WECC
NERC’s 2025 budget is set to rise 8.2% over the previous year to $123 million.
Pairing power-hungry data centers with clean energy resources is sparking mixed feelings among regulators, who say the grid already is straining with increased electrification and connecting new energy sources.
A proposed update to WECC’s long-term strategy has sparked a debate over whether the organization should describe itself as “The Voice of Reliability in the West.”
An emergency alert urging the public to conserve energy helped the Alberta Electric System Operator narrowly avert rolling blackouts during January’s extreme cold snap.
Collaboration among stakeholders will be crucial to maintaining Western grid reliability in the face of increasing demand posed by large loads such as new data centers, speakers said during a webinar hosted by WECC.
Intense heat coupled with this summer’s early and active fire season will likely increase the need for public safety power shutoffs later this year, according to utilities presenting at a California PUC workshop.
Five years ago, load growth from transportation electrification was a major issue for policymakers, according to speakers at a webinar. Now the focus has shifted to data centers.
Extreme heat in the Desert Southwest and low hydro in the Northwest could pose reliability problems for the Western Interconnection this summer, although the region doesn’t face an alarming risk for grid emergencies, WECC officials said.
State energy officials are “cautiously optimistic” about maintaining grid reliability during the upcoming summer, with California poised to benefit from above-normal snowpack and precipitation coupled with the probability of mild conditions in its coastal regions.
Arizona Public Service is prepared to implement public safety power shutoffs, and another utility in the state is laying the groundwork to use the wildfire prevention technique.
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