After declaring an Energy Emergency Alert Level 3 at 10:08 a.m. this morning, and after exhausting all other options to ensure the continued reliability of the regional grid, SPP is directing member utilities to implement controlled interruptions of service effective immediately.
After directing member utilities to implement controlled interruptions of service shortly after noon on Feb. 15, SPP has restored load to its 14-state region as of 2 p.m. CT. We now have enough generation available to meet demand throughout our service territory.
Wind served more of our load in 2020 than any other fuel source. We're the first U.S. RTO to have
#wind
as our main fuel source. We're able to do this thanks to years of transmission building and a diverse mix of generation resources to ensure reliability in our footprint.
SPP set new renewable records: renewable energy penetration record of 90.2% at 2:24 a.m. March 29, renewable production record of 23,802 MW at 9:25 p.m. and a wind production record of 22,915 MW at 10:34 p.m. March 28.
Effective at 1:15 p.m. CT, SPP has declared an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) Level 1 for its entire 14-state balancing authority area.
Generation is currently sufficient to serve system-wide demand across the region and to fully satisfy operating reserve requirements.
SPP is declaring an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) Level 3 effective immediately for our entire 14-state balancing authority area. Systemwide generating capacity has dropped below our current load of ~42 GW due to extremely low temperatures and inadequate supplies of natural gas.
As of 12:31 p.m. CT, SPP downgraded the energy emergency alert (EEA) to level 1. This is declared when all available resources have been committed to meet obligations, and SPP is at risk of not meeting required operating reserves.
Why has the SPP region been so affected by the current cold-weather event? This map shows overlap between the coldest temperatures in the nation and SPP’s 14-state balancing authority area.
At 6:20 p.m. CT on Feb. 17, SPP declared an Energy Emergency Alert Level 2, which requires SPP to direct its member companies to issue public conservation appeals. The alert will remain in effect until further notice.
Effective at 10:59 p.m. CT on Feb. 17, SPP has declared an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) Level 1 for its entire 14-state balancing authority area. Generation is currently sufficient to serve system-wide demand across the region and to fully satisfy operating reserve requirements.
As of 9:30 a.m. CT, Feb. 18, SPP is no longer under an energy emergency alert. Due to continuing high loads and other implications of severe cold weather, it remains in a period of conservative operations until 10 p.m. CT, Feb. 20, for the entire SPP balancing authority area.
“SPP thanks its members, neighboring systems and the millions of people in our region for their response to this historic event,” said Barbara Sugg, SPP president and chief executive officer. “This has been a case study in everyone doing their part on behalf of the greater good."
At 6:28 p.m. Central time on Feb. 16, SPP declared an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) Level 2. An EEA Level 2 requires SPP to direct its member companies to issue public conservation appeals. The alert will remain in effect until further notice.
Extreme cold weather has led to regionwide electricity use that exceeds available generation across the SPP service territory. SPP declared an EEA Level 3 at 10:08 a.m. CT on Feb. 15, signaling that its operating reserves are below the required minimum.
SPP set new system records May 8, 2021, including
#wind
and
#renewable
penetration records, which are percentages of load at a given time.
#energytwitter
SPP set several new system records March 29, 2021, including
#wind
and
#renewable
historical peaks and penetration records. This is the first time our wind penetration peaked over 80%.
#energytwitter
SPP set a new
#wind
-penetration record of 66.5% at 2:11 a.m., April 21. Wind served 14,063 MW of the 21,148 MW total load. We also set a
#renewable
-penetration record of 70% at 2:08 a.m., April 21.
Effective at 9:20 a.m. CT, Feb. 19, SPP is no longer under an energy emergency alert. Due to continuing high loads & other impacts of severe cold weather, SPP remains in a period of conservative operations until 10 p.m. CT, Feb. 20, for the entire SPP balancing authority area.
SPP declared an Energy Emergency Alert Level 1 for its entire Balancing Authority footprint from 5:20 pm until further notice. SPP has enough electricity to meet region-wide demand and maintain energy reserves; an EEA1 indicates reserves could be threatened if conditions worsen.
SPP set a peak
#load
record at 4:44 p.m. today, July 11, 2022, as region-wide
#electricity
use reached 51,377
#megawatts
. This surpasses SPP’s previous record of 51,090
#MW
set last Tuesday, July 5, 2022.
SPP’s resource alert, effective June 14 @ 9 a.m. - June 16 @ 9 p.m., is due to outages, high energy use and other factors. It does not require public action. We are operating as expected in a high-load, summer event and are positioned to meet demand and respond to contingencies.
SPP becomes first regional grid operator with wind as No. 1 annual fuel source, considers electric storage participation in markets, approves 2021 transmission plan.
At 6:28 p.m. Central time on Feb. 16, SPP declared an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) Level 2. An EEA Level 2 requires SPP to direct its member companies to issue public conservation appeals. The alert will remain in effect until further notice.
SPP set a new
#wind
-penetration record of 63.96 percent at 3:35 a.m., April 30. Wind served 13,644.35 MW of the 21,331.57 MW total load. We also set a
#renewable
-penetration record of 69.44 percent at 3:53 a.m., April 29.
