By Rick Lemonds, president & CEO of South Central Power Company
Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued proposed rules that would effectively close prematurely, I might add) most of the coal-fired power plants in the U.S. by 2030. In the meantime, we stand by and watch other countries such as India and China bring new coal-fired power plants online every week, if not every day.
Until recently, when your power went out it almost certainly was because of a problem with the local electric grid — wind gusts, a thunderstorm, car accident, tree falling, an animal. We deploy line workers, who live and work locally, to address these types of outages.
We are entering a different era when it comes to keeping the lights on. As our nation makes the shift away from reliance on coal and other fossil fuels for dispatchable or baseload generation — power that is always available with a consistent and predictable output — our multistate regional transmission operator (RTO), PJM, faces its own set of challenges. PJM coordinates the movement of vast amounts of power within a large and populous region of our country covering 13 states (and the District of Columbia). PJM is responsible for ensuring that electricity supply meets demand, and to maintain adequate reserves of power for events like extreme cold (or heat), when the demand for power spikes.
Due to market forces and state and federal environmental mandates, most of the generation being added in our region is from intermittent resources that require the sun to be shining and the wind to be blowing. This, coupled with the premature closing of dispatchable generation is now putting PJM in a difficult position — making sure there is enough supply to meet demand. Our electric grid is complex, and though it is built to withstand a host of difficult scenarios, there is a point at which too much, or too little, power can impact the ability to deliver electricity across widespread areas. It also has the potential to cause extensive damage to the equipment we use to deliver power to your homes and businesses. To prevent such damage, which could require repairs that could take days, weeks, or even months, RTOs across the country are increasingly forced to institute some form of power curtailment, which could include what is commonly known as “rolling blackouts.”
In late December 2022, PJM came dangerously close to having to implement plans for rolling blackouts, and several RTOs in other areas of the country could not avoid them, cutting power to homes at a time when residents were facing record cold temperatures. Each summer and winter, PJM and other RTOs issue forecasts, and each year, those of us in the power industry are seeing the chances of an event like this becoming increasingly likely. In November, PJM issued another dire forecast — supply could be less than demand during periods of cold weather — and utilities need to plan for outages (rolling blackouts) caused by lack of generation — not trees, cars, or animals. Well, there is very little our line workers can do to restore power when demand exceeds supply.
What we can — and will — do is continue to communicate with our members using all available means; last December, members responded to our request to conserve electricity and that helped the region avoid blackouts. We will prepare plans to “shed” or reduce load when ordered to do so by PJM. And, while we respect the need for regulations to protect our environment, we also believe we must balance aggressive mandates against our country’s need for affordable and reliable power even in the face of extreme cold. As industry leaders in Ohio and elsewhere interact with policy makers in D.C., our message will be simple — do not rush the transition toward renewable energy at the expense of the reliability of our grid.
We all depend on power — for warmth, for safety, and for economic prosperity. Let’s get it right, and let’s keep the lights on for everyone this winter and beyond. If you are interested in learning more, visit our website and navigate to “advocacy,” where you can read about what we’re doing to protect reliable power. Thank you for reading, and I wish you all a safe, warm, and happy new year.
From the January 2024 issue of Ohio Cooperative Living.