Winter Storm Fern posed significant challenges to electric reliability across much of the country in late January, including Southwest Power Pool’s (SPP) 14-state regional footprint.
Demonstrating the value of regional coordination, SPP and its member utilities worked together to maintain continuous supply of wholesale electricity and a dependable transmission network throughout the multi-day event in late January.
While some individual utilities experienced local outages due to weather-related factors, SPP avoided region-wide outages despite the highest demand for electricity so far this winter season.
In the days preceding the storm, SPP monitored system conditions and coordinated with operators across its footprint and in neighboring systems. SPP issued advisories to raise awareness among grid partners, support timely ramp-up of needed generation, and help safely mitigate the impacts of outages at generating and transmission facilities. During periods when the region had excess generating capacity, SPP assisted neighboring regions. Despite hazardous weather conditions, SPP’s and its member utilities’ preparation helped safeguard against widespread outages.
NMPP Energy staff and Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) wholesale power participant communities were among utilities in SPP’s region that monitored the storm, including market pricing activity, and coordinated with SPP to help maintain reliability of the regional grid.
Several of MEAN’s wholesale power participant communities that own their own local electric generation were called on by SPP to operate their generation units during the storm, assisting to help meet regional electric demand.
These units typically are in stand-by mode for much of the year, operating only in emergency situations such as local power outages or to address regional peak demand or reliability issues in extreme weather conditions like Winter Storm Fern. MEAN’s annual testing program ensures these local units are ready to run on short notice when called upon.
“Every event of this magnitude poses its own unique set of challenges,” said SPP Vice President of Operations C.J. Brown. “We take very seriously the responsibilities we have as a grid operator, and we work diligently with our member utilities to take necessary precautionary measures that support grid reliability. We are very grateful for our operators’ and our member utilities’ collective efforts and are pleased with how the grid performed during Winter Storm Fern.”
Winter Storm Fern began to impact the grid as early as Jan. 24, especially in the southeastern part of SPP’s territory. The regional grid, however, experienced its greatest challenges Monday, Jan. 26 when the storm’s coldest overall temperatures drove demand for electricity to a high mark for the winter season. SPP system demand peaked that morning at approximately 46,000 megawatts.