Hundreds of thousands of switches and circuit breakers must be operated manually, and the main transmission lines have little instrumentation to monitor the second-by-second flow of electricity from unpredictable new sources like windmills.

FORBES: Juicing the System

Since 1996, the U.S. has required each vehicle to have an onboard diagnostic computer to monitor everything from engine to transmission sensors to look for emissions-related problems.

FORBES: How To Predict What Will Go Wrong With Your Car Down The Road

What you won't hear McGovern boast about is the telematics (GPS and other interactive systems) monitor that hides in the center console, or the paddle-control automatic transmission shifter that resides on the steering column.

FORBES: Magazine Article