June 26, 2023

Source: The Guardian

Excerpt:

Two-thirds of North America could face blackouts over the next few months as summer heat increases demand for electricity, a report from a major electricity regulator has found. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, which releases regular assessments of grid conditions, said in an outlook released Wednesday that huge swathes of the U.S., from the whole West Coast through the Southwest, Midwest, Texas, and parts of the South and New England, face an “elevated risk” of energy shortfalls.

“Increased, rapid deployment of wind, solar and batteries have made a positive impact,” Mark Olson, NERC’s manager of Reliability Assessments, said in a statement. “However, generator retirements continue to increase the risks associated with extreme summer temperatures, which factors into potential supply shortages in the western two-thirds of North America if summer temperatures spike.”

Read more: A Huge Chunk of the U.S. Could See Blackouts This Summer