FERC worried about power plant problems in winter weather

How to survive a power outage in the winter

 

The challenging winter storms of the past few years, notably Winter Storm Uri of 2021, certainly have the attention of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

It delved into the disastrous and deadly events of of Winter Storm Uri that pounded Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and other states. As a result, FERC issued a report that focused mainly on the electric grid in Texas but also the challenging power problems that affected Oklahoma and other members of the Southwest Power Pool.

FERC recently came out with a new report regarding Winter Storm Elliott which caused power outages along the East Coast. In the report, the agency said more has to be done to require power plants and natural gas pipelines to be better prepared for such natural events.

As the Houston Chronicle’s Fuel Fix reported, staff at the commission detailed how more than 1,700 power generation units had to shut down or reduce power due to cold weather during last year’s Winter Storm Elliott. More than 800 of them were natural gas plants.