Snow, ice and wind blanketed much of the Midwest over the weekend before a cold front moved in, the type of conditions that can halt energy production. That’s because, unlike the light switches they power, turning a power plant on and off is a delicate procedure.
Mike Deising is executive director of communications for the Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator, or MISO, the organization that balances energy supply and demand across a 15-state region including eastern Missouri. He said ice can take out transmission lines and prolonged cold snaps can negatively impact the machines that make electricity.
“If your car sits outside for too many cold days in a row, it may not start the next time you go out to it,” Deising said. “That same type of principle can apply with a large power plant. It is a piece of machinery.”
Although severe temperatures and winter storms can affect energy infrastructure, industry experts locally and regionally say the system is prepared.
Regional transmission operators such as MISO act as balancing authorities for energy produced and consumed within a territory. Missouri is split by multiple grid operators, including MISO and the Southwest Power Pool, or SPP.
The organizations keep a close eye on weather conditions due to their potential impact on power infrastructure.
“If we do see sustained cold temperatures for long periods of time, that's when you can see machinery start to break down. We can see generation go offline,” Deising said.
Meteorologists at MISO are predicting an average winter for Missouri, according to Deising. The grid operator anticipates power providers across the region have more than enough capacity to meet demand as temperatures fall.
The Southwest Power Pool coordinates power supply and demand across parts of 14 states including western Missouri.
“One of the benefits of being a regional organization like ours is that it is likely that some of the northern states experience colder than average temperatures and if that was to affect the availability of generation or transmission, we are able to rely on resources in the southern part of our region in order to meet the demand for electricity and vice versa,” said SPP spokesperson Derek Wingfield.
Winter power demand increasing
Power plants can be turned off when the equipment needs to undergo maintenance. Energy supply can also fluctuate due to availability of fuel such as coal and gas and the variability of sunlight and wind that feed renewable sources.
Grid operators coordinate tapping into emergency reserves of power as needed when plants are out of service throughout the winter.
The City of Columbia owns and operates multiple so-called “peaker” power units that don’t run constantly but are turned on when energy demand is particularly high.
“Very early in the morning is when you have your coldest temperatures and that's when our staff has to be able to go out and start those units up and get them operational,” said City of Columbia Utilities Director Erin Keys.
Columbia sees the highest demand for power in the summer months, but Keys said winter consumption is creeping up.
The city’s municipal electric utility generates some of its own energy and buys the rest. Keys said the price of power on the marketplace has been rising.
“Our prices to purchase that energy are increasing, and at some point we're going to have to pass that on to the customers as well, so their prices are going to increase over time,” Keys said.
Keys said prices have risen due to a supply and demand mismatch. As coal plants have been retired across the Midwest, replacement generation hasn’t kept up, she said.
