DOE issues emergency order for western grid operator to use more resources to maintain power in 17 states

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued an emergency order Sunday to keep Americans across 17 states powered as hot weather conditions continue.

What we know:

The order directs Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP) to dispatch generator units to operate as a last resort as needed to maintain electric service in the SPP East and West Balancing Authority Areas (BAAs) in the following 17 states: 

• Texas
• Louisiana
• Arkansas
• Missouri
• Iowa
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• Nebraska
• Oklahoma
• Kansas
• Colorado
• Wyoming
• Montana
• New Mexico
• Arizona
• Minnesota
• Utah

Dig deeper:

The DOE says the order was issued after a request from SPP and directs SPP to dispatch specified generation units and to order their operation as needed to maintain reliability as a last resort before declaring an Energy Emergency Alert 3 (EEA 3), one of the final steps before rolling outages are implemented.

DOE says they estimate there are more than 35 gigawatts (GW) of unused backup generation remaining available nationwide.

What they're saying:

"The Trump Administration is tapping into an abundant supply of unused backup generation to maintain affordable, reliable, and secure power for hardworking American families and businesses," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright in a release. 

Big picture view:

The Southwest Power Poll (SPP) is a Regional Transmission Organization headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas and mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  SPP ensures there are reliable power supplies and manages the electic transmission infrastructure across a multistate territory.

Earlier this year, SPP expanded its territory into the Western Interconnection, integrating utilities across seven states including parts of Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. 

 

U.S.