Southwest Power Pool (SPP), responsible for coordinating electric reliability in a 14-state area in the central United States, expects to have enough generation to meet energy demand despite higher regional temperatures this summer.
SPP will present its summer reliability forecast during its bi-annual Seasonal Preparedness and Emergency Communications User Forum meeting May 19.
“Reliability is SPP’s top priority,” said Bruce Rew, SPP senior vice president of operations. “Though we anticipate no major concerns this season, we are working proactively with our member utilities to monitor the grid and execute contingency plans. We collect data from past grid events and apply lessons learned to better prepare for operational challenges. We’re ready for this summer and are confident in our ability to keep the lights on for our member utilities and the 18 million people they serve.”
SPP conducts an assessment each year to identify and mitigate threats to energy reliability during the summer season lasting from June to September. The analysis considers factors such as historical and predicted future electricity use, weather forecasts, the variability of available wind energy, drought conditions and generation and transmission outages.
Seasonal forecasts indicate a 40-60% chance of warmer-than-average temperatures this summer within the SPP footprint. There are similar chances for below-average rainfall for most of the area covered by SPP. Given these expected conditions, SPP’s studies conclude there is high probability it will have sufficient native generation to meet the demand for electricity peak-usage hours over the summer season. This analysis does not consider the availability of energy imports from other regions, the impact of demand response programs that can automatically reduce demand in response to real-time conditions during peak hours, or the potential impact of voluntary conservation programs that incent consumers to reduce their electricity use when generating reserves are slim.
More details regarding the summer forecast, reliability assessment and general emergency preparedness will be shared during the Seasonal Preparedness and Emergency Communications User Forum May 19. The webinar is open to the public and requires registration via SPP.org at the link provided.
If extreme weather, unexpected outages or other circumstances affect the region, SPP has systems, tools and procedures ready to mitigate risks and maintain electric reliability. Under different scenarios, the grid operator may call on generating units to commit to run earlier or more often than usual, delay planned equipment outages, import energy from neighboring systems or tap into available reserves depending on the severity and duration of events affecting energy reliability.
If conditions threaten reliability, SPP will communicate with members, stakeholders and the public through the grid notice email distribution list and social media. Current grid conditions can be found at www.SPP.org/grid-conditions.
Source: SPP press release
