The Southwest Power Pool credits “coordination” for successfully steering through Winter Storm Fern and its impact on keeping the lights on in its 14-state grid, which includes Oklahoma
The SPP, in a statement, said Winter Storm Fern posed significant challenges to electric reliability across much of the country, including Southwest Power Pool’s (SPP) 14-state footprint. Demonstrating the value of regional coordination, SPP and its member utilities worked together to maintain continuous supply of wholesale electricity and a dependable transmission network throughout the event.
While some individual utilities experienced local outages due to weather-related factors, SPP avoided region-wide outages despite the highest demand for electricity so far this winter season.
In the days preceding the storm, SPP monitored system conditions and coordinated with operators across its footprint and in neighboring systems. SPP issued advisories to raise awareness among grid partners, support timely ramp-up of needed generation, and help safely mitigate the impacts of outages at generating and transmission facilities. During periods when the region had excess generating capacity, SPP assisted neighboring regions. Despite hazardous weather conditions, SPP’s and its member utilities’ preparation helped safeguard against widespread outages.
“Every event of this magnitude poses its own unique set of challenges,” said SPP Vice President of Operations C.J. Brown. “We take very seriously the responsibilities we have as a grid operator, and we work diligently with our member utilities to take necessary precautionary measures that support grid reliability. We are very grateful for our operators’ and our member utilities’ collective efforts and are pleased with how the grid performed during Winter Storm Fern.”
Winter Storm Fern began to impact the grid as early as Jan. 24, especially in the southeastern part of SPP’s territory. The regional grid, however, experienced its greatest challenges Monday, Jan. 26 when the storm’s coldest overall temperatures drove demand for electricity to a high mark for this winter season. SPP system demand peaked that morning at approximately 46,000 megawatts (MW).
Cold temperatures are still predicted across the SPP region in the coming days, and load is forecast to remain in the mid-40,000 MW range. Conditions and forecasts are subject to change, and additional advisories and mitigation steps are possible, but SPP expects normal operations and grid stability for the foreseeable future. SPP also continues to coordinate with utilities who may be recovering from Winter Storm Fern’s impacts to local infrastructure for some time.