LEXINGTON, KY (July 28, 2023) — It’s hot today – around 95 degrees — and it’s supposed to be hot again tomorrow. But 95 degrees in late-July isn’t really strange for Kentucky. In fact, the average high temperature for this time of year is about 90 degrees.
What is new is the increasing inability of our electric grid to provide the reliable energy we need to meet the high demand in mid-summer. What is new is the regular warnings from utilities that we may see rolling blackouts, brownouts or even grid failure at the very time dependable electricity is needed most. To put it context, in 2020, there were fewer than two dozen major power disruptions across the country. In 2020, there were more than 180 such disruptions. This correlates perfectly to the move away from coal to renewable electric generation.
Yesterday, both MISO and PJM Interconnections issued warnings that generation capacity was reaching its limits and there was a potential for failure. And earlier this year, the same shortages and warnings being seen now were also seen during the mid-winter cold snap. In both cases, the failures of the grid to produce the electricity needed threatened lives — particularly the most vulnerable, the poor, the old, the sick and the young.
These closures didn’t have to happen. They were the result, not of shifts in the market, but of political decisions made by first the Obama and now the Biden Administrations, who are in thrall to their allies in leftist and environmental groups.
We at KCA have warned against shutting down our baseload electric generation capacity – our coal fleet – that served us so well, so dependably for 100 years. Others have joined our warning, including PJM, MISO, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
NRECA CEO Jim Matheson put it very bluntly, saying the problems being seen are a “dire warning that America’s ability to keep the lights on has been jeopardized. That’s unacceptable. The decisions we make today determine whether utilities across the nation have the resources to power the American economy tomorrow. Federal policies must recognize the compromised reliability reality facing the nation before it’s too late.
For more information contact Tucker Davis at the Kentucky Coal Association at (859)233-4743 or via email at tdavis@kentuckycoal.com.
