Two U.S. grids at risk for blackouts in latest heat wave
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Two major U.S. power grids serving more than 70M customers said Thursday they are at risk for blackouts as yet another brutal heatwave blankets Texas and other states in the central part of the country.
Temperatures in Iowa will reach 100F and parts of Texas will hit 107F, with heat alerts stretching across 20 states, the National Weather Service said.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, urged its 26M customers to voluntarily conserve power as it expects a "reserve capacity shortage with no market solution available... which causes a risk for an [Energy Emergency Alert] event."
ERCOT forecasts demand for Texas' grid reach 85,296 MW on Thursday, falling just short of its most recent demand record of 85,435 MW set earlier this month.
While not expecting demand to hit a record, ERCOT said reserves would fall short because some power plants may not be available.
Next-day prices at the ERCOT North Hub, which includes Dallas, reportedly soared to $925/MWh for Thursday from $255/MWh for Wednesday, compared with a YTD average of $75 and a five-year 2018-22 average of $66.
Also at risk is the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, of MISO, which oversees the grid servicing 45M customers in 15 states covering most of the central U.S. ranging from Louisiana to Minnesota.
"Due to the extreme heat creating near-record electricity demand and unplanned generation outages over the last 12 hours, MISO has declared [an energy emergency alert]," MISO told Reuters.
"While stressed, the power grid remains stable and declaring [the alert] allows MISO to access additional resources to maintain reliability," MISO said.
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