According to a recent assessment by an energy sector watchdog, electric providers are preparing for an increased chance of blackouts during peak consumption hours over the majority of the western US owing to rising temperatures and lower-than-expected energy output.
Five electric utility corporations across seven areas were identified as having a high or increased risk of not having enough operational reserves in the North American Energy Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) 2022 Summer Reliability Assessment.
This most recent study emphasizes the necessity of halting capacity closures. Jim Matheson, a former congressman from Utah and the current CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, claimed that this pattern has previously been seen.
According to the survey, more factories have closed down early than expected, even a few years ago.
In addition to higher demand, declining power output and damaged infrastructure can raise the danger of rolling blackouts.
In essence, it warns that there is a considerable possibility of not having enough resources, especially in the Midwest, Texas, California, or the furthest reaches of the West, Vice President at the Electrical Power Research Institute, Daniel Brooks, stated.
The analysis underlines the possibility of widespread blackouts and capacity shortages during peak consumption hours for a large portion of the western half of the country. NERC lists a wide range of problems, the most significant of which are decreased hydroelectric generation as a result of widespread drought conditions, damaged transmission lines as a result of extreme weather events, early closure of coal and other fossil fuel plants, and supply chain problems that continue to disrupt important American industries.
Large areas of the nation’s electrical grid are at danger of being unreliable due to the risk. Widespread blackouts may have severe effects, as the Texas winter power crisis of 2021 showed. However, there is cause for hope for the future. Energy sector players of all sizes are focusing their attention on this issue to identify the causes of unreliability and develop mitigating solutions.
