Christmas Eve Storm & the Power Grid

Brad Essenmacher, General Manager

Winter Storm Elliott was a nightmare for millions, causing delayed flights and widespread power outages. Behind the scenes, the energy industry faced an even bigger issue threatening to bring down the power grid: a lack of energy supply.

Since last summer, we have highlighted the growing risk of rolling blackouts in Michigan. As electric demands continue to grow and the industry continues to retire many of its workhorse power plants, the electric grid is less able to ride through extreme weather. Winter Storm Elliott was yet another warning of just how vulnerable the grid is becoming.

Winter Storm Elliott, although not particularly cold by Michigan’s standards, resulted in record energy demand and caused severe strain on the eastern power grid, particularly in parts of Tennessee and the Carolinas. Regional power grid operators called on customers to voluntarily conserve energy, and in some areas they needed to initiate rolling blackouts on Christmas Eve.

Back home in Michigan, our energy supply also was threatened due to the interconnected nature of the electric grid.

At Thumb Electric Cooperative, we were aware that the regional grid operator was one step away from requiring utilities to ask users to reduce their energy consumption through measures such as turning down the heat, turning off unnecessary lights, and taking other conservation measures in order to prevent rolling blackouts. Fortunately, we didn’t have to call on you, but we were uncomfortably close to needing to take this step. This is why we continue to advocate for time, transmission, and technology to ensure reliability through the clean energy transition.

I wanted to share this information with our members so that you can understand the current state of the grid and the challenges it is facing. If we do have to ask you to conserve electricity in a tight supply situation in the future, I hope this will provide some context and help you understand why it is important. We, as a co-op, will continue to work towards a sustainable and reliable energy future for all our members.