NERC

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) is warning reliability challenges have grown urgent as the nation’s power system grapples with a “hyper-complex risk environment.”  The grid operator that serves 15 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba, in its updated Reliability Imperative report released on Feb. 22, flagged several critical challenges that the region […]

Incremental unplanned generation outages triggered during Winter Storm Elliott spiked to 90.5 GW—significantly more than the 61.8 GW during Winter Storm Uri in 2021—representing 13% of the U.S. portion of anticipated resources in the Eastern Interconnection. That finding, one of many disturbing details unveiled by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and North American Electric […]

While power outages are not uncommon in the U.S., widespread blackouts that last more than a couple of hours are pretty rare. However, this summer marks the 20th anniversary of one of the most significant blackouts in North American history. The incident didn’t just affect the U.S., but also major parts of Canada. The blackout […]

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 […]

As the energy transition to inverter-based resources continues, reliability risk increases and requires additional investment to mitigate threats. But what measures should be put in place, what are the

Washington, D.C. – In a recent letter to PJM Interconnection, America’s Power explained that near-term coal plant retirements could be three times greater than PJM anticipates in its recent white paper, thereby increasing the risk of electricity shortages.  The PJM paper examines the disconnect between increasing coal retirements, growing electricity demand, and the slow addition […]

Several major power companies have launched a software assurance database that will serve as a software bill of materials (SBOM) repository for the power industry. Part of a long-sought solution to address a critical supply chain cybersecurity risk, the collaborative effort announced on Feb. 8 seeks to help vendors identify and remediate vulnerabilities in software […]

A third power substation has been damaged by gunfire in North Carolina, prompting an FBI investigation. The incident on Jan. 17 is part of a spate of gunfire vandalism that has renewed physical security concerns at a federal level. The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office in Thomasville, central North Carolina, said the latest incident, believed to […]

So far, utilities have announced plans to retire some 93,000 MW (nameplate) of coal—almost half the existing coal fleet—by the end of this decade. Coal retirements combined with increasing penetration of

Assessments are underway to pin down factors that prompted emergencies, tight grid conditions, and even load-shedding by major entities as Winter Storm Elliot bore down on the North American bulk power system (BPS) this past week.    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC), and regional entities affiliated with […]