Owen Klinsky
Contributor
Hundreds of millions of Americans risk experiencing power shortages this winter if weather conditions are harsh, according to a new report published by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a power grid watchdog.
Nearly all residents of the Northeast, Texas and Midwest could face energy shortfalls in the event of a colder-than-usual winter, the NERC report states. The lack of grid reliability is driven largely by growing electricity demand as well as the replacement of coal-fired and older natural gas-fired generators with energy-limited resources such as solar power. (RELATED: ‘Animal Protein Overconsumption’: UN Climate Confab Attendees Urge Countries To Implement Tax On Meat)
“Foreseeable extreme cold temperatures have the potential to push the existing natural gas supply infrastructure to maximum capacity,” the report warns. “Serving winter load is becoming more challenging and complex as coal-fired and older natural gas-fired generators retire and are replaced by variable and energy-limited resources.”
NERC’s 2024–2025 WRA finds much of North America at an elevated risk of #energy shortfalls in extreme conditions. No areas are identified as having a high risk and all areas are expected to have adequate resources under normal #winter peak load conditions. https://t.co/TOPhkCZumt pic.twitter.com/kANLz4dasl
— NERC (@NERC_Official) November 14, 2024
Read the rest HERE.
