We’re beginning to learn more about the surprise announcement from grid operator PJM advising electric utility customers in Delaware and the region to reduce consumption on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
At the time, bitterly cold temperatures hit the PJM region, which includes the Mid-Atlantic and a portion of the Midwest.
It turned out that no rolling blackouts or other harsh measures were needed. However, the advisory came as something of a surprise since PJM announced early in the month it had more than enough reserve capacity to handle periods of frigid temperatures.
We now know that some generating plants that PJM relied on to supply peak power were struggling.
More serious problems surfaced in North Carolina, where a small portion of the state is part of the PJM grid.
Bloomberg reported that Duke Energy came perilously close to a failure of its grid as power plants failed to run at capacity The result was rolling blackouts that lasted longer than expected. Software issues were also a factor.
Had the Duke system collapsed, the result could have been cascading outages in our region and beyond.
It is now clear that the Carolina situation has eerie parallels with the February 2021 failure in Texas.
At the time, loose regulations, a lack of winter hardening of the grid and the Lone Star State’s decision to go it alone and not be part of a regional grid were cited.
To the surprise of few, alternative energy sources and even electric vehicles have been blamed in social media posts.
This came about even though utilities and grid operators reported that electric vehicles were a non-factor. Windpower in the PJM system performed well.
In the Texas debacle, wind energy took much of the heat, perhaps as a way to deflect blame. It is true that much of the state’s wind generation comes in the wide open spaces of the state and comes with the risks of long-distance power lines falling victim to ice and other factors.
It is true that a future with more wind and solar power and electric vehicles will require major investments.
Once we get past the half-truths and outright falsehoods about wind and solar, the task at hand for PJM and its member utilities is ensuring that reserve electric sources can perform as we experience more instances of extreme weather. – Doug Rainey, chief content officer.
Click here for the story from Bloomberg (limited page views)
Click here for the Saturday Evening Post story from 1930.
Click here for PJM story
