The rolling blackouts in Texas triggered by a severe winter storm have highlighted the isolated nature of the state's main electric grid and focused attention on the reliability of wind and renewable sources, leaving experts to question what needs to be done to ensure systems can operate even at extreme temperatures.
Thursday, February 18, 2021
Background
Over Presidents’ Day weekend 2021, an unprecedented cold weather event hit the Midwest and South central United States. The storm led to major disruptions to infrastructure throughout the region, including icy road conditions, frozen pipes, and an estimated 3 million Texans still without power.
[1] This is the result of a confluence of circumstances, including but not limited to frigid temperatures freezing generation and transmission equipment, shortages in natural gas supply and energy demand greatly exceeding supply, and Texas’ practice of operating separately from the rest of the bulk electric system.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (“ERCOT”), Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (“SPP”), and Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (“MISO”) are implementing rolling blackouts throughout the affected regions in an attempt to ensure no area is without power for too long. Nonetheless, the blackou
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