Historic heat wave will impact several parts of the US 0:46
(CNN) --
Extreme temperatures and an ongoing drought could cause the power grid to collapse across vast areas of the United States this summer, potentially leading to power outages and blackouts, a US power grid regulator said Wednesday. country.
NERC, a regulatory authority that oversees the health of the nation's electrical infrastructure, says in its Summer 2022 Reliability Assessment that extreme temperatures and ongoing drought could cause the power grid to deteriorate.
High temperatures, warns the agency, will increase the demand for electricity.
Meanwhile, drought conditions will reduce the amount of energy available to meet that demand.
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"The industry prepares its equipment and operators for challenging summer conditions. However, extreme and persistent drought and accompanying weather patterns are unusual and tend to create additional stresses on electricity supply and demand." said Mark Olson, manager of Reliability Assessments at NERC.
Above average heat
On Thursday, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center said nearly all of the continental United States will experience above-average temperatures this summer.
Intense heat wave will be felt in most of the southern United States
The power grid is extremely sensitive and the power supply must always meet power demand, experts warn.
Otherwise, capacity shortfalls may occur.
A deficit is when not enough power is being generated to meet demand.
Forced power outages, also known as rolling blackouts, are initiated during these situations, which is what millions of Americans are at risk of seeing this summer, to prevent long-term damage to the grid.
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what happened in texas
But power grids are also susceptible in winter.
In February 2021, Texas saw the highest demand for electricity in its history as residents tried to keep warm.
Texas faces no power in frigid temperatures 1:45
To keep the power grid from collapsing under the stress, grid operators were forced to implement rolling outages when Texans needed power the most.
More than 200 people died during the power crisis, with hypothermia being the most common cause of death.
A post-storm analysis released in November indicated power plants were unable to produce electricity primarily due to problems with natural gas and freezing generators.
NERC says much of North America will have adequate resources and electricity available this summer, but several markets are at risk of power emergencies.
The upper Midwest and Midsouth along the Mississippi River will experience the highest risk this summer, NERC warns, where the closure of older power plants and increased demand are problematic.
Additionally, the region does not have a key transmission line that was damaged by a tornado in December 2021. Texas, the West Coast, and the Southwest are at elevated risk.
In addition to extreme weather, supply chain issues and an active wildfire season will further affect reliability this summer, the assessment warns.
blackouts
