Puget Sound Energy, an energy utility in Washington, reported two cases of vandalism at two substations in late November to the FBI and peer utilities, but said the incidents appeared to be unrelated to other recent attacks. It said it was “actively cooperating” with the FBI. Portland General Electric, a public utility that provides electricity to nearly half of the state’s population, said it had begun repairs after suffering “a deliberate physical attack on one of our substations” that also occurred in the Clackamas area in late November 2022. “We were fortunate to avoid any power supply disruption, which would have jeopardized public safety, increased financial damages and presented challenges to the community on a holiday.”Īny attack on electric infrastructure “potentially puts the safety of the public and our workers at risk”, said BPA, which delivers hydropower across the Pacific north-west. “Someone clearly wanted to damage equipment and, possibly, cause a power outage,” said John Lahti, the utility’s transmission vice-president of field services. Terry Jarrett is an energy attorney and consultant who has served on both the board of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and the Missouri Public Service Commission.Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) said in a statement on Thursday that it was seeking tips about “trespassing, vandalism and malicious damage of equipment” at a substation in Clackamas county on 24 November that caused damage and required cleanup costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Let’s build upon the foundation we have, not scrap it before we know it can be reliably replaced. That begins with listening to the folks charged with ensuring that lights and heat come on when we need them. There’s a responsible way to reach our energy future. Such regulatory onslaught - and the rapid plant closures that will follow - is precisely the opposite of what reliability experts and regulators recommend.Ĭongress and the states must push back on the EPA’s misguided agenda.

The cost of this compliance will make it all but impossible for utilities to keep these plants running. The EPA is stacking six rules together designed to accelerate coal plant retirements. These plants are particularly important during peak demand - and often come to the rescue when other sources of power aren’t available. coal fleet - which continues to provide 20 percent of the nation’s power. With apparently no regard for grid reliability, the EPA is charging ahead with a regulatory onslaught aimed at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is steering in a very different direction. Reliability regulators and grid operators are begging for policy that doesn’t short-change the need for a bridge to the future, and recognizes the importance of the generating capacity we currently have. But how we manage that change is the critical question. The nation’s power grid is undoubtedly evolving. However, PJM was already working hard just to maintain its own power during frigid conditions. That’s exactly what happened in Tennessee this Christmas - when the Tennessee Valley Authority expected to draw power from Mid-Atlantic states in the PJM Interconnection. When one area of the country runs short of power, local grid operators typically race to import electricity from other states. However, regions that were once home to plenty of fuel security and reliability are finding themselves stretched thin trying to supply neighboring states. And bitterly cold, cloudy and windless days are a recipe for power shortfalls. That’s because renewable power systems perform at the mercy of the weather. There’s a real mismatch between what intermittent wind and solar power can provide and what they’re trying to replace.Įven as the total amount of generating potential across regional grids increases, the actual power available during periods of peak demand has been falling. These losses have now exposed cracks in grid reliability, but additions of wind and solar power are struggling to fill them. Regulatory pressure and market failures have meant that the retirement of these plants has eliminated a large chunk of the generating capacity that once anchored America’s power grid. The United States has rapidly lost many of its sturdiest coal and nuclear power plants.

power grid - we’re just a few years away from a tipping point. According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) - which oversees the reliability of the U.S. It once seemed unthinkable, but we’re approaching a time when blackouts could become a regular occurrence in the United States. America’s electric grid - and its reliable supply of power - are in trouble.

North american electrical grid