Monopoly Area Monday

 


Monopoly Area Monday

Welcome to Grid Brief! Today, we’re looking at power generation in America’s traditional monopoly areas with relevant news items. Scroll to the end for great conversation starters about Texas’ ruling on price gouging and more.

Natural gas was at-the-ready to bolster national energy needs as an earlier-than-usual heatwave began to wash across the US leading up to Father’s Day.

And here’s a map to orient you as we move through the areas:

 

Northeast

Natural gas was able to pick up the increased demand as a heatwave started to move across the Northeast.

Carolinas

The Carolinas saw a steady week of supply and demand as coal plants and renewables offset each others production to maintain needed power.

 

Tennessee (TVA)

TVA and local utility providers have partnered to request a $350M grant to bolster clean energy and improve their grid infrastructure this week.

 

Southeast

The region experienced a significant increase in electricity demand due to a heatwave, leading to higher than usual natural gas consumption for cooling needs.

Arkansas-based Southwest Power Pool is putting in a bid to become the first east-west linking interconnector.

 

Florida

Florida saw a substantial boost in solar energy production during the day, helping to offset the increased demand caused by the heatwave.

 

Texas (ERCOT)

Wind energy showed variability, with an unusually high output towards the end of the week, but remained a crucial part of the grid, supported by natural gas to meet the high demand during hot afternoons.

ERCOT leader, Pablo Vegas, suggested at a meeting last week that Texas may well need to double its energy production in the next 6 years.

 

Northwest

Hydropower continued to be the leading source of electricity, supported by consistent rainfall and snowmelt. Wind energy also made significant contributions.

A power transmission project to connect Montana to midwestern grids has picked up a key investor.

 

Southwest

A rather predictable week saw natural gas continuing to push the bulk of daylight power. To prepare for increasing demand one major generator is asking to expand without a traditional public comment process.

 

Conversation Starters

Rep. Velázquez Urges DOE to Track Puerto Rico's Economic Losses from Power Outages. Rep. Nydia Velázquez has called on the U.S. Department of Energy to help Puerto Rico quantify the economic impact of its recurring power outages, which have severely affected residents and businesses.

FERC Welcomes New Members Amid Potential Political Shifts. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has added two Democrats and one Republican, restoring its full five-member complement just as it implements a major power grid rule, with implications for future energy policy depending on upcoming elections.

Texas Supreme Court Upholds $9,000 Electricity Price Cap During 2021 Winter Storm. The Texas Supreme Court ruled that state regulators acted correctly in raising electricity prices to their maximum level during Winter Storm Uri, a decision reversing a lower court's ruling and impacting the state's power grid stability strategies.

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