SPP set a new
#wind
-penetration record of 62.13 percent at 1:54 a.m., March 31. Wind served 14,451.8 MW of the 23,262 MW total load. We also set a
#renewable
-penetration record of 64.7 percent at the same time.
SPP set a new
#wind
-penetration record of 67.3% at 1:25 a.m., April 27. Wind served 15,148 MW of the 22,517 MW total load. We also set a
#renewable
-penetration record of 71.4% at 1:25 a.m., April 27.
We continue to urge all homes & businesses in our 14-state region to conserve electricity, but are not directing any interruptions of service at this time.
The public should follow their service providers’ directions regarding local outages, tips for conservation and safety.
SPP set three wind- and renewable-related records Dec. 4. At 5:20 a.m., we set a new wind-penetration level of 56.25% and a renewable-penetration level of 58.23%. At 7:55 a.m., we also set a 13,588 MW record for peak wind generation.
Effective at 6:25 p.m. CT, SPP declared an Energy Emergency Alert Level 1, meaning all available generation resources in its 14-state balancing authority area are committed to meet forecasted electricity demand.
SPP set several new system records March 9, 2021, including
#wind
and
#renewable
penetration records. Additionally, we almost set a wind output record — wind reached 20,077 MW at 8:10 p.m. March 8. The historical record is 20,108 MW set Feb. 4, 2021.
#energytwitter
SPP has chosen Tamika Edwards to serve as Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She'll led SPP's DEI initiatives and work to continually advance diversity, equity and inclusion within the organization and community.
SPP set a new wind-penetration record of 58.1 percent at 02:08 a.m. on March 5. Wind served 13,251.21 MW of the 22,818.48 MW total load. Also, for the first time, we saw continuous, sustained wind generation of more than 12 GW over a three-day period.
SPP is saddened by the devastation to our community caused by yesterday's storms, and grateful that while the nearest tornado touched down just blocks away, we sustained no damage to our headquarters. We look forward to joining in restoration efforts and doing our part to serve.
SPP's Western Markets Executive Committee voted unanimously Jan. 25 to proceed with the planned Feb. 1 go live of the Western Energy Imbalance Service market. This is the last major milestone toward the launch of the WEIS.
SPP’s service territory has experienced widespread and extreme cold leading to new records and the declaration of several advisories and alerts. SPP set a new record for electricity use on Dec. 22, with load exceeding 47,000 MW. For more information visit .
SPP set a new
#wind
peak record of 18,259 MW at 6:08 p.m., Jan. 8. This surpasses the previous record of 17,861 MW set Dec. 11, 2019, by 398 MW.
#energytwitter
SPP set a new
#wind
peak record of 18,442 MW at 6:20 p.m., Nov. 14. This surpasses the previous record of 18,343 MW set July 17, 2020, by 99 MW.
#energytwitter
As of 8:20 pm central time, SPP has declared an end to the Energy Emergency Alert Level 1. The less severe Conservative Operations Advisory previously declared remains in effect until 00:00 on Dec. 25.
SPP expects to have enough energy resources to meet electricity demand across its 14-state footprint through the summer. Its member utilities’ energy resources can serve 55.5 GW, and SPP expects the demand for electricity to peak below that at 51.1 GW.
Extreme cold weather has created energy deficiencies in the Southwest Power Pool’s (SPP) region. SPP declared an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) Level 2 beginning at 7:22 am central time Monday, Feb. 15.
SPP has chosen Kentucky Public Service Commission Commissioner Talina Mathews to serve as director of state regulatory policy, effective Aug. 16, 2021.
Our thoughts are with our neighbors
@MISO_Energy
and
@ERCOT
as they prepare for direct impacts from
#HurricaneLaura
. We're ready to provide support as needed and are developing multiple contingency plans to keep power flowing in our own region.
SPP is proud to announce Bonneville Power Administration, a federal agency serving nearly 3 million people in the Pacific Northwest, as SPP’s first western utility to formally commit to funding further development of SPP’s Markets+.
Full release here:
SPP set a new
#wind
peak record of 18,343 MW at 11:13 p.m., July 17. This surpasses the previous record of 18,259 MW set Jan. 8, 2020, by 84 MW.
#energytwitter
SPP has chosen Kim O’Guinn, to serve as director of state regulatory policy. She will lead SPP’s state regulatory policy efforts and support the company’s work on related regional transmission organization policy matters. Read more at .
We did a little bit of post-game analysis of load fluctuations in SPP's footprint during the
#SuperBowl
on Feb. 4. We saw a spike as viewers tuned in to the halftime show, a visible drop in load after the game ended, and a post-game peak as the special episode of
#ThisIsUs
began.
SPP is issuing a Conservative Operations Advisory in addition to the two previously declared advisories for its entire BA effective 4 a.m. CT, Jan. 14 with an anticipated end of 9 p.m. CT, Jan. 16. The public is not required to conserve energy.
We’ll be working with our member utilities to implement controlled interruptions of electric service throughout our region. This is done as a last resort to preserve the reliability of the electric system as a whole.
