Although the Gen. James M. Gavin Power Plant at Cheshire, Ohio, remains in operation, many coal-fired power plants in the Ohio Valle and elsewhere have been retired from service. Some have been demolished.
A cooling tower for the coal-fired Gen. James Gavin power plant looms over Cheshire, Ohio. Two coal-burning power plants in Pennsylvania were given permission by federal regulators to exceed their permitted emissions limits on Christmas weekend when gas-burning plants were unable to respond to high demand during a cold wave.
Although the Gen. James M. Gavin Power Plant at Cheshire, Ohio, remains in operation, many coal-fired power plants in the Ohio Valle and elsewhere have been retired from service. Some have been demolished.
A cooling tower for the coal-fired Gen. James Gavin power plant looms over Cheshire, Ohio. Two coal-burning power plants in Pennsylvania were given permission by federal regulators to exceed their permitted emissions limits on Christmas weekend when gas-burning plants were unable to respond to high demand during a cold wave.
A sudden blackout across Spain and Portugal earlier this month left 50 million people without electricity. While the cause of the outage is unclear, a leading culprit appears to be poorly integrated wind and solar resources. WhatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s clear is that, in an increasingly digital age, ensuring affordable and reliable power is more critical than ever.
The Spain-Portugal blackout came as U.S. power regulation authorities sounded an alarm about the safety of AmericaÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s electric grid and power supply. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” the nationÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s grid reliability regulator ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” warned that parts of AmericaÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s power grid could fail during a heat wave this summer.
Why is AmericaÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s power grid looking so shaky? And could SpainÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s massive blackout happen here?
Each summer, U.S. electricity demand soars. And when Americans crank up their air conditioners amid scorching summer heat, regional utilities must meet that hefty additional demand.
The problem is that there might not be enough electricity to go around.
The United States is suddenly using a lot more electricity than before. Electric vehicles, new manufacturing plants, and an exponentially growing array of data centers ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” which support the digital needs of cell phones, web browsers and AI systems ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” are gobbling up power. Power demand is growing so fast that, in the past year, NERC found AmericaÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s peak electricity needs grew by a staggering 10 gigawatts.
Surging demand is also colliding with the remnants of a regulatory agenda that aimed to wipe out AmericaÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s coal power plant fleet and make it impossible to build coal and natural gas power plants. While the Trump administration has worked to undo this misguided regulatory blitz, grid operators have lost essential dispatchable power plants that work on demand. TheyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re now increasingly reliant on renewable power systems subject to the weatherÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s whims.
Because of this, NERC says that grid operators ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œface challenges in meeting higher demand this summer with a resource mix that, in general, has less flexibility and more variability.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
The greatest threat to grids nationwide will be heat waves when demand spikes. Windless, scorching summer days ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” and evenings when solar power disappears ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” could leave grids alarmingly short of supply.
NERCÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s summer reliability warnings preview a growing risk. A few months ago, NERC warned in a long-term reliability assessment that more than half of North America faces a risk of energy shortfalls in the next five to 10 years as rising demand collides with the loss of traditional power plants.
The nationÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s energy regulators recognize thereÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a power supply emergency. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie has observed that America is now ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œlosing dispatchable generation at a pace that is not sustainable, and we are not adding sufficient equivalent generation capacity.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
The math is clear: The United States cannot afford to lose more existing power plants as we scramble to meet rising demand. The first place to start in addressing our looming power shortfalls is to ensure we donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t make our self-imposed hole deeper.
A power supply operating on the margins is a recipe for disaster. The Iberian blackout was a timely reminder of the risks we face. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s time to heed the warnings of our grid operators and reliability regulators and rebuild solid, long-term electricity generation while thereÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s still time.
Terry Jarrett is an energy attorney and consultant. He served on the board of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and the Missouri Public Service Commission. He wrote this column for .
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