Energy experts say New England’s power grid must reduce its reliance on natural gas, and to plan for extreme winter weather. Fears about a harsh winter are prompting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to ask ISO New England, the grid operator, to work with states to move away from natural gas.
Energy officials in Maine say 24% of the state’s electric grid is powered by wind, yet New England as a region is still overly dependent on natural gas to heat and electrify homes and businesses. And they say the war in Ukraine is disrupting supplies and causing price spikes that could impact the grid’s ability to meet power demands this winter.
Jeremy McDiarmid, policy and government affairs vice president at the New England Clean Energy Council, said he’s optimistic renewables and energy storage will replace fossil fuels some day.
“I think it can’t happen fast enough and we need to keep pushing. We need to create policies that create market conditions that help companies thrive and make that transition as fast as possible,” McDiarmid said.
In the short term, McDiarmid said getting large and small customers to shift power usage to off-peak hours is one way to avoid rolling blackouts caused by heavy demand on the system.
Melissa Birchard, Director of Clean Energy and Grid Transition at the Acadia Center, said efforts to curb peak demand, such as charging EV’s at night, will help to avoid electricity supply problems.
“By shifting all of those things at the same time…we come up with a formidable resource. It works and it makes a difference,” Birchard said.
Birchard said California was able to avoid blackouts this past summer during the heat wave by asking customers to shift demand from peak usage times. She said renewable energy is the long-term solution that will end natural gas reliance in the region. Renewables currently provide just 12% of the NE grid’s power.