SPP set a new
#wind
peak record of 19,848 MW at 8:45 a.m., Jan. 14. This surpasses the previous record of 19,691 MW set Dec. 23, 2020. The historical renewable total was 21,157 MW.
#energytwitter
Individuals in the SPP service territory should take steps to conserve energy use and follow their local utilities’ instructions regarding conservation, local conditions and the potential for outages to their homes and businesses.
SPP previously declared a move from EEA Level 3 to EEA Level 2 at 11:30 a.m. Central time.
SPP’s forecasts anticipate that due to high load and persistent cold weather, it is likely its system will fluctuate between EEA levels over the next 48 hours.
#ICYMI
SPP answered the media's most pressing questions about the current state of the grid and recent energy emergency alerts during a press conference at 4 p.m. CT on Feb. 16, 2021.
We’re honored to have received Western Area Power Administration's commitment to pursue SPP membership in the West and are committed to helping them deliver reliable, affordable power to their customers.
We continue to urge all homes & businesses throughout our 14-state region to conserve electricity, but aren't directing any interruptions of service at this time. The public should follow their service providers’ directions regarding local outages, tips for conservation & safety.
#ICYMI
SPP hosted a press conference about the current state of the grid, recent energy emergency alerts and controlled interruptions of service at 3 p.m. CT on Feb. 15, 2021.
SPP set a new
#wind
peak record of 20,108 MW at 7:45 a.m., Feb. 4. This surpasses the previous record of 19,848 MW set Jan. 14, 2021. The historical renewable total was 21,446 MW.
#energytwitter
Without the work they do here, you couldn’t work from there. Thank you to our operators who manage the reliability and operation of our electric grid in real time to keep the lights on in hospitals, businesses, homes and home offices across 17 states.
Operations staff and market mechanisms reliably managed a new wind peak on SPP’s system. Wind crested at 16,382 MW at 7:40 a.m., Dec. 20, beating the Dec. 15, 2017, record by 692 MW.
With recent commitments from
@Basin_Electric
and
@WesternAreaPowr
to pursue membership in the SPP RTO, our western expansion efforts are moving full steam ahead. We look forward to collaborating with and serving these new members. Find a full release at .
Operations staff and market mechanisms reliably managed a new wind peak on SPP’s system. Wind spiked to 15, 690 MW (51% of 30,956 MW total load) at 20:51 on 12/15, beating the 12/4 record by 1500 MW.
We're happy to host member communicators at SPP for our second annual Communications Conference, where we're discussing the state of the grid, internal communications, SPP stakeholder diversity, cybersecurity, community outreach and more!
SPP’s forecasts anticipate that due to high load and persistent cold weather, it's likely its system will continue to fluctuate between EEA levels for ~48 hours & may require issuance of controlled interruptions of service. We will send further notification if this is necessary.
SPP set a new
#wind
peak record of 19,371 MW at 6:47 p.m., Dec. 22. This surpasses the previous record of 19,176 MW set Nov. 23, 2020. The historical renewable total was 20,566 MW.
#energytwitter
We continue to urge all homes & businesses in our 14-state region to conserve electricity, but are not directing any interruptions of service at this time.
The public should follow their service providers’ directions regarding local outages, tips for conservation & safety.
SPP successfully processed nearly 100 Generator Interconnection Agreements this year, with a remarkable 78 agreements finalized in the last two quarters alone. We commend our dedicated teams for consistently overcoming challenges to achieve these impressive results.
SPP’s service territory set a new record for electricity use on August 21 at 4:27 p.m. CT when energy demand peaked at 56,184 MW.
>Learn more about current Grid Conditions at
SPP set a new
#wind
peak record of 17,861 MW at 8:10 p.m., Dec. 11. This surpasses the previous record of 17,595 MW set Oct. 17 by 266 MW.
#energytwitter
SPP President & CEO Barbara Sugg shared a message regarding SPP's emergency response related to last week's weather event and a look at recovery and the future.
Our corporate website, , is currently inaccessible due to high traffic volume. We are working to restore functionality. We will post when the issue is resolved. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
We consider our employees our most valuable asset, and we are proud our latest employee-engagement survey — administered and verified by the Best Places organization — shows out-of-the-park pride, satisfaction and motivation among our staff.
Multiple participants in SPP’s Western Energy Imbalance Service market have signed letters of intent to evaluate membership in SPP due to clear economic and reliability benefits for themselves and current members.
As of Nov. 15, SPP received its Western RC certification from
@NERC
. This certification confirms SPP has the necessary tools, processes, training, procedures and personnel to operate as the reliability coordinator in the west beginning Dec. 3, 2019.
SPP has declared a Conservative Operations Advisory for 8/21 from 11 am - 9 pm CT. SPP and its member utilities will operate the grid conservatively to mitigate risks associated with system conditions. SPP is not asking the public to conserve energy.
We're excited to welcome
@CSUtilities
to our Western Energy Imbalance Service Market in April 2022 and to join in an evaluation of the benefits of RTO membership. Full release at
SPP declared a Conservative Operations Advisory effective from 11:00 am central time today through 12:00 a.m. on 12/25. This advisory is due to continued high loads, severe cold weather, and wind forecast uncertainty. The advisory does not require the public to conserve energy.