Blackouts

California’s grid operator this week brushed off recent FERC staff criticism of its handling of last summer’s heat wave that resulted in state-ordered rolling blackouts throughout the nation’s most populous state last Aug. 14-15. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s staff concluded that the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) overestimated the capacity available from demand response…

The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) overestimated the capacity available from demand response and renewables during a period of rolling power outages in August, FERC staff said during a presentation Thursday. However, against the wishes of Chairman James Danly, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during its monthly meeting voted 2-1 against a proposed order to…

Last week’s freezing temperatures in the Southwest, which froze some natural gas wells in Texas’ Barnett Shale and caused rolling blackouts in much of the state, were the most severe test of Texas natural gas deliverability since the winter of 1989, a reliability council representative told the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) Tuesday.

Rolling blackouts are generally considered a scourge of hot summer days when electricity demand for air conditioning pushes generation and transmission beyond capacity. However, electric utilities that rely on gas-fired generators are vulnerable during the winter due to the potential for gas well freeze-offs. Xcel Energy and some of its Colorado customers found this out over the holiday weekend.

Rolling blackouts are generally considered a scourge of hot summer days when electricity demand for air conditioning pushes generation and transmission beyond capacity. However, electric utilities that rely on gas-fired generators are vulnerable during the winter due to the potential for gas well freeze-offs. Xcel Energy and some of its Colorado customers found this out over the holiday weekend.

Hoping last week’s transmission emergency that resulted in isolated rolling blackouts will make a difference, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Wednesday reintroduced his plan to reorganize the state’s scattered energy functions into one cabinet-level Energy Department.

State and industry officials last Tuesday told a California legislative committee hearing that parts of Southern California may face blackouts this summer if unusually hot weather is experienced. The latest forecast showed a 1.5%, or 2,000 MW, supply shortfall in periods of peak demand in September, according to testimony given to a special meeting of the state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee in Sacramento.

Not to be outdone by the widespread blackouts experienced in the Northeast, Texas was bracing for what could become Hurricane Erika touching down in Brownsville, TX. At presstime Friday evening, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) expected Tropical Storm Erika to make landfall in South Texas and Northeastern Mexico as a hurricane.

Noting that the advent of rolling blackouts constitute a threat to the state’s health and welfare, California’s two top legislative leaders Tuesday filed a suit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, requesting the court to order the federal regulators to provide just and reasonable wholesale electricity rates.