Blackouts – American Conservative Movement

Rolling Blackouts Could Impact South Again This Winter

Chase Smith, The Epoch Times — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 05:40:52 +0000

(The Epoch Times)—As winter approaches, concerns about the reliability of the electric grid in the southern United States have been raised, especially after the rolling blackouts experienced last year.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC’s) 2023–2024 Winter Reliability Assessment (WRA) released earlier this month provides a comprehensive view of the potential challenges and readiness of the bulk power system (BPS) for the upcoming winter season.

This assessment is a crucial tool for informing industry leaders, planners, operators, and regulatory bodies about the potential risks and necessary actions to ensure reliable power supply during the winter months.

“This forecast again shows that our nation faces looming grid reliability challenges while demand for electricity continues to soar,” NERC CEO and former U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson said in a press release. “That’s unacceptable and should be cause for concern for all Americans. To avoid catastrophe, policymakers must recognize their role in threatening the reliability of the grid and take steps to help prevent rolling blackouts before it’s too late.”

Focus on the South

One of the key findings of the WRA is the risk of insufficient electricity supplies during peak winter conditions.

A significant portion of the North American BPS, including areas in the southern United States, is at risk because of prolonged cold snaps that can lead to high generator outages and increased demand, particularly from electric heating systems, according to the report.

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator region, which has seen an increase in available resources through new wind and natural-gas-fired generation, remains vulnerable to extreme cold-weather events, particularly in its southern areas.

These events can cause high generator outages due to inadequate weatherization or insufficient natural gas fuel supplies, such as was seen during outages in 2022 just before Christmas.

Similarly, the regions covered by PJM Interconnection, SERC-East, and SERC-Central are also at risk of energy emergencies during severe cold-weather events.

Despite having adequate resources for normal winter conditions, these regions’ generators are susceptible to decreases in capacity and outages under extreme conditions.

The assessment also highlighted the critical role of generator fuel supplies, particularly natural gas, in ensuring winter electricity demand is met.

The interconnected nature of the natural gas and electric systems means that disruptions in one can have significant effects on the other.

This was notably observed during Winter Storm Elliott, when natural gas production declines led to wide-area electricity and natural gas shortages.

Last Winter

Winter Storm Elliott, which struck in December 2022, was a “once-in-a-generation storm” that brought unprecedented challenges in particular to southern portions of the country serviced by federal energy utility the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

The storm affected most of the eastern continental United States, bringing heavy snowfall, high winds, and freezing rain, causing widespread travel disruptions and power outages.

The TVA, anticipating the storm, had developed a mid-term forecast and shared it with various teams to complete cold-weather readiness actions and winter readiness certification processes, according to a post-event report the agency released in May.

Despite these preparations, the storm’s speed, its intensity, and the resulting conditions exceeded the TVA’s forecasts and efforts.

The TVA system experienced its coldest average temperature since February 1996, with lows in major cities such as Nashville and Memphis dropping to 1 degree F. Energy demand surged, resulting in the highest 24-hour electricity demand supplied in the TVA’s history on Dec. 23, 2022, according to the report.

The TVA team worked to increase generation and meet the soaring demand. This involved dispatching units that weren’t previously in service and executing day-ahead, real-time, and emergency purchases.

Despite these efforts, the TVA faced significant challenges. Of its 232 generating units, 38 were negatively affected, mostly because instrumentation froze. This resulted in the TVA’s nuclear and hydro assets, which weren’t affected by the extreme weather, playing a crucial role in supporting energy demand during the event.

The severity and scale of Winter Storm Elliott led to decreased availability of TVA-owned and contracted electricity supply and decreases in imported electricity from neighboring markets. To maintain grid stability, the TVA was forced to implement emergency procedures, directing local power companies to reduce power demand, resulting in localized interruptions. This was the first time in the TVA’s 90-year history that such measures had to be taken.

NERC Recommendations

NERC states that coal, another vital fuel for electricity generation in winter, also faces challenges. Although generator owners report fewer coal supply issues than they had last winter, there are concerns about coal transportation, particularly in areas affected by drought conditions that could restrict coal availability and affect generator output, according to the report.

Another area of concern is the growing complexity in load forecasting during winter, the report says. The electrification of the heating sector and the increase in variable solar power resources add to the unpredictability of electricity demand, making it challenging to accurately forecast and plan for peak demand conditions.

Recommendations by the agency include reviewing seasonal operating plans, implementing cold-weather preparations, monitoring fuel supplies, and being prepared for potential reserve deficiencies.

Additionally, regulators are encouraged to support grid operators with environmental and transportation waivers and public appeals for energy conservation.

Events such as winter storms Uri in 2021 and Elliott in 2022 have underscored the need for improved cold-weather preparedness and coordination between generator owners and operators and BPS operators, the agency added.

