The country's main power grid watchdog warned Wednesday that there is a high risk of electricity shortages during the summer months due to the push to phase out fossil fuels.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) released its annual summer grid reliability assessment report and warned that with the exception of a portion of the East Coast, almost the entire grid could face power problems during periods of high demand.
In the report, the non-profit organization explained that much of the risk is due to increased reliance on renewable energy sources that in turn depend on favorable climates. According to NERC, if the wind generator's power output is lower than expected, there could be outages in one of the grids covering 15 central states in the country including Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The agency warned that summer heat waves could lead to a decrease in wind, which is also key for the Texas grid, Southwest Power Pool, Kansas, Oklahoma and parts of 12 states including Iowa and New Mexico.
NERC’s 2023 Summer Reliability Assessment finds that seven areas—the U.S. West, SPP and MISO, ERCOT, SERC Central, New England, and Ontario—may face supply shortages during higher demand levels if summer temperatures spike. Learn more: https://t.co/4KtjxkKTuj pic.twitter.com/rjsMXJCu37
— NERC (@NERC_Official) May 17, 2023
Solar panels are not entirely reliable either. In fact, NERC said that several western states in the country could experience power outages in the afternoon and evening hours due to the fact that power production in that area decreases considerably during those hours.
"The elevated risk profiles that we're seeing are driven by a combination of conventional generation retirements seen over the last couple of years, a substantial increase in forecasted peak demand and new loads coming — we are electrifying more than we ever had in the past", said John Moura, director of reliability assessment and performance analysis at NERC.
In addition to the agency, other experts have warned that the transition to green alternatives could have devastating effects on the country's people because it is being done so quickly with "unreliable and untested" energy.
