Free Republic

Data Center Alley, a 30-square-mile stretch outside Washington D.C. and home to more than 200 data centers, consumes roughly the same electricity as Boston. So power company officials were alarmed when a big chunk of those centers – 60 of them – suddenly dropped off the grid one day last summer and switched to on-site generators. The mass reaction was triggered by a standard safety mechanism across the data center industry, intended to protect computer chips and electronic equipment from damage caused by voltage fluctuations. But it caused a huge surge in excess electricity, according to federal regulators and utility...

“Electricity supplies are at risk from freezing temperatures that threaten reliable operation of BPS [bulk power systems] generators, fuel supply issues for natural-gas-fired generation, and wind and solar resource energy limitations,” .. A new report by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), which assesses the United States and Canada’s grid reliability, finds that much of the central and eastern U.S. could experience blackouts should a significant and lasting cold snap descend on the nation. “Electricity supplies are at risk from freezing temperatures that threaten reliable operation of BPS [bulk power systems] generators, fuel supply issues for natural-gas-fired generation, and...

Hundreds of millions of Americans risk experiencing power shortages this winter if weather conditions are harsh, according to a new report published by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a power grid watchdog. Nearly all residents of the Northeast, Texas and Midwest could face energy shortfalls in the event of a colder-than-usual winter, the NERC report states. The lack of grid reliability is driven largely by growing electricity demand as well as the replacement of coal-fired and older natural gas-fired generators with energy-limited resources such as solar power. ... “Foreseeable extreme cold temperatures have the potential to push the...

NEW ENGLAND GRID NEEDS: New England’s grid operator warned that the region will need to invest nearly $1 billion in its electric transmission infrastructure per year through 2050 to avoid capacity shortfalls and handle the rising power demand—especially as wind and solar make up a rising share of its energy mix. Takeaways: The report modeled for several different demand scenarios through 2050. The low end of 51 GW could be achieved only if the region kept online some stored fuels like natural gas and oil—which is almost a certain impossibility, given the emissions reduction targets passed by several of the...

NERC is a nonprofit organization that oversees the reliability and security of the North American bulk power system. It uses a results-based approach. After conducting their ten-year assessment, NERC sent a grim warning of our energy future. We face a serious electricity shortage beginning in the next few years that will exist for years to come. This isn’t news. It has been clear for some time that the elimination of fossil fuels before there is an adequate power supply to take its place will endanger the safety and security of Americans. It is also obvious that this has been engineered...

Weather pundits on TV and even The Old Farmers Almanac are telling us key factors like Solar Cycle 25, El Nino, and a polar vortex moving south from the North Pole will combine to give most of the U.S. a colder and a much more snowy winter. Are we ready? Is the Biden administration ensuring our gas and coal-fired power plants are winterized and have enough fuel? Of course not. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a not-for-profit regulatory authority whose stated mission is "to assure the effective and efficient reduction of risks to the reliability and security of...

More than half of the U.S. and parts of Canada, home to around 180 million people, could fall short of electricity during extreme cold again this winter due to lacking natural gas infrastructure, the North American Electric Reliability Corp (NERC) said on Wednesday. In its 2023-24 winter outlook, the regulatory authority warned that prolonged, wide-area cold snaps threaten the reliability of bulk power generation and availability of fuel supplies for natural gas-fired generation. “Recent extreme cold weather events have shown that energy delivery disruptions can have devastating consequences for electric and gas consumers in impacted areas,” NERC said.

Summer’s coming. That means sunshine, swimming, cookouts — and blackouts. That’s the warning from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. According to NERC, at least two-thirds of the country is at risk for major power outages this summer. This extends to most everyone west of the Mississippi except for Texas. Texas and much of the Midwest will be fine, the report says, so long as we don’t experience hot, windless summer days. Well, that’s a relief. When do we ever get hot, windless summer days in Texas and the Midwest? Part of the problem is the steady removal of fossil-fuel...

Representatives from the electrical industry sharply criticized on Tuesday a proposal in the House to extend federal regulation to include local power plants in major cities to protect them and the national power grid from cyberattacks. Under the 1935 Federal Power Act, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission enforces security standards for most of the nation's power plants, including facilities and control networks -- known as bulk power systems -- that connect power systems. But the commission does not have regulatory jurisdiction over electrical systems outside the continental United States and to local distribution facilities, which include some in large cities...

The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) has issued its 2004 Long-Term Reliability Assessment. The report assesses long-term electricity supply and demand and transmission reliability through 2013, and discusses key issues and trends affecting the reliability of future electric supply and transmission systems. “Resource adequacy is expected to be satisfactory throughout North America, provided new generating facilities are constructed as anticipated and NERC reliability rules are followed,” said Michehl R. Gent, NERC president and CEO. “NERC and the electric industry have taken significant steps to improve the reliability of the electric system since the Aug. 14 blackout, and we are...

Richard Drouin - Chairman Richard Drouin is currently Chairman of Abitibi-Consolidated, the largest newsprint manufacturer in the world. He is also a counsel in the law firm of McCarthy Tetrault. Earlier, he was the Chairman and CEO of Hydro-Québec. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Montreal and his law degree from l'Université Laval in Québec City. Mr. Drouin sits on the boards of Acres International, American Superconductor Corporation, Gesca (French daily newspapers), Provigo, nStein Technologies, Stelco, President's Choice Financial and the Sustainable Technologies Foundation of Canada. He is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. He...

TORONTO (CP) - A massive power outage that blacked out most of Ontario and several states in the northeastern United States on Thursday afternoon showed the deep interdependence of the North American power system. Canada trades significant quantities of electricity with the United States. Quebec is a major exporter to the northeast United States and together with Newfoundland and Labrador plans to make important expansions in electricity generating capacity. And the electricity grids in Canada and the U.S. link at 37 major points. Exports represent approximately seven per cent to 10 per cent of total Canadian generation and 1.2 per...