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Fossil Fuels Power US Grid as Deadly Winter Storm Exposes Clean Energy Limits
Energy Secretary Chris Wright ordered up to 35 GW of backup generation to avoid blackouts as extreme cold pushes demand beyond forecasts, with real-time costs soaring in multiple regions.
- PJM warned that a massive winter storm will push demand to surpass 130,000 megawatts for seven days through Feb. 1, activating emergency measures including utilities like BGE, Pepco, and Dominion.
- Arctic cold and gas-infrastructure strain have tightened supplies as Gulf Coast gas infrastructure is vulnerable to single-digit temperatures and benchmark natural gas prices surged more than 80 percent, with NERC warning some regions lack sufficient energy.
- PJM told the DOE it has experienced outages trending up to 20,000 MW, while gas met more than 39% of load and real-time costs soared as demand outpaced forecasts by over 3 percent.
- Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm warned that maintaining affordable, reliable power in the PJM region is non-negotiable as Winter Storm Fern brings extreme cold, with MISO operating under alert on Saturday after unplanned outages.
- PJM has announced reforms including an emergency 'backstop' auction as spare capacity is projected to drop below target within two years amid scrutiny over rising prices and datacenter demand, while grid-scale batteries offer instant stabilization but gas-fired plants will likely dominate new capacity.
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48 Articles
48 Articles
DOE issues emergency orders to mitigate blackouts in New England, Texas
(The Center Square) – U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued emergency orders to mitigate blackouts in New England and Texas as 24 states have declared an emergency due to an Arctic blast moving across the U.S. over the weekend.
COLUMNIST: Battery test starts now
A massive winter storm has hit, stretching from the desert Southwest to New England. Power grids are on high alert, mindful of the blackouts or near misses when similar conditions hit in recent years. How well they fare will be a test of the work done since to weatherize electricity supply, and a test of grid-stabilizing batteries. For the latter, this storm could be like an early Super Bowl ad.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources48
Leaning Left7Leaning Right4Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution39% Left, 39% Center
Bias Distribution
- 39% of the sources lean Left, 39% of the sources are Center
39% Center
L 39%
C 39%
R 22%
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