Some electric grids may feel the heat this summer
Some electric grids may feel the heat this summer
In the Southwestern United States, the weather forecast is hot this week — we’re talking about highs of 104 or 105 in parts of Arizona and Southern California. We should probably get used to those scorching temperatures — scientists predict it’s going to be another hot summer.
As air conditioners across the country kick on during heat waves, electricity demand will spike. Some energy grids are more prepared than others. The bad news: If temps peak far above normal this summer, we could end up short on electricity.
Joshua Rhodes, an electric grid researcher with the University of Texas at Austin, has the good news: “It’s actually better than it has been in the past couple of years,” he said, thanks to new electricity generation coming online, “like wind and solar, as well as energy storage.”
And each region faces unique challenges, said Mark Olson with the North American Electric Reliability Corp., which identified an elevated risk of supply shortages in the Southwest.
Plus: “In New England, recently, there’s been some generation that has retired,” he said.
That’s also true in the Midwest, which is bringing new electricity sources online to help.
“But the pace of additions isn’t maybe keeping up. And so you can have shortfalls in the Midwest during heat waves, especially if the wind performance is low,” Olson said.
And when that happens, the Midwest may have to rely on neighbors for electricity. But that’s not an option in Texas, where David Blackmon is a consultant. The Lone Star state has its own independent grid.
“We have to have adequate capacity on the grid for all situations, and we don’t,” he said.
He’d like to see more natural gas on the grid as a buffer, especially during winter cold snaps. Still, the price per kilowatt hour on his summer electric bill isn’t pretty.
“That’s doubled in four years. Double,” he said.
As energy generation evolves and weather becomes more extreme, Ramteen Sioshansi, an engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University, said the risks to the grid are also changing.
“Thirty years ago, was they were looking at, OK, on occasion, you know, a handful of the generators are going to fail,” he said.
Nowadays, generation is more likely to be knocked out by a common event, like, “the temperatures get very, very high,” Sioshansi said. And that extreme heat can create even more risk to power generators.
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