Loss of wind causes Texas power grid emergency

Loss of wind causes Texas power grid emergency
Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:11pm EST
HOUSTON (Reuters) - A drop in wind generation late on Tuesday, coupled
with colder weather, triggered an electric emergency that caused the
Texas grid operator to cut service to some large customers, the grid
agency said on Wednesday.

Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said a decline in wind
energy production in west Texas occurred at the same time evening
electric demand was building as colder temperatures moved into the
state.

The grid operator went directly to the second stage of an emergency
plan at 6:41 PM CST (0041 GMT), ERCOT said in a statement.

System operators curtailed power to interruptible customers to shave
1,100 megawatts of demand within 10 minutes, ERCOT said. Interruptible
customers are generally large industrial customers who are paid to
reduce power use when emergencies occur.

No other customers lost power during the emergency, ERCOT said.
Interruptible customers were restored in about 90 minutes and the
emergency was over in three hours.

ERCOT said the grid's frequency dropped suddenly when wind production
fell from more than 1,700 megawatts, before the event, to 300 MW when
the emergency was declared.

In addition, ERCOT said multiple power suppliers fell below the amount
of power they were scheduled to produce on Tuesday. That, coupled with
the loss of wind generated in West Texas, created problems moving
power to the west from North Texas.

ERCOT declares a stage 1 emergency when power reserves fall below
2,300 MW. A stage 2 emergency is called when reserves fall below 1,750
MW.

At the time of the emergency, ERCOT demand increased from 31,200 MW to
a peak of 35,612 MW, about half the total generating capacity in the
region, according to the agency's Web site.

Texas produces the most wind power of any state and the number of wind
farms is expected to increase dramatically as new transmission lines
are built to transfer power from the western half of the state to more
populated areas in the north.

Earlier on Tuesday, grid problems led to a blackout in Florida that
cut power to about 1 million electric customers across that state for
as much as four hours.

(Reporting by Eileen O'Grady; editing by Carol Bishopric)

Ah, "reliable" alternative energy.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Reuters: Loss of wind causes Texas power grid emergency
    ... Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said a decline in wind ... The grid operator went directly to the second stage of an emergency ... System operators curtailed power to interruptible customers to shave ...
    (sci.energy)
  • Re: Reuters: Loss of wind causes Texas power grid emergency
    ... Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said a decline in wind ... The grid operator went directly to the second stage of an emergency ... System operators curtailed power to interruptible customers to shave ...
    (sci.energy)
  • Re: Reuters: Loss of wind causes Texas power grid emergency
    ... Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said a decline in wind ... The grid operator went directly to the second stage of an emergency ... System operators curtailed power to interruptible customers to shave ...
    (sci.energy)
  • Wind Power
    ... Texas consumers are finding out how expensive the pursuit of alternative energy can be. ... "Texas Wind Energy: Past, Present and Future," says that to achieve even modest amounts of wind energy would cost Texas rate payers and taxpayers at least $60 billion through 2025. ... That includes transmission costs, production costs, subsidies, tax breaks, economic disruption costs and grid-management costs. ... Because of the intermittent nature of wind, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas uses a figure of only 8.7% of wind power's installed capacity when determining available power during peak periods. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Wind Power Making Headway in Texan Oil Country
    ... Wind Power Making Headway in Oil Country ... "When you think of Texas and energy, ...
    (sci.energy)