grid reliability

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has advanced three potential National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs) into Phase 3 of its designation process, focusing on areas with critical transmission constraints to enhance grid reliability and reduce consumer costs. The measure is historic—given no NIETCs currently exist despite a decades-long effort to establish them—and it marks […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed tougher nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions limits for new, modified, and reconstructed stationary combustion turbines. The proposed rule identifies a combination of combustion controls and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) as the Best System of Emission Reduction (BSER) for most turbines though it proposes combustion controls alone for certain smaller […]

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has launched an ambitious new initiative alongside power companies, grid operators, and several tech giants to establish five to 10 “flexibility hubs” that will demonstrate how data centers can be leveraged as flexible grid resources starting in the first half of 2025. EPRI’s three-year Data Center Flexible Load Initiative […]

American Electric Power (AEP) subsidiary AEP Ohio filed a settlement agreement with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) and key stakeholders on Oct. 23 to address the costs of power infrastructure improvements required for Ohio’s rapidly expanding data center industry. The agreement, which is subject to review and approval by PUCO, sets a precedent […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded capacity contracts of up to $1.5 billion to four major transmission lines under its Transmission Facilitation Program (TFP) to aid the transfer of 7.1 GW of new capacity throughout Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The DOE’s Grid Deployment Office (GDO) on Oct. 3 also released its […]

A project that will demonstrate the conversion of a former coal mine in Bell County, Kentucky, into a utility-scale 287-MW pumped storage hydroelectric facility has garnered federal backing from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). Rye Development, a pumped storage hydropower developer, on Sept. 25 secured $12.1 million—the first tranche […]

Through its innovative virtual power plant (VPP), Arizona Public Service (APS) harnessed smart home devices to save 138 MW during a historic heatwave, shifting peak demand and proving critical for grid

All regions across the bulk power system (BPS) are generally prepared to meet resource adequacy criteria to meet normal peak demand this summer, but ongoing concerns about extreme weather events, rapid demand growth, and systemic vulnerabilities still pose significant risks for supply shortfalls and grid reliability, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) has warned. […]

The “hypercomplex” risk environment in which the North American power sector operates is underscoring the urgency for strategic initiatives to enhance grid reliability and security across North America, the head of the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) told reporters on April 4. NERC CEO Jim Robb, in a briefing, said the hypercomplex risk environment […]

The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is poised to become the first regional transmission organization (RTO) to provide coordinated operation across the Eastern and Western Interconnections, bridging a historic gap to potentially boost regional reliability, savings, and efficiencies. SPP, which has operated as an RTO since 2004, currently has 110 member companies in its Eastern Interconnection […]

The North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) will for the first time consider “energy policy” among five significant evolving and interdependent risks to grid reliability. In its latest biennial ERO Reliability Risk Priorities Report, the designated North American Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) identifies energy policy as a new risk priority alongside grid transformation, resilience to extreme […]

California’s grid operator issued a Stage 3 energy emergency alert (EEA) at 5:17 p.m. PST on Sept. 6, warning it would order rotating power outages to lower soaring power demand and stabilize its grid, if necessary. The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) cautiously raised the emergency alert from Stage 2, which it had declared earlier […]

How companies respond to the COVID-19 pandemic will determine their public reputations, and those of their leaders and key employees, for years if not decades. This, along with public safety, is why “Priority Number One” for the CEOs of power producers, utilities, and grid operators is to make sure critical employees, such as control room […]

Markets may currently favor natural gas, but coal, which has been diminished for “good reason,” will likely have a significant place as a reliable fuel for power generation, a diverse panel of U.S. coal experts—including a generator, a supplier, and a market analyst—suggested at CERAWeek by IHS Markit in Houston on March 7. Coal lost […]

In a long-awaited study of electricity markets and grid reliability, the Department of Energy has called out natural gas as the No. 1 reason for retirements of coal and nuclear plants, breaking from the Trump administration’s prior talking point blaming regulations and renewables for the nation’s shrinking coal and nuclear fleets. The report attributes four […]

If you’ve been paying attention to the power markets in recent years, you know that merchant coal and nuclear power plants are struggling to compete against natural gas-fired generation and renewable

A $38 million transmission line CLOVIS, N.M. (Oct. 6, 2016) – Xcel Energy has energized a new high-voltage transmission line across the New Mexico-Texas state line that is supporting a growing economy in eastern New Mexico and West Texas. The new Curry-to-Bailey 115-kilovolt transmission line cost approximately $38 million and spans more than 37 miles between the Curry […]

Duke Energy announced the completion of a 2-MW battery-based energy storage system that has been installed to increase power grid reliability and stability for the PJM regional transmission organization. Installed at its retired W.C. Beckjord coal-fired power plant in New Richmond, Ohio, construction began in August, and the system was placed in operation on Nov. […]

Reliability of the bulk power system may not be as sexy as news of “got-rich-quick” energy traders and alleged insidious market manipulation. But for those on the ground balancing the practicalities of ensuring electricity arrives when and where it is needed with a carousal of mandatory regulations, it can be every bit as interesting. Cue […]

Although there has been plenty of discussion in the U.S. power industry about the challenges posed by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP), Missouri-based Ameren Corp. is the first generating company to go public with a specific set of proposed revisions. On Feb. 11, Ameren released a white paper that proposed […]

Ten witnesses from federal and state regulatory agencies, a public power entity, environmental groups, and power companies today outlined a number of threats to the bulk power system’s reliability in a Senate hearing to assess whether enough was being done to keep the lights on. General measures to address day-to-day issues affecting reliability—such as tree […]