Transmission Makes the Power System Resilient to Extreme Weather

Transmission Makes the Power System Resilient to Extