EPRI, is an American independent, nonprofit organization that conducts research and development related to the generation, delivery, and use of electricity to help address challenges in the energy industry, including reliability, efficiency, affordability, health, safety, and the environment.
[1] EPRI's principal offices and laboratories are located in Palo Alto, California; Charlotte, North Carolina; Knoxville, Tennessee; Washington, DC; and Lenox, Massachusetts.
Historic in scale and impact, it demonstrated the nation's growing dependence upon electricity and its vulnerability to power loss.
Following the blackout, leaders in Congress held hearings in the early 1970s about the lack of research supporting the power industry.
[2] Dr. Chauncey Starr, then the Dean of the UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science, led the initiative, proposed by Congress, to create an independent research and development organization to support the electricity sector and address its technical and operational challenges.