This made it impossible to borrow power from another state when its own deregulated electricity market was not adequately prepared. Another unique factor was at play - Texas is the only state in the US not connected to a regional grid. The storm caused damage to the tune of $195 billion in the state, making it the costliest natural disaster in Texas history. It caused a blackout, leaving 4.5 million houses and businesses without power. After a February 2021 snowstorm, Texas faced the worst power crisis in its history. The recent power crisis in Texas highlights what happens in the absence of grid interconnection. A power outage due to a storm or failures in the local grid can become unlikely if the local network can tap electricity from a regional grid. This allows the exchange of energy from local grids with surplus power to those having a demand higher than what they can produce locally. In simple terms, a grid interconnection ties a network of local grids together at a synchronized frequency. Interconnections have been discussed for decades but there are two factors that make their speed and strength urgent today - the vulnerability of grids to climate-driven extreme weather and the availability of low-cost renewables. To someone facing a wildfire in California or bunking in a shelter after a flood in Louisiana, what does power supply from a far corner of the country have to do with survival? Quite a bit, as this tale of grid interconnection will show.Ĭonnections of supply from one electric network to another can boost the reliability and stability of energy supply and help forge a transition to cleaner sources of energy. (Photo by Oran Viriyincy via Flickr Creative Commons.) Where can the 20th Century grid consistently carry 21st Century energy across regional lines? Series: Searching for a New Deal on Climate?.
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