More demand, less supply: Drought and heat test U.S. power grid

 The scorching temperatures and the drought pummeling the western United States are creating a perfect storm for the electric grid, exposing how future extreme weather events will increasingly push a thinly stretched power system to the brink.

As Oregon, California, New Mexico and other states grapple with record-setting heat and diminishing water supplies, Americans are relying even more on electricity and water supply systems. Yet the same factors that are driving up demand for power can also limit the ability to generate it.

From generation at power plants to the transmission lines that carry electricity to homes and businesses, just about every part of the power system performs worse in conditions that are intensely hot and dry. That raises significant questions about the nation’s readiness for a future in which, climate scientists say, global warming is expected to make extreme weather events even more common.

“This topic is on top of every utility’s agenda right now,” said Omar Al-Juburi, a digital power grid consultant at Ernst & Young. “We’re going to get to a point where the current infrastructure and the current way of operating is going to continue to be strained by these extreme heat waves.”...MORE