Duke Energy to review rolling blackouts after thousands lost power amid bitter cold

During Christmas weekend, around 800,000 Duke Energy customers across the Carolinas lost power, often without advanced notice, due to rolling blackouts and damaged power lines as temperatures in Asheville reached an eight-year low of zero degrees.Screenshots of Duke Energy's online outage map on Dec. 23 and 24 posted on Twitter by Duke Energy Grid Specialist Jeff Brooks indicated that around 5,000 customers near Asheville lost power due to wind-damaged power lines on Dec. 23 and around 40,000 lost power in rolling blackouts on Dec. 24. Those numbers could not be confirmed, as spokesperson Keith Richardson said Duke does not keep data county by county. The company only keeps data for its service areas, he said, that in this case cover large chunks of North and South Carolina.Everyone had...

Published on 1/11/2023 (70 days ago) Energy Crisis

TVA takes 'full responsibility' for Christmas Eve power outages, rolling blackouts

The power generator apologized for the temporary planned power outages, the first in the utility’s 90-year history, and pledged “corrective actions,” in a statement Wednesday.“This is not the way we want to serve our communities and customers,” the statement said. “We are conducting a thorough review of what occurred and why.”The mea culpa comes after government officials and leaders of local power companies dependent on TVA power criticized the utility for its performance during last week’s winter storm that left tens of thousands of Tennesseans without power.TVA supplied more power than at any other time in its history on Dec. 23, the first day of the storm, and experienced its highest-ever winter power peak, the utility said. Energy demand was close to 35 percent higher than expected on...

Published on 1/11/2023 (70 days ago) Energy Crisis

Substations: The Weakest Link in America’s Power Grid?

16 sectors of critical infrastructure (CI). Recent nationwide attacks highlighted severe vulnerabilities within the energy sector. We must act to protect our power substations so we won’t have to stay in the dark.What’s a Substation?The energy sector, referred to as the “Achilles heel of the United States,” is comprised of and interconnects power plants, transformers, substations, and wires, to the electrical grid via circuits. These circuits allow electricity to flow across 470,000+ miles– enough to circle the Earth almost 19 times. As more pressure is placed on the energy sector and as attacks on grid-related facilities rise, it’s safe to assume the nation’s grid will continue to weaken. Substations are high-voltage electric systems used to switch generators, equipment, and circuits in...

Published on 1/11/2023 (70 days ago) Energy Crisis

Water Crisis Caused By Shattering Pipes Continues In The South

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A cold snap blanketing the Deep South has upended water systems as local officials struggle to repair widespread leaks and broken pipes, forcing some people to take drastic measures to get by without reliable access to running water.Breakdowns in infrastructure arose in rapid succession after days of freezing temperatures in areas where extended periods of frigid weather are abnormal.The water woes are acute in places like Jackson, Mississippi, where the water system partially collapsed in late August and has had repeated weather-related breakdowns. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the city is dealing with a “worst case scenario” on Tuesday.Lumumba declared a local state of emergency Monday evening as Jackson's troubled water system failed to produce adequate...

Published on 1/11/2023 (70 days ago) Energy Crisis

Physical attacks on power grid surge to new peak

The U.S. power grid is suffering a decade-high surge in attacks as extremists, vandals and cyber criminals increasingly take aim at the nation’s critical infrastructure.Physical and computerized assaults on the equipment that delivers electricity are at their highest level since at least 2012, including 101 reported this year through the end of August, according to federal records examined by POLITICO. The previous peak was the 97 incidents recorded for all of 2021.This year’s tally doesn’t even include 2022’s most visible attack — the shootings of two Duke Energy substations that knocked out power to 45,000 people in Moore County, N.C.And the lights went dark on Christmas Day for 14,000 customers in Washington state after four Tacoma Public Utilities and Puget Sound Energy substations...

Published on 1/11/2023 (70 days ago) Energy Crisis

Feds order review of power-grid security after attacks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators on Thursday ordered a review of security standards at the nation’s far-flung electricity transmission network, following shootings at two electric substations in North Carolina that damaged equipment and caused more than 45,000 customers to lose power.The order by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission directs officials to study the effectiveness of existing reliability standards for the physical security of the nation’s power grid and determine whether they need to be improved.“The security and reliability of the nation’s electric grid is one of FERC’s top priorities,” FERC Chairman Richard Glick said at a commission meeting Thursday.“In light of the increasing number of recent reports of physical attacks on our nation’s infrastructure, it is...

Published on 12/19/2022 (93 days ago) Energy Crisis

Switzerland could ban electric vehicle use during energy crisis: reports

The Telegraph reported on Saturday that Swiss officials have drafted emergency proposals that restrict power usage if things get bad this winter.For example, shops may need to reduce their hours, streaming services may need to be limited and buildings may only be heated to 20 degrees Celsius, or 68 degrees Fahrenheit.Other bans, according to the Telegraph, may include concerts, theater performances and sporting events, all to prevent a blackout.The reason Switzerland is preparing for possible blackouts is that the country relies on imported energy during the summer months. While more than half, or 60 percent of the country’s energy comes from hydropowered means, but in the winter months productions slows and the country relies on imports. READ FULL ARTICLE...

Published on 12/8/2022 (104 days ago) Energy Crisis

Sober or bright? Europe faces holidays during energy crunch

Early season merrymakers sipping mulled wine and shopping for holiday decorations packed the Verona Christmas market for its inaugural weekend, but beyond the wooden market stalls, the Italian city still has not decked out its granite-clad pedestrian streets with twinkling holiday lights as officials debate how bright to make the season during an energy crisis.In cities across Europe, officials are wrestling with a choice as energy prices have gone up because of Russia’s war in Ukraine.The question is whether to dim Christmas lighting to send a message of energy conservation and solidarity with citizens squeezed by higher utility bills and inflation, while protecting public coffers, or, on the other hand, to let the lights blaze in a message of defiance after two years of...

Published on 12/8/2022 (104 days ago) Energy Crisis

Germany, France pledge mutual support to avert energy crunch

BERLIN -- Germany and France pledged Friday to provide each other mutual support in preventing a possible energy crisis after supplies from Russia dried up amid the war in Ukraine. As part of a joint agreement signed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, Germany will provide France with electricity while getting much-needed natural gas in return.“Friends help each other in need,” Scholz said after the signing ceremony in Berlin.Borne echoed that sentiment, saying the friendship between the two European heavyweight was crucial. “It has already proved it can withstand tests and master many challenges,” she said.Before Russia launched its war in Ukraine nine months ago, Germany was heavily reliant on Russian gas supplies. Since then, Germany has scrambled...

Published on 11/30/2022 (112 days ago) Energy Crisis