money doesn’t flow toward a critical part of the grid system—vars. Vars, or reactive power, help to stabilize voltage levels on the grid. Even alternating current, with its remarkable capacity to be transmitted so far without diminished force, needs occasionally to be buoyed up and smoothed out. The increase in long-distance wheeling after the Energy Policy Act has made maintaining power quality an even more critical element of basic grid functionality. This is what vars do: they help ensure a constant voltage in times of stress.
