There are four main areas that need fixed.
1. The main grid.
The main grid needs to be beefed up to carry power from areas that have a surplus to areas that are lacking power. We need to switch to super conductors in downtown metro areas for efficiency.
There is also the fact that our electric grid is very vulnerable to emp and solar flares. We need a method of disconnecting the wires of the main grid from the big transformers to protect them from these effects.
We also need backups of the big transformers in distributed warehouses ready to be deployed in hours to fix a burned out system. Right now it would take years to build and deliver these transformers if they were damaged by a catastrophic event.
2. Upgrade houses to be smart homes.
Appliances should be smart and connect to the houses control unit. This control unit should schedule when things run to reduce the demand that is being placed on the electrical grid. So the fridge doesn't run at the same time as the ac unit. The control unit should limit the draw of the entire house to no more than 20 amps. Battery packs should be charged at night, or charged from the home grid in the day. If electrical power is used to heat water, this should be done at night. If done correctly this staging and running of appliances could reduce power needs of households in America by a factor of 5.
3. Switch to solar power, wind power, and water power.
If your house needs more than 20 amp service, or when the main grid is out then you should be able to switch to batteries at your own home that are charged with locally produced solar, wind, and water power. A 10KW solar panel on every's roof with a wind turbine for windy conditions would be enough to charge these batteries, come wind or shine.
And here is where the beefed up grid from step one comes into play. When the main grid senses a lack of power in one area it should signal other areas and they put power from their batteries or from their solar/wind/water power sources back onto the grid. Imagine west coast helping out the east coast in the morning and then the east coast helping out the west coast later as the heat peaks in the west.
The power system could keep track of home much power you add to the grid and how much you take from the grid and charge you for the power you used minus the power you added. Plus a flat rate to maintain the power grid.
4. Stop using carbon to heat water.
Heating water is 1/6 the energy use in every single home in America. Switch to solar water heaters to heat water. You could build tubing into the back of every solar panel and use that to both cool the panel and heat antifreeze. This warm antifreeze could then be put through a small bank of high temp vacuum tubes with reflectors to focus the heat on nickel coated copper tubes to get the temps up to nearly boiling. Then run this heated antifreeze through tubes in a 500 gallon water tank to store the heat. A small solar panel could run the pumps for this system, the intensity of the sun on the solar panel being all that is needed to regulate the speed of the liquid through the system. Heavy bags of paraffine that each have a different melting point could be used to store heat in their phase change of switching between solid and liquid states. Like heat storing batteries.
If you need to use electrical power to heat the water, then would only be allowed to happen at night, when there is a surplus. You could use your own electrical power anytime during the day, say after you reach full charge on the batteries. Any wind power needs a The houses controller could mange this to keep the water up to temp while using a minimum of grid power.
This tank could be used for hot water for the sinks and shower. It could also be used to heat a loop of antifreeze that runs under the floors of the perimeter of the house and holds most of the cold at bay. A loop of this heated water could be put under the floor in the bathroom for toasty warm floors all the time there.
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