Extreme heat threatens stressed power grids nationwide
WASHINGTON (TND) — From Michigan to Alabama, 100 million Americans are under heat alerts as a wave of oppressive air moves east. Air conditioners on full blast threaten to max out an already strained electric grid, some projecting rolling blackouts may lay ahead.
Warnings to prepare for emergency procedures coming down from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) Monday morning. MISO operates a large swath of the electric grid from Canada to the Gulf.
Utility companies like Jackson County REMC in Indiana are warning customers that rolling blackouts could be ahead. One stressor on the grid is extreme temperatures from the changing climate.
“This is a big shock, a surprise to the grid operation,” said Hao Zhu, an assistant professor and power systems researcher at the University of Texas - Austin. “In Texas, we’re ok with summer temperature hitting 100 degrees but this is not something that people expect in the Midwest. Going over 100 degrees for a long period of time will make the grid go under a high level of stress.”
Another possible contributing factor is a rushed transition to clean energy.
“We’ve lost baseload generation in coal plants and gas plants, we have no renewable energy to backfill it and therefore we don’t have enough capacity. So rates are increasing with the potential of rolling brownouts,” said Mark Denzler, president & CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association.Desperate to avoid rolling blackouts, MISO recently halted the imminent closure of the Rush Island coal plant in Missouri, one of the country’s biggest polluters. Closing the plant places the grid’s reliability at such a risk that it will likely stay in operation until 2025.
Zhu points out that closing coal plants isn’t just the result of regulatory measures like the Clean Air Act but also a byproduct of economic pressures.
Through a Rocky Mountain Power program, residents that use solar power can get a battery that stores the power. When the power grid is running properly, that battery will then also be made available to the power company. (KUTV)
Many plants were closed in recent years because coal became too expensive compared to other forms of energy. With rising rates in sectors like natural gas, coal now starts to look like a cheaper and thus more appealing option again. It's critical at a time when everything seems much more expensive.
Electricity costs rose 12% since last year, increasing the average American home’s summer electric bill from $90 to $540.
“American manufacturers use one-third of all energy consumed in the United States,” said Denzler. “So in some cases, rising energy costs means millions of dollars in additional costs for electricity that will ultimately get bore by the customers that buy those products."
All of this, and we haven’t even seen the first day of summer — an indication that long, hot, expensive and potentially dark months lay ahead. |
