The USEA’s virtual briefing on Dec. 11 will feature regional transmission chiefs.

WASHINGTON, DC, USA, December 7, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — The United States Energy Association will hold a virtual press briefing on the unfolding of a new era of energy crisis on Monday, Dec. 11, at noon EST.

What appears to be a perfect storm is forming over the nation’s electricity supply. This winter may be the first test, and what happens next summer and going forward has many in the industry voicing considerable alarm, including talk of a new energy crisis of indefinite duration. Texas and California are expected to struggle this winter, as they did in the summer. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has named those two states as vulnerable.

These are the gathering elements of the storm:

1. Organic growth in areas with burgeoning populations like Texas and the Intermountain West.

2. Increasing electrification of transportation and industrial processes like steelmaking.

3. An anticipated surge in server farms as AI attracts more and more users. This demand has been put at 100 percent in a decade, and some estimates are higher.

4. Pressure post-COP28 to accelerate the closure of coal plants, which are still generating 19 percent of U.S. electricity.

5. Greater difficulty from local regulators to site new natural gas turbines.

6. Long lead times for new transmission, if that is even possible.

7. New heat norms across the country, requiring more air conditioning and testing the grids — East, West and Texas — as never before.

8. A greater reliance on intermittent renewable generation, and inadequate storage to harvest that power when not in actual demand.

The joker, of course, is the weather — the cold of winter and the heat of summer.

As with previous briefings on Zoom, a panel of reporters who cover energy will question a panel of experts on the subject at hand. Journalist Llewellyn King is the organizer and will moderate the discussion. Mark Menezes, USEA president and CEO, and former deputy secretary of energy, will welcome everyone and will contribute his expertise.

“The unfolding crisis appears severe: Winter Storm Uri in Texas in 2021 killed 246 people. Heat domes can be as lethal as icy cold,” said King.

The experts:

Jim Matheson, CEO, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)

Pablo Vegas, President & CEO, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)

Elliot Mainzer, President & CEO, California ISO

Clinton Vince, Chair, U.S. Energy Practice, Dentons

Duane Highley, CEO, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association

Rudy Garza, President & CEO, CPS Energy

The reporters:

Ken Silverstein, Forbes

Matthew Daly, Associated Press

Jennifer Hiller, The Wall Street Journal

Matt Chester, Energy Central

The briefing is open to the press and the public. It will be posted in its entirety on the USEA and the Energy Central web sites, and a transcript will be available.

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bB40BczgQu-DTY0DxYnNyQ#/registration

Llewellyn King
White House Media LLC
+1 202-441-2702
[email protected]
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