Add to New York City’s summer climate problems, which include thick smoke blown south from Canadian wildfires, the fact that its electricity grid is fragile. A recent announcement says the city is ready for extreme heat, but only if it does not last long.
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The New York Independent System Operator said peak energy demand will only rise 10% because the winter was mild. Of course, a mild winter has nothing to do with summer. According to Bloomberg, “A blazing heat wave, though, could quickly deplete reserves and trigger a grid emergency, according to the grid operator. If daily temperatures reach 95F (35C) for three consecutive days or more, there will likely be a shortage of power supplies. The hotter the weather is, the bigger that deficit would be, raising the risks of blackouts.”
A Forecast Of Grid Risks
The New York Independent System Operator told a different story just months ago. Politico says, “New York is on pace to retire more generation from fossil fuels than it will add in renewables — and new reliability problems could surface as soon as next year, the state’s grid operator said.”
New York City has had three major blackouts, neither of which were forecast or expected. The first was in 1965, the second in 1977, and the latest in 2003. The 2003 was caused by a “software bug” in an installation near Akron. It is a reminder that energy consumption is not the only threat to an aged grid. There have been warnings that the grid can be “hacked” and taken down for years.
Climate change has brought unexpected scorching weather to many parts of the world that were hot and long-lived. New York City’s grid is not ready for one of these.
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