Neil Etter, control room operator at Tucson Power’s H. Wilson Sundt Generating Station.
Tucson Power said it has enough power to meet expected higher demand peaks and keep air conditioners humming this summer.
But with a shift from coal-fired plants to solar and wind resources, more extreme summer temperatures and a tighter power market in the west, plans to avoid outages are getting trickier, TEP and other utilities told state regulators last week. .
According to a new study sponsored by TEP and other Southwest utilities, by 2025, if all of the Southwest’s planned renewable energy projects are not completed on time, they will be unable to meet growing electricity demand.
At the Arizona Corporation Commission’s annual summer readiness workshop last week, officials from TEP and sister rural utility UniSource Energy Services said they have enough generation capacity to meet peak summer demand expected to exceed 2021 levels.
“We have an adequate energy supply and we feel well prepared for summer heat and high energy demand,” said TEP spokesman Joe Barrios. “However, we will be closely monitoring the weather and our the regional energy market, we have contingency plans in case of any emergency.”
Arizona Public Service, the state’s largest electric utility, the self-governing Salt River Project and Arizona Electric Cooperative, which powers the state’s rural electric cooperatives, also told regulators they have enough power ready to meet expected summer demand.
Summer reliability has been a major concern since August 2020, when power shortages during the West’s historic heatwave prompted California’s transmission system operators to implement rolling blackouts to avoid an entire system collapse.
Arizona managed to avoid outages in part with demand-response programs and customer protection efforts, but the state’s taxpayers bore the cost of soaring regional electricity prices during the crisis.
Across the region, resource planning has become more difficult due to extreme summer temperatures and drought, restrictions on California’s electricity imports, supply chains and other factors affecting solar and storage projects, Lee Alter, director of resource planning for TEP and UES, told regulators. .
Based on demand that reflects average summer temperatures, the utility will enter summer with a gross reserve margin (generating more than forecast demand) of 16%, Alter said.
Technician Darrell Neil works at one of the halls of the H. Wilson Sundt Power Station in Tucson, which houses five of TEP’s 10 reciprocating internal combustion engines.
Reserve margins provide utilities with a buffer against higher-than-expected demand from extreme weather and supply disruptions, such as unplanned power plant shutdowns or wildfire damage to transmission lines.
The Western Electric Power Coordinating Board said an annual reserve margin of 16 percent is needed to maintain adequate resources in the desert southwest, including Arizona, through 2021.
Arizona Public Service Co. expects peak demand to increase nearly 4 percent to 7,881 megawatts, and plans to retain a reserve margin of about 15 percent.
Ort said it was difficult to find enough supplementary energy sources, such as fixed contracts for future power transmission, to expand reserve margins amid tight power markets in the West.
“In the past, there was enough capacity in the region that if you wanted more, you would go and buy more, but the market has really tightened,” Alter told the companies committee.
Alter also pointed to growing concerns that a prolonged drought in the Colorado River Basin could halt hydropower generation at Glen Canyon Dam or the Hoover Dam, while California’s grid operator continues a policy adopted last year to limit emergency power Electricity export.
Barrios said TEP and UES do not rely on Colorado River dams for hydroelectric power, but the loss of those resources would mean less power capacity available in the region and drive up scarcity and prices.
On the plus side, TEP last week began participating in the Western Energy Imbalance Market, a real-time wholesale electricity market for about 20 utilities managed by the California Independent System Operator.
While not adding power generation capacity, the market will help TEP balance intermittent resources such as solar and wind, prevent grid instability and improve system reliability, Alter said.
Tucson Power and other utilities told state regulators last week that plans to avoid outages are getting trickier amid a shift from coal-fired plants to solar and wind resources, more extreme summer temperatures and a tight western power market .
Citing a recent study by Environmental + Energy Economics (E3), Alter said TEP and other Southwest utilities face significant challenges in meeting peak power demand as they transition from coal-fired generation in the coming years.
“Load growth and resource decommissioning are creating a significant and urgent need for new resources in the Southwest,” said E3, a report commissioned by TEP, Arizona Public Service, Salt River Project, Arizona Electric Cooperative, El Paso Power write.. and New Mexico Public Service Corporation.
“Maintaining regional reliability will depend on whether utilities can add new resources fast enough to meet this growing demand and require an unprecedented pace of development in the region,” the study concluded.
