Will It Be “Lights Out” For Parts of America This Summer?

The 2013 Summer Reliability Assessment from NERC highlights that some states are well below the reserve capacity that’s recommended to cope with peak demand of electricity. The report, published in May, shows major concerns about Southern California and Texas stating:

“Tight supply may lead to operational challenges”

Peak demand in Texas has  risen, but production and spare capacity hasn’t, leading to a deficit of 1% between supply and demand.

Much of Texas is bone dry, with scarcely any moisture to be found in the top layers of soil. Grass is so dry it crunches underfoot in many places. The nation’s leading cattle-producing state endured its driest seven-month span on record, and some ranchers had to cull their herds to avoid paying supplemental feed costs. (Source)

Overall, the spare capacity reserve margin is down just under 1% across the country.

If the incredibly dry and hot weather that some states have experienced for the last two years continues this summer, demand will rise ever higher and lead into a situation where rolling blackouts would be considered as one way of dealing with the situation.

Lets hope spare capacity increases before winter…especially if its a bad one.

You can read the full report here.