,” stated Andy Hoke, principal engineer at NLR.
Hoke has been analyzing the new physics of power systems for over a decade, and he helped KIUC identify the grid-forming inverter settings they needed to restore grid strength.
“A grid-forming inverter doesn’t try to measure frequency and voltage and respond; rather, it just tries to hold its own frequency and voltage constant,” Hoke explained.
It is a form of synthetic inertia—something to make up for less mechanical inertia.
“For those grid-forming inverters to act like synchronous machines is very important to us. The fact that we can lose a synchronous machine while these grid-forming inverters stay on means we don’t go black,” Rockwell said.
A Probe Into Power System Stability
A far-reaching lesson from Kauai is that grid stability is a central, quantifiable, grid commodity. Just as utilities buy electricity from power plants, they can procure stability. This is an outcome of the new, electronic-based physics of power systems. But to work in practice, it requires one important piece.
“Operators need the ability to estimate stability on their system,” Tan said. “Many operators have seen growing costs from managing stability factors, such as rate of change of frequency. Now that we have proven how inverters can provide stability, we need to show by how much.”
To cap their collaboration, Tan and team took on this final challenge of estimating real-time stability, and they did so in a way that no one had done before: by probing the power system.
The method developed by NLR and partners to measure the real-time grid inertia—and consequently, its strength—is depicted here. A small electric signal is emitted by a battery plant, and its modulation by the grid is then measured by software in the operator’s control room. Graphic by National Laboratory of the Rockies
With KIUC’s consent, NLR sent small pulses through Kauai’s grid using an inverter-based plant owned and operated by AES Hawaii. By measuring the pulse throughout the grid with custom sensors from partner UTK, Tan’s team could estimate how resources react to an instability. In effect, they could calculate each generator’s inertia, physical or electronic, and its contribution to overall stability.
“We found that grid-forming inverter-based resources significantly enhance grid stability,” Tan concluded.
The AES power plant on Kauai island was the source of a unique and highly collaborative power experiment: The plant owner used the battery to issue test pulses through Kauai’s grid. By measuring these pulses, the utility could assess how much inertia existed on the grid and, using NLR’s methods, its real-time grid strength. Photos by Connor O’Neil, National Laboratory of the Rockies
Firm power—that is, strong, stabilizing power that every grid needs—can be found beyond mechanical generators. The three-year effort by Kauai, NLR, and partners demonstrated that power electronics can be equally capable of offering essential grid stability services. In fact, they can offer an even greater range and responsiveness of services than machines.
Although Kauai is a remote island, its electrical issues are not so remote. Findings from island systems may inform grid planning in other contexts, too.
“It will not require technologies that are far more advanced than what we already have,” wrote Hoke and NLR Power Systems Engineering Center Director Benjamin Kroposki in an IEEE Spectrum feature. “It will take testing, validation in real-world scenarios, and standardization so that synchronous generators and inverters can unify their operations to create a reliable and robust power grid. Manufacturers, utilities, and regulators will have to work together to make this happen rapidly and smoothly.”
Strength in Unity for the Power Sector
To sum up, the SAPPHIRE project found the source of Kauai’s grid oscillations, validated and proposed a solution, witnessed its success, and then developed a way to measure instantaneous grid strength. The full report provides even more detail and describes how inverter-based grids can provide affordable and reliable energy to customers.
“This is a huge success,” commented KIUC Engineering and Technology Manager Cameron Kruse.
“Inverter-based resources—that’s our bread and butter for stability. Pre-2012 we used to load-shed twice a month; now we rarely do. We’ve microgrid-ed through the July 2024 Kaumakani wildfire with this system. Our vision of reliable, low-cost, safe power delivery hasn’t changed, but our how has,” Kruse said.
It worked for Kauai, and it could work elsewhere. The new challenge is to standardize the solution.
“Our goal is to drive consistency across technologies,” Kroposki stated.
Kroposki heads the UNIFI Consortium, a 60-organization-strong effort funded by DOE to standardize approaches to grid-forming inverter-based resources.
“We’re making instructions on how to connect grid-forming inverters to the grid. This includes general requirements that manufacturers can meet, specifications for operators to follow, and ways to validate everything. It’s about taking lessons learned from the Hawaiian Islands back to the mainland,” Kroposki said.
One such lesson: It helps to have everyone in the same room.
The SAPPHIRE project team members worked closely to work through the fine points of the complex stability problems facing Kauai. All organizations—the utilities, universities, federal labs, and companies—finished the project with a better toolset to troubleshoot stability in their respective domains. Photo by Connor O’Neil, National Laboratory of the Rockies
Progress in power electronics can be hampered by industry disconnects. Utilities need precise inverter models and data, but this information is proprietary. On the other end, inverter makers are not always informed of how their products fare in the field.
“With UNIFI, we’ve created a middle ground. Industry needs that back-and-forth validation of events—for utilities to see what parameters do inside the inverter and for manufacturers to understand use cases for its products,” Kroposki said.
As UNIFI finishes its final year and delivers a vast library of well-tested models, standards, and controls, the power industry also has an example to reference: Kauai was one of the first locations to embrace the new grid physics, and it turned out well for their electricity rates and reliability. Now, it is possible anywhere.
Contact [email protected] to partner with NLR for grid stability studies.
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