Across the region, utilities will face a generation shortfall of nearly 4 GW by 2025, with existing resources and plants currently under development.1 GW or 1,000 MW of installed solar capacity is enough to power approximately 200,000 to 250,000 homes in the TEP region.
Southwest Utilities is bracing for higher demand, pledging to add about 5 gigawatts of new power, with plans to add another 14.4 gigawatts by 2025, the report said.
But the E3 report said any delays in the utility’s construction plans could lead to future power shortages, potentially raising system reliability risks for a decade or more.
“While this risk may seem remote under normal circumstances, supply chain disruptions, material shortages and tight labor markets have impacted project timelines across the country,” the study said.
In 2021, TEP added 449 megawatts of wind and solar resources, enabling the company to provide about 30% of its electricity from renewable sources.
According to a new study sponsored by TEP and other Southwest utilities, by 2025, if all of the Southwest’s planned renewable energy projects are not completed on time, they will be unable to meet growing electricity demand.
TEP has a solar project under construction, the 15 MW Raptor Ridge PV solar project near East Valencia Road and Interstate 10, expected to come online later this year, powered by the customer solar subscription program GoSolar Home .
In early April, TEP announced an all-source request for proposals for up to 250 megawatts of renewable energy and energy-efficiency resources, including solar and wind, and a demand-response program to reduce usage during periods of high demand.TEP is also seeking “fixed capacity” resources of up to 300MW, including energy storage systems that provide at least four hours a day in summer, or demand response plans.
UES has issued tenders for up to 170 MW of renewable energy and energy efficiency resources and up to 150 MW of corporate capacity resources.
TEP and UES expect the new resource to be operational preferably by May 2024, but no later than May 2025.
Turbine generator floor at the H. Wilson Sundt Power Station at 3950 E. Irvington Road in 2017.
Amid the looming retirement of coal-fired power plants, TEP needs to act fast, including the planned June shutdown of the 170-megawatt Unit 1 at the San Juan Power Station in northwest New Mexico.
Barrios said maintaining sufficient generation capacity was always an issue, but TEP was doing better than some of its regional neighbors.
He cited the New Mexico Public Service Corporation, which told regulators it did not have any capacity reserve deposits in July or August.
New Mexico Public Service decided in February to keep another remaining coal-fired generating unit in San Juan running until September, three months after its planned retirement date, to boost its summer reserve margin.
TEP is also working on a demand-response program in which customers allow utilities to reduce electricity usage during peak periods to avoid shortages, Barrios said.
The utility can now work with commercial and industrial customers to quickly reduce demand by as much as 40 megawatts, Barrios said, and there is a new pilot program that allows some apartment dwellers to receive a quarterly bill credit of $10 to reduce demand Their water heater usage is from peak.
The utility is also partnering with Tucson Water on a new “Beat the Peak” campaign to urge customers to reduce energy use during peak times, which are typically 3 to 7 p.m. in summer, Barrios said.
The campaign will include postings on social media and video inviting customers to explore pricing plans and energy efficiency options to help reduce peak-hour usage, he said.
A sunny sunset over the Rillito River on September 1, 2021, in Santa Cruz, a day after Tropical Storm Nora brought hours of rain in Tucson, Arizona. Near the confluence of the Santa Cruz River, it flows almost on one bank.
Jeff Bartsch puts a sandbag on a pickup truck near Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona, on August 30, 2021.Bartsch, who lives near Craycroft Road and 22nd Street, said his wife’s office, also known as the garage, was flooded twice.Tropical Storm Nora is expected to bring heavy rain and cause more flooding.
Pedestrians walk past the drenched Capitol and Intersection 6 as the remnants of Tropical Storm Nora rained over Tucson, Arizona, on August 31, 2021.
People fill up sandbags at Hi Corbett Field as clouds roll over Tucson, Arizona, on August 30, 2021.Tropical Storm Nora is expected to bring heavy rain and cause more flooding.
Elaine Gomez.Her sister-in-law, Lucyann Trujillo, helps her fill a sandbag near Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona, on August 30, 2021.Gomez, who lives near 19th Street and Claycroft Road, said the house flooded a couple weeks ago.Tropical Storm Nora is expected to bring heavy rain and cause more flooding.
People fill up sandbags at Hi Corbett Field as clouds roll over Tucson, Arizona, on August 30, 2021.Tropical Storm Nora is expected to bring heavy rain and cause more flooding.
Post time: May-07-2022