The assessment stresses the importance of planning and coordination to address the various challenges that could affect the reliability of the electric grid in the southern United States during the winter to keep customers warm.

Grid Down: Things You Need to Do to Survive Long-Term Blackouts

Olivia Cook — Sat, 12 Aug 2023 17:17:01 +0000

Grids are collapsing due to natural disasters, and it won’t be long before cities experience blackouts. Here is a list of things you need to do to prepare for a grid down scenario. (h/t to UrbanSurvivalSite.com)

Accept the reality

There are many who believe that a future blackout impacting the U.S. is a matter of “if” and not “when,” and that’s exactly why preparations are so important. No one really knows what’s going to happen in the future. (Related: How to live without electricity like the Amish.)

Build your survival stockpile

Grow your own food and medicine. Create a sustainable survival garden, if you haven’t already.

Store the following and have extras:

Water, which is as crucial as food, if you want to survive.
Must-have healthy shelf-stable foods that you and your family already eat in daily life like whole grains, canned/preserved fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and poultry.
Storable staple foods, including salt, honey, apple cider vinegar, baking soda and coconut oil.
Special “survival food” that you don’t tear open until an emergency, such as MRE (meals, ready-to-eat) rations
First aid medical supplies, including prescription medicines required by members of your family, over-the-counter must-have medications, sanitizers, antibacterial substances and medical supplies.
Cash. You would be wise to have an emergency fund of cash at your home – at least $1,000 in a variety of $20, $10, $5 and $1 bills would be smart.
Barter items. Keep in mind that cash could potentially become useless too and bartering could take the place of cash in a long enough blackout. For this reason, consider building up a stash of barter items that you can exchange for your specific needs.
Alternative power and heating sources. Check out alternative heat sources to have on-hand.
Survival library. Check out survival and prepping PDF downloads for your ready reference.
Other items, such as items and tools that do not run on electricity – kitchen tools (manual can openers, hand-cranked grain grinder), general handyman tools (hand drills, hand saws), gardening tools and more.

Learn prepping skills

Make a list of things you consider important to your prepping and also things you would like to learn.

It can be cooking, food preservation and preparation, gardening, basic first aid for home emergencies, sewing or something you – or any of your family members – could turn into a side job at some point to help with the finances. (Related: 24 Important homesteading skills to learn before SHTF.)

Simulate a grid-down experience at home and practice your skills

Prepping is all about how well you can survive when all your comforts are taken away. Try to perform your activities when resources and conveniences are limited. As always, start easy, use common sense and adapt accordingly. (Related: What can the homeless teach you about urban survival?)

Plan how to deal with trash and sewage

You basically only have two options to deal with sewage in a long-term blackout: burning it or burying it. A good policy to follow will be to dispose of the waste in black garbage bags, seal the bags shut, and then dig them a minimum of four feet underground at 250 feet away from your home and any source of water.

Protect yourself, your family and your home

People are simply going to go crazy during a long-term blackout. Check out these ways to fortify your home before it’s too late and consider learning (and being good) at using self-defense weapons during a societal breakdown.

Keep your survival stash secret

And finally, trust no one. Do not inform everybody and anybody in your daily life that you are a prepper and keep your stockpiles a secret. Otherwise, you’ll be posting a huge target on your back. Here’s what to do if people find out you’re a prepper.

The purpose of this article is to remind you of the terrifying reality of a long-term blackout and motivate you to prepare for one.

Check out our Late Prepper Substack. Visit Preparedness.news for more prepping stories. Watch this video about preparing for blackouts.

This video is from the Planet Zedta channel on Brighteon.com.

The Lights Are About to Go out in America, Warn Grid Experts

Ethan Huff, Natural News — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 10:36:34 +0000

For some reason, consumer demand for electricity is expected to skyrocket this summer. And this, we are told, will lead to blackouts all across the country.

Utility companies are already bracing for impact as they all seem to just know that energy usage will reach an all-time high in the coming months, leaving millions without power in the dead of the summer heat.

The powers that be say that it is warmer than usual in some parts of the country, which they are already blaming for future blackouts. (Related: Rolling blackouts are expected to sweep the entire country this year.)

“Federal agencies responsible for power reliability, like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), have warned that grids in the western half of the country could face reliability issues this summer as consumers crank up air conditioners to escape the heat,” claims a report from Refinitiv data.

As energy equipment breaks down over the summer, power companies say they probably will not have the spare parts or other resources necessary to fix it fast enough to keep the power on – supposedly because of the heat.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which mismanaged the infamous Texas blackouts of early 2021, says it is already asking customers to cut back on their energy use and turn up their air conditioning units after six power plants shut down back in May during an alleged heatwave.

How do they know for sure that nationwide blackouts are coming?

Another event in Ohio that was blamed on a “storm” left some 200,000 homes and businesses without power. The grid operator there said it had to intentionally shut down power in some areas to prevent remaining lines from becoming overloaded.

There sure are a lot of this mysterious incidents happening at once, almost as if someone is testing the grid to see how easy it is to knock out at a later date, which they already appear to be planning for in advance.

They already introduced us to the “Great Reset” followed by “Reset the Table.” Is this the part where they reset the energy supply and force everyone into darkness as part of some bizarre initiation into the New World Order?

Or, it could just be that America’s energy system is now so overloaded and mismanaged, coupled with a forced transition into “green” energy, that the systems currently in existence are simply unable to handle the load whenever it gets a little bit hot or rains.

According to Ralph Izzo, head of the New Jersey-based Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), energy utilities are having to be frugal with their replacement parts inventories in order to avoid running out in the event of a weather emergency – or even just a few consecutive days of heavy heat.

“You don’t want to deplete your inventory because you don’t know when that storm is coming, but you know it’s coming … If we have successive days of 100-degree-heat, those pole top transformers, they start popping like Rice Krispies, and we would not have the supply stack to replace them,” he is quoted as saying.

Nick Akins, head of the Ohio-based grid operator AEP, added that many utility operators are changing their maintenance habits as well.

“We’re doing a lot more splicing, putting cables together, instead of laying new cable because we’re trying to maintain our new cable for inventory when we need it,” Akins says.

In the comment section at RT, one person was quick to point out that perhaps the United States should stop sending billions of dollars to Ukraine and instead “fix the country.”

“But no profit is as good as war,” this person added.

The latest news about the energy situation in America can be found at PowerGrid.news.

Sources for this article include:

RT.com
NaturalNews.com
NATURAL NEWS
Image by Dan Nguyen via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0

Summer Preview: Rolling Blackouts, Higher Gas Prices, Natural Gas Rationing in Europe and a Historic Diesel Crisis

Michael Snyder — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 13:02:54 +0000

Almost everyone has heard about the rapidly growing global energy crisis by now, but most people assume that this crisis will eventually go away because they think that authorities have everything under control. Unfortunately, that is not true at all. This crisis has taken our leaders by surprise, and now many of them have shifted into panic mode because they realize that there will be no easy fixes. Decades of neglect and foolish decisions have brought us to the precipice of a nightmare, and many of us are going to be absolutely astonished by some of the things that happen in the months ahead.

Here in the United States, we have neglected to properly invest in our power grids for a very long time, and now they are at a breaking point.

We are being warned that there could be widespread “rolling blackouts” this summer, and the situation is particularly dire in Midwest states such as Michigan…

The Lansing Board of Water and Light, or BWL, warned in a press release on Tuesday that the company is preparing for potential ‘rolling black-outs’ this summer.

The Mid-Continent Independent System Operator, or MISO, is Michigan’s power grid regulator. MISO will have to ‘load-shed’ if they see expected energy shortages during peak usage times due to hot weather. Load-shedding is purposefully shutting down electric power in some areas of a power-distribution system to prevent the entire system from failing when it is strained by high demand.

Meanwhile, the price of gasoline is likely to continue to go up.

For quite some time, the amount of oil that is being produced around the world each day has been lower than the amount of oil that is being used around the world each day, and as a result supplies have been getting tighter and tighter…

Fast forward to today, and where are we? Intrinsic demand is thought to be around 103 million barrels a day now, owing to 1% per year global population growth, plus increased wealth–and demand should keep growing at roughly that pace. But supplies aren’t nearly keeping up. We’re currently producing around 100.6 million barrels (reflecting the loss of about a million barrels from Russia), and the resulting spike in prices is already constraining demand to around 101 million barrels, according to Majcher.

When demand is greater than supply, either prices go up or eventually you have shortages.

And sometimes both things happen.

Bank of America is telling us that oil inventories have reached a “dangerously low point”, and until that changes prices are likely to continue to rise…

The result is a market that for the second straight year is under-supplied, and drawing down inventories as a result–on top of the drawdown in strategic reserves approved by political leaders to try and lower prices. Bank of America is already warning that global oil inventories have fallen to a “dangerously low point,” with certain gasoline and diesel supplies in particular at “precarious levels” as we head into peak U.S. driving season. U.S. oil inventories are already 14% below their five-year average, BofA notes, while distillates (like diesel) are 22% below.

I wish that I could tell you that there is hope that things will turn around eventually.

But at this point the CEO of Exxon is actually warning us to expect “up to five years of turbulent oil markets”…

Consumers must be prepared to endure up to five years of turbulent oil markets, the head of ExxonMobil said Tuesday, citing under-investment and the coronavirus pandemic.

Energy markets have been roiled by the Ukraine war as Russia has reduced some exports and faced sanctions while Europe has announced plans to wean itself off dependency on Russian fossil fuels in coming years.

If you think that things are bad now, just wait until you see what happens after a major war erupts in the Middle East.

Then things will really start getting crazy.

Speaking of war, over in Europe a looming natural gas shortage due to the war in Ukraine is likely to cause immense economic problems in the months ahead.

Now that Russia has significantly reduced the flow of natural gas to Germany, it looks like the Germans will soon be forced to ration it, and the Wall Street Journal is telling us that authorities expect “a gas shortage by December”…

The German government moved closer to rationing natural gas on Thursday after Russia cut deliveries to the country last week in an escalation of the economic war triggered by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Berlin triggered the second of its three-step plan to deal with gas shortages after the Kremlin-controlled energy giant Gazprom, the country’s biggest gas exporter, throttled delivery via the Nordstream pipeline by around 60% last week. Germany’s gas reserves are at 58% capacity, and the government now expects a gas shortage by December if supplies don’t pick up, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said.

It would be difficult for me to overstate the seriousness of this problem. Energy prices have already gone completely nuts in Europe, and one German official is actually comparing this crisis to the collapse of Lehman Brothers…

With energy suppliers piling up losses by being forced to cover volumes at high prices, there’s a danger of a spillover effect for local utilities and their customers, including consumers and businesses, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Thursday after raising the country’s gas risk level to the second-highest “alarm” phase.

“If this minus gets so big that they can’t carry it anymore, the whole market is in danger of collapsing at some point,” Habeck said at a news conference in Berlin, “so a Lehman effect in the energy system.”

Needless to say, it isn’t just Germany that is being affected…

The crisis has spilled far beyond Germany, with 12 European Union member states affected and 10 issuing an early warning under gas security regulation, Frans Timmermans, the European Union’s climate chief, said in a speech to the European Parliament.

“The risk of a full gas disruption is now more real than ever before,” he said. “All this is part of Russia’s strategy to undermine our unity.”

If the war in Ukraine could be brought to a peaceful resolution, that would greatly help matters.

But we all know that isn’t going to happen any time soon.

On top of everything else, global supplies of diesel fuel get squeezed a little bit more with each passing day. The price of diesel fuel is 75 percent higher than it was a year ago, and here in the United States we have been warned that the Northeast “is quietly running out of diesel”…

The upward pressure on diesel and jet fuel prices in particular is getting attention in the White House, Amrita Sen of Energy Aspects told Squawk Box yesterday. Diesel prices are up a whopping 75% from a year ago, and the spread between diesel and gasoline prices has also widened considerably. The high cost is creating huge strains on truckers and the supply chain; the Northeast “is quietly running out of diesel,” FreightWaves warned two weeks ago.

Even though there could be a historic supply crunch, we won’t completely run out of diesel fuel.

However, as I detailed in an article that has gone extremely viral, we are potentially facing really severe shortages of both diesel exhaust fluid and diesel engine oil if solutions cannot be found.

Urea is required to produce diesel exhaust fluid, and the U.S. doesn’t produce enough. We are normally one of the largest importers of urea in the entire world, and Russia and China are two of the largest exporters. Our leaders have decided that we don’t want urea from Russia, and China has restricted exports.

So that puts us in a really tough position. If you have a diesel vehicle, I would highly recommend stocking up on diesel exhaust fluid while you still can.

As for diesel engine oil, there are several key additives that are in short supply right now due to major problems at several manufacturers. An article that Mike Adams just posted goes into the details. This is a very serious situation that is not going to be resolved any time in the near future.

The bottom line is that supplies of diesel fuel are going to get very tight, and there may be times when diesel exhaust fluid and diesel engine oil are not available at all.

All three are required in order for diesel vehicles to operate, and as I explained yesterday, the U.S. economy runs on diesel.

If we were suddenly unable to use our diesel vehicles, all of our supply chains would collapse and we would no longer have a functioning economy.

So hopefully our leaders are working really hard to find some solutions.

Because it looks like this summer could be quite difficult, and the outlook for the months beyond is even less promising.

***It is finally here! Michael’s new book entitled “7 Year Apocalypse” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.***

About the Author: My name is Michael and my brand new book entitled “7 Year Apocalypse” is now available on Amazon.com. In addition to my new book I have written five other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, “Get Prepared Now”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned) When you purchase any of these books you help to support the work that I am doing, and one way that you can really help is by sending digital copies as gifts through Amazon to family and friends. Time is short, and I need help getting these warnings into the hands of as many people as possible.

I have published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but I also ask that they include this “About the Author” section with each article. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions.

I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, I strongly urge you to ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior today.

Article cross-posted from The Economic Collapse Blog.