outages

South African officials, faced with continued power outages that are hurting the country’s economy, are turning to nuclear power in an effort to support a more reliable supply of electricity. The country has experienced intermittent blackouts, part of a process known as load shedding, since 2008. The outages, imposed by state-owned utility Eskom, have escalated […]

An official with South Africa’s government said the country will accelerate its development of natural gas-fired power generation as energy shortages continue to be a challenge for the nation’s economy. Kgosientshjo Ramakgopa, the country’s electricity minister, on Nov. 5 detailed plans for at least 3 GW of new gas-fired capacity. South Africa has endured rolling […]

Climate change is a threat multiplier. Clean-up costs are ballooning and natural disasters are growing more expensive. In 2022 alone there were 18 natural disasters that caused more than $1 billion in damage, up from only three events in 1980. These are taking a bigger bite out of the energy sector’s operating costs and profits, […]

Electrical substations utilize direct lightning stroke shielding to help ensure proper operation, and to prevent costly damages and extended outages. While modern substation designs and equipment make them

The energy crisis in South Africa has prompted continued calls for government action, and officials in January said an energy action plan announced last year is starting to be implemented. The plan was laid

Major French utility Electricite de France SA (EDF) said it will again extend maintenance outages at some of its nuclear reactors by several months, meaning France will continue to import power and putting more strain on the country’s supply of electricity. EDF has returned some nuclear units to service in the past several weeks, but […]

More than 2.5 million electricity customers in Florida were without power early Sept. 29 as Hurricane Ian wreaked havoc on the state’s power grid and continued to cause damage with high winds and heavy rain, even after being downgraded to a tropical storm early Thursday. The storm, which made landfall in southwest Florida on Wednesday […]

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on June 22 initiated the first step to lift a suspension of its National Electricity Market (NEM), citing a “clear improvement in market conditions.” The measure comes more than a week since it indefinitely suspended spot markets in all regions of its NEM, given critical power generation supply shortfalls […]

In February 2021, a severe cold weather event, known as Winter Storm Uri, caused numerous power outages, derates, or failures to start at electric generating plants scattered across Texas and the south-central U.S. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the power supply for about 90% of the load in Texas, ordered a […]

ERCOT market participants are grappling with the resulting financial fallout from winter storm Uri, which devastated Texas in February. Many are now familiar with actions the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUCT) took during the weather event, moves made with the intent to bring and maintain as much generation online as possible. Most notable, the commission […]