A 7.0 earthquake rocks the west coast. A category 5 hurricane hits the south. A sweltering record heat wave melts the plains states. Paralyzing snowstorms slam the northeast. During the recovery, electricity is down, natural gas stops flowing, and the nation’s energy system is severely strained. Rapid reallocation of energy resources is critical in these Continue reading →
heat wave
Two of the four Texas power plants that are being brought out of mothballs to handle the state’s record-breaking summer electric demand are online today, ready to backstop a grid that was stretched nearly to its breaking point this month. via Fuel Fix » Help for Texas power grid comes online.
I live in Dallas, TX, and it’s been hot this year — scorching hot — not unlike many other cities across the U.S. As people crank up their air conditioners in attempt to find relief, the utility’s solution for preventing rolling blackouts has been a simple request to customers: “please turn off your electronics.” Good Continue reading →
As this summer’s sizzling heat shatters records across the U.S., consumers may find that their energy bills are even higher than the temperature. There seems to be no relief in sight for the heat, but now people can manage their energy usage smarter and better to ease the pressure on their wallets. via Smarter Energy: Continue reading →
Comverge, Inc. COMV -11.77% , a leading provider of Intelligent Energy Management solutions for Residential and Commercial + Industrial customers, today announced it has helped local utilities and grid operators in Texas minimize the impact of an extreme heat wave that has placed record breaking demand on the electricity grid. With almost 40 consecutive days Continue reading →
Hot summers are certainly not novel in Texas, but for the electric grid, the triple digits recently pushed capacity to new levels. Texas’ power grid set record level power use for three consecutive days last week. The high demand topped off at 68,294 megawatts on Wednesday. The near-peak electricity use continued through the end of Continue reading →
Record high temperatures and months of drought in Texas have driven peak demand for electricity, setting the stage for NI Week’s Industry Experts Panel. With temperatures of 106 degrees, not only did the first week of August break records for Austin, TX, home of automation and instrumentation vendor National Instruments, but local demand for electricity Continue reading →
As blistering heat bakes the United States this month, it has been megawatts and “negawatts” to the rescue. Power generation plants of all sorts have been able to keep air conditioners running. But last Friday, under the assault of a record heat wave, they were helped by demand response programs that were activated to raise Continue reading →
With record-setting heat roiling the U.S. this summer, air conditioners are working overtime to keep everyone cool. That spike in electricity demand can overwhelm “the grid:” the wires, transformers, meters, power plants and everything in between. But thanks to ongoing innovations in wireless communications and power systems structure, the grid is getting better at handling Continue reading →
A record-breaking heat wave is causing record-breaking electricity demand in several parts of the country. Those utilities with demand response capabilities are seeing them put to the test for real. For instance, the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) is proposing a permanent approach for demand response for sustained periods of high demand. via Smart Continue reading →
The sky-high temperatures are making demand for electricity soar right up there with the mercury. So with near-record loads on the power system, why aren’t there running blackouts? One big reason is an innovative Boston company. EnerNOC effectively sells power to grid operators only during peak times when they need it most. via No Rolling Continue reading →
It’s baking in New York City, with temperatures hitting over 100 degrees (feels like 105 with the humidity), and excessive heat warnings are telling people to avoid strenuous activity outside. Over 10,000 people have checked in to “Heatpocalypse” on FourSquare. On these blazing summer days you should be thinking about everything your utility is doing to Continue reading →
With this summer’s lengthy heat waves and record demand for electricity, the need to prevent widespread blackouts is again throwing conservation — and the aging electrical grid — onto center stage. GE’s Bob Gilligan just wrote a piece for Bloomberg Businessweek in which he explains that firing up expensive “peaker plants” to add extra power Continue reading →
An old Cleantechnica writer (actually, our previous editor), Ariel Schwartz, wrote a great article this week on how a nascent smart grid helped to prevent brownouts and blackouts in New York during a record-breaking heat wave earlier this month. Although our nation’s electricity grid has a ways to go before we can really call it Continue reading →
On August 14, 2003, the Northeastern and Midwestern United States were hit by the biggest blackout in the nation’s history. In total, approximately 55 million people lost power—all because of an overloaded power line in Ohio (it was a hot day) that made contact with some overgrown trees and shut down, creating a domino effect Continue reading →
On the third day of last week’s heat wave, Charlie Canny, the executive director of facilities for Sussex County Community College, was wondering if he would be called on to help keep the regional power grid from breaking under the strain of surging demand. via Smart grid technology creates virtual power plants when electricity demand Continue reading →
The brutal heat wave punishing the American northeast has underscored the need for smart grid technologies. Bob Gilligan, vice president of General Electric’s Digital Energy business says it is imperative to invest overhauling the power infrastructure. “As record-breaking temperatures in the northeastern United States have consumers turning up their air conditioners, our overburdened electric grid Continue reading →
