The summer of 2022 is just getting started and we're hearing early warnings that it may be a long, hot one with the risk of planned power outages across the state on days with peak energy demand.

The warning comes from reporting done by FarmNewsNow.com who spoke to Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the regional power collective that over sees a vast swath of the central portion of the country including Michigan.

Couple high energy demand with planned early shutdowns of power generators and the likelihood exists for you to lose power at some point over the summer should the electric company make a planned outage that affects you. The spokesperson states:

The reality for the zones that do not have sufficient generation to cover their load plus their required reserves is that they will have increased risk of temporary, controlled outages to maintain system reliability.

So MISO would turn off the grid to parts of the region to save the entire system from going dark.

A graphic displayed by the Illinois Farm Bureau puts the entire of Michigan, save for a small portion of the southwest corner of the state around Benton Harbor and South Haven, at high risk for these rolling backouts. Interestingly, southwest corner of the state is at virtually no risk. Perhaps that is due to the proximity to the Cook Nuclear Plan near Bridgman and Paisalades Nuclear at Covert.

While the possibility for these controlled power outages are real, they are the very last measure the power supplier would take, according to Ilinois state representative Charlie Meier, telling FarmNewsNow,

temporary, coordinated power outages are extremely rare and a last-step emergency measure implemented to protect the electric grid.

“MISO and its members drill and prepare for energy emergencies, and have many tools at our disposal to maintain grid reliability throughout these conditions,” he said.

Let's hope this remains nothing more than a caution. 2003 brought memorable power outages to Detroit and much of the region.

 

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