Power Grid

America's Power Grid Is Showing Signs of Strain During Brutal Cold - Bloomberg

America's power grid is starting to show signs of fatigue as the nation grapples with a record-breaking cold snap. In the Midwest, some natural gas plants are having trouble getting supplies, forcing outages and increased use of fuel oil, Dustin Smith, a spokesman for the Southwest Power Pool, said on Tuesday.

Some power plants in New England that have been burning oil are running short on fuel, according to Marcia Blomberg, a spokeswoman for ISO New England Inc., the region's grid operator. Restrictions governing air emissions are also a factor limiting their use.

"As oil inventories are depleted, replenishment of these fuels will be important given the uncertainty around weather and future fuel demands for the remaining two months of the winter period," she said by email on Tuesday.

Oil, a scant contributor to the nation's power supply in normal weather conditions, has accounted for about 30 percent of New England's electricity in recent days after temperatures plunged below freezing. A lack of pipeline capacity has constrained gas supplies to the region in recent years, causing prices to surge during severe cold snaps.

- Father God, as this "winter hurricane" reaches our coastal areas and moves inland, in combination with the frigid air now blasting us from the Arctic, we ask that our power grid would hold. Thank You, Lord, amen.

- Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. (Jeremiah 32:17)