You may be wondering whether ISO New England, the operator of the area’s electricity grid, has been able to meet demand given that every air conditioner in our area has been running nonstop for the past few days owing to a heat wave that caused temperatures to reach 100 degrees and higher.
ISO NE stated back in May that it anticipated having an energy supply adequate to satisfy summertime consumer demand for electricity.
This week, the utility’s usage projections were tested.
With an unofficial peak of 26,024 megawatts (MW) on Tuesday night, consumer demand for grid electricity reached its highest level since 2013. That demand figure almost exactly matched the 25,886 MW peak demand prediction from ISO NE.
Additionally, ISO NE maintained the regional grid under a Power Caution after the unanticipated loss of generation late that afternoon. This permits system operators to take further actions, such as requesting reserve resources, to balance the system.
Consumer demand for energy peaked on July 16 of last year at about 24,000 MW, which is about in line with the summer peak predicted by ISO New England under normal weather conditions. In New England, the use of air conditioners throughout the summer months results in the highest demand for power.
The nearly accurate demand estimations provided by ISO NE are the result of the integration of multiple elements.
For each summer and winter season, ISO anticipates the amount of capacity that will be available, accounting for the projected contributions of all resources, including demand response, unplanned resource outages, imports from nearby regions, and resource retirements and additions.
In order to prepare and plan for the rise in electric demand throughout the summer, it takes this predicted available capacity and compares it to expected consumer demand in both normal and warmer-than-average weather conditions.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasts above-normal temperatures and precipitation in much of New England, with the exception of northern Maine, this summer. Weather is the primary factor influencing energy demand.
The region may anticipate having enough supply to fulfill consumer demand and necessary reserves this summer, according to the findings of the ISO’s capacity evaluations and energy assessments.
Even while ISO expects homes and businesses to have enough power capacity this summer, hot, muggy weather for multiple days in a row, a loss of generation, or other circumstances could result in times when supply margins are tight.
To put it simply, expectations and reality don’t always align. Because of this, ISO system operators who receive training are more equipped to handle unforeseen circumstances and anomalous events that could impact energy supply or demand.
Increasing online generation production, sending standby units, asking for maintenance to be postponed, increasing imports, and voluntarily reducing energy use and other energy-saving initiatives are only a few of the methods available to system operators to balance load.
Although the heat and humidity are currently subsiding, they are predicted to return the following week.
Thankfully, we can rely on our regional power grid to supply the demand, unlike other regions of the nation.
