Dear The GridWise,

With Memorial Day behind us, summer is here. Citing the need to prevent blackouts ahead of the summer electricity demand, Secretary Wright issued an emergency order directing the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and Consumers Energy to keep open a 1,560 MW coal-fired power plant in Michigan that was scheduled to retire on May 31 (neither MISO nor Consumers Energy requested the action). In issuing this direction, the Secretary used authorities granted in Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act over temporary operation of the electricity system during emergencies, which had been referenced in President Trump’s April executive order pertaining to grid reliability. The Congressional Research Service issued an analysis of Section 202(c) and the history of its use in light of the executive order that notes:

“DOE and FPC have used the emergency authority several dozen times since 1935 in response to different kinds of emergencies. DOE’s website contains information on use of the emergency authority from 2000. From 2000 to the present, DOE used its emergency authority in response to 17 events. Eleven events were weather-related and included hurricanes, heat waves, and winter storms. Some events prompted multiple emergency orders, either because more than one utility experienced emergency conditions (e.g., Winter Storm Elliot) or because the initial emergency order was extended (e.g., the California energy crisis).” 

GridWise Strategic Plan

The GridWise Alliance is embarking on a new three-year strategic plan this summer that will be presented to members at our annual member meeting during our December gridCONNEXT^®. Be on the lookout for a member survey in the coming weeks to help inform our next strategic plan.

Karen Wayland

CEO, GridWise Alliance