Source: Utility Dive

Excerpt:

Forced-outage rates at conventional and wind generating facilities “remain at historically high levels, exceeding rates for all years prior to 2021,” the North American Electric Reliability Corp. said Thursday in its 2024 State of Reliability, which reviews the previous year’s grid performance.

The electric grid remained “reliable and resilient” in 2023, with no firm load shedding during energy emergencies and quick recovery following severe storms in the U.S. and wildfires in Canada, according to the report. Performance was aided by mild weather and enhanced preparation measures, NERC officials said.

Forced outages of conventional generation peaked in 2021 and 2022 due to major cold weather events. But when those years are excluded, “last year, despite no single major generation-impacting event, we had the third-highest forced outage rate on record, with a 7.8% weighted equivalent forced average rate,” or WEFOR, Jack Norris, a performance analysis engineer with NERC, said on a call with reporters.

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