Southern Illinois Electric Cooperative (SIEC) is aware of the recent North American Reliability Corporation’s 2022 Summer Reliability Assessment that places much of the Midwest in the “High Risk” category for “energy emergencies during peak summer conditions.” This assessment is mainly due to less generation capacity being available due to recent unit retirements. There is also a projected 1.7% increase in energy demand since last summer.
SIEC is working closely with its power supplier, Southern Illinois Power Cooperative (SIPC), to monitor the situation. Although SIPC has enough generation capacity to serve its members, the organization responsible for managing the power grid in our region, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), may call for operating mitigations. These mitigations may include an appeal for energy conservation or a reliance on temporary load shedding by selective resources in the region. More extreme temperatures or higher than anticipated generation or transmission outages may expose the entire region to a higher risk of temporary load shedding events to maintain system reliability.
Both SIEC and SIPC have load shedding plans in place in the event that they are deemed necessary by MISO. If load shedding events do occur, they would most likely take place during peak hours between noon and 8:00 PM. Alternating areas of outages may be needed for approximately one to four hours in length to satisfy the MISO requirements and to maintain system reliability.
SIEC and SIPC will do everything possible to keep its members informed of any possible calls for energy conservation or load shedding events in our area.
If you have any questions, please contact us at 618-827-3555.
