The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, operator of the state's power grid, said in a report today that a new federal environmental regulation would reduce generating capacity and put the grid "at increasing risk of emergency events," including rotating power outages.
The Jan. 1 implementation date for the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, designed to curb air pollution from power plants, leaves ERCOT with "an extremely truncated period" in which to assess the impact of the rule and "no realistic opportunity to take steps that could even partially offset the substantial losses of available operating capacity," it said.The report outlined three scenarios, with even the "best-case scenario" expected to result in the loss of an estimated 1,200 to 1,400 megawatts of generating capacity during peak consumption periods, ERCOT said."Had this incremental reduction been in place in 2011, ERCOT would have experienced rotating outages during days in August," the report said.Rotating power outages are implemented as an emergency measure when electricity demand is close to exceeding power supplies from generators.Peak power consumption hit record levels that exceeded 65,000 megawatts on several days of exceptionally high temperatures in August, causing ERCOT to implement initial emergency measures and putting it close to instituting rotating outages.The Environmental Protection Agency, in a statement responding to the ERCOT report, said Texas "has an ample range of cost-effective emission reductions options" for complying with the rule "without threatening electricity reliability or the continued operation of coal-burning units.""Without this rule, Texas power plants will contribute significantly to air pollution in downwind states ... in some cases forcing the consideration of more costly local reductions, and in all cases unfairly depriving thousands of families of the health benefits associated with breathing clean air," the EPA said.In Texas, the rule will help prevent an estimated 670 to 1,700 premature deaths per year starting in 2014, the agency said.Dallas-based power generator Luminant has asked that the EPA to delay implementation of the rule, which it says could force it to curtail power generation and lignite mining associated with its coal-fired plants in East Texas. The result could be reduced revenues for the company and the loss of hundreds of jobs, it said.The rule would require substantial reductions in plant emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide. The EPA says the rule will save and prolong lives by reducing harmful smog and soot pollution.Jack Z. Smith, 817-390-7724Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
