Power Outages Possible For Midwest: Is North Dakota At Risk?

Power Outages Possible For Midwest: Is North Dakota At Risk?

 

We only tend to think about power at our homes and businesses when it goes out, but with an aging and more strained grid, that could be more frequent in 2024.
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As of May 2023, the current estimate is that the US power grid strains 9.5 billion kWh per year. However, when fully transitioning to electric vehicles, the strain could increase to 1.25 trillion kWh per year.
More than 300 million people in the US and Canada face the growing possibility of electricity shortages beginning as early as 2024 and continuing to 2028.

NERC_WRA infographic_ 2023_board information copy

NERC_WRA infographic_ 2023_board information copy

 According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), over two-thirds of North Americans will experience power disruptions this year.

The primary causes, according to them, are the rising use of electrical grids and severe weather.

The question then becomes, where in the nation is the population most likely to experience blackouts?

The report identifies the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, as the system most vulnerable. This operator, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, supplies electricity to a wide range of states and territories, including South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

In a Reuters article from last August, an official from MISO spoke in frank terms about the reality of rolling blackouts that could occur in the Midwest for the next few years.

"We anticipate challenging operating conditions throughout the entire week, and we will need every available resource at some point," said Jessica Lucas, MISO's executive director – system operations.
"We have issued several alerts and advisories based on the weather forecast. More emergency procedures may be required to keep the power flowing. That’s typical for a weather event like this," Lucas said.
In the event of an unanticipated and worst-case scenario, these supplementary emergency protocols may include requests for energy saving as well as regulated, rotating outages to prevent uncontrolled blackouts.

WIND POWER IS KEY

Wind power capacity in MISO is close to 30,000 MW. According to the grid operator, wind is expected to contribute approximately 11,100 MW during Wednesday's peak hour and 7,400 MW during Thursday's peak hour.

According to the NERC, the availability of wind power will be a deciding factor in MISO's supply and reliability this summer.

"MISO can face challenges in meeting above-normal peak demand if wind generator energy output is lower than expected," NERC said in its Summer Reliability Assessment in May.
In 2022, about 34% of the power generated in MISO came from coal-fired plants, with most of the rest coming from gas (33%), wind (16%) and nuclear (14%), federal energy data showed.

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Grumpy Old Men's Minnesota Filming Locations

Does your family have some Family Movies? I mean those films that get played a lot in your house. The go-to bits of joy that make a day better, and are far more fun than watching The Weather Channel for an hour. 

Growing up, our family movies included Grease (my parent's favorite movie), Bill and Ted, and Back to the Future. Now, with my spouse and kids, our family movies include Twister and Wall-E in heavy rotation. We also have long been obsessed with the Grumpy Old Men films. 

The movie Grumpy Old Men, and its sequel, take place in Minnesota. They’re about a pair of lifelong frenemies, Max and John, played by Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. They’re a couple of grumps living their retirement ice fishing and tormenting each other.

The movie was written and directed by Hastings, Minnesota native Mark Steven Johnson. And he made The Land of 10,000 Lakes one of the stars of the film.

The 1993 movie was shot in Minnesota, mainly at locations around Minneapolis and St Paul. Which means many of the locations are still there. So, we decided to take a Grumpy Old Men tour and see where they filmed this classic.

Gallery Credit: Ben Kuhns

Filed Under: energy, North Dakota
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