Utilities Face Challenges Amid Extreme Cold Snap
As Winter Storm Fern brings freezing temperatures, utility companies are under pressure to respond effectively to maintain power supply. In Henderson County, 500 workers were dispatched to restore electricity early Monday, with most outages across southern Appalachia addressed by midweek. However, Duke Energy’s Jeff Brooks notes that the persistent cold poses a greater challenge to the grid than the initial ice.
Brooks explains, “If it’s one day that’s cold, typically it doesn’t impact your bill all that much.” Yet, prolonged cold spells can lead to increased electricity usage for heating, affecting consumer bills significantly. To cope with the heightened energy demand, utilities are resorting to a mix of energy sources, including fossil fuels.
Scott Brooks from TVA mentions, “We try to hedge as much as we can, meaning we will buy natural gas supply when [the price is] low and use that as much as possible.” During cold spells, coal and nuclear plants are often activated, given their week-long start-up times, with nuclear being the most efficient, followed by methane gas.
The extreme weather, paradoxically linked to climate change, tests utilities’ aging infrastructure and growing demand. Energy experts and advocates suggest that moving away from fossil fuels could be more cost-effective and efficient if energy storage solutions, like batteries, are utilized.
Michelle Moore, CEO of the affordable-energy nonprofit Groundswell, highlighted TVA’s response to 2022’s Winter Storm Elliot, stating, “Viewing our homes as part of our energy infrastructure is critical because all the energy that you don’t waste from inefficiency is energy you can use when you need it.” TVA upgraded infrastructure and added gas power but has yet to invest in battery storage for solar energy.
Maggie Shober, an energy analyst, notes that extreme cold impacts energy bills due to rising gas and electricity prices. The increased demand from Winter Storm Fern and frozen infrastructure is causing gas prices to hit their highest in three years. “A lot of [the utilities] are increasing their use of gas. And so fuel costs are passed on directly to the customers,” she says.
Utilities like Duke and TVA anticipate further increases in energy demand as temperatures are expected to remain low in the coming days, potentially leading to more significant challenges for the grid.
