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Large parts of North America are at risk of “extreme winter power outages,” which could lead to blackouts and other power emergencies, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation said this winter. reliability assessment released on Thursday.
The U.S. power grids most at risk of outages are in Texas, the central system that stretches from the Great Lakes to Louisiana, and New England, according to NERC, the agency that oversees the reliability of local power grids. US.
In Texas, NERC predicts that electricity demand will increase more than 7% from last winter, leaving less space, generators and fuel threatened by a severe cold like February 2021 in Texas.
In the Midcontinent Independent System Operator region of the Midwest, NERC said storage capacity has fallen 5% since last winter as retiring generation outstrips replacement capacity.
In New England, NERC warned that the amount of fuel stored in electric power plants was only ~40% of the capacity.
But the overall report is less dire than a year ago, because the cold weather conditions for generating hydropower in the west have improved and the Southwest Hydroelectric Pool has increased the production of fresh air and gas.
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