Category: News

The warnings to residents in the south-east US came right before Christmas: delay washing clothes or running the dishwasher, and curb hot water use until the bitterly cold temperatures eased up.

It still wasn’t enough for two of the nation’s largest electric utilities.

As temperatures plummeted to 40F (4.4C) in a few hours and gale force winds swept across the region between 23 and 24 December, the pre-holiday preparations were put on pause as Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Duke Energy implemented historic rolling blackouts lasting about 30 minutes to an hour.

By some accounts the utilities’ inability to supply power during the extreme weather almost plunged the entire eastern US into darkness. And in some parts of the country, as much as 63% of the outages came from natural gas plants, according to the PJM Interconnection, an organization that operates the largest regional power grid in the US.

PJM Interconnection LLC has declared a level one emergency for the 13-state eastern US grid and called on all power plants to operate at full capacity Thursday during a heat wave.

The largest US grid issued an Energy Emergency Alert level one, meaning it is concerned about being able to maintain adequate power reserves on July 27 as consumers and businesses turn up their air conditioners amid scorching heat. PJM has ordered all power plants to be online and for consumers enrolled in demand-response programs to be ready to curtail their electricity usage to keep power supply stable, according to a notice late Wednesday.

As extreme temperatures strain electric grids in the U.S., many parts of the country could face blackouts. Solar energy can help protect the grid during extreme heat, but it comes with the added cost of increasing climate waste and decreasing efficiency. Photo illustration: Xingpei Shen

A deadly heat wave is spreading across the U.S., bringing record-breaking temperatures to some states and affecting millions of people. WSJ’s Jennifer Hiller breaks down how the heat can impact our power grids.

A record heat wave, and its connections to climate change, are highlighting again the growing concerns around America’s electrical grid and whether it can withstand the added stress. In Texas, which operates its own electrical grid, power demand hit an all-time high this week. William Brangham discussed more with Michael Webber, a professor of energy resources at the University of Texas.

It’s really hot in Texas right now. Many parts of the state are hotter than they’ve ever been at this time of year. In the coastal city of Corpus Christi, the heat index, a combined measure of heat and humidity, reached a shocking 125 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 52 Celsius.

That’s because a weather system called a heat dome is parked over Texas, Oklahoma and parts of Mexico. People are struggling, and one person may have died from the baking temperatures. And, there’s a lot of worry about the Texas electric grid.

That heat dome could stay in place until early July. It’s forecast to expand to Arkansas, Louisiana and Kansas. As people turn up their air-conditioners to stay cool, will the grids hold?

Human-caused climate change is poised to heavily strain the U.S. power grid in the coming decades, and vast improvements are needed to enhance its reliability and ability to meet increasing electricity demands, experts say.

Why it matters: The effects of new weather extremes on the grid may be seen throughout the summer if intense heat waves trigger energy demand spikes that test the limits of power infrastructures nationwide, officials have warned.

• “We’re designing our energy systems today for the past 50 years of weather and not the next 50 years of weather, and that’s a problem,” Melissa Lott, research director of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, told Axios.

Threat level: The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a nonprofit that oversees the reliability of the North American power grids, warned in an assessment last month that two-thirds of the continent face an elevated risk of energy shortfalls this summer if extreme heat events occur.

Chill sun solar, a facility in Nevada with a generating capacity of 2.25gw, should produce enough electricity to meet 1.7% of California’s annual demand. The 4.1gw Berwick Bank wind farm, off the east coast of Scotland, will provide more energy over a year than could Britain’s two largest gas-fired power stations running full tilt. But none of this will matter until these renewable heavyweights get hooked up to their respective grids.

The grids used by developed countries are not accustomed to rapid change. At the turn of the century a couple of power plants a year might be connected to meet new demand driven by demographic change, to replace plants at the end of their lives or, as in shifts between coal and gas, to compete on price. But the overall rate was typically slow, with net capacity changing little and new plants often using the same connections as old ones.

This compendium collects ten articles from the first half of 2023 reflecting most important findings for the future of the energy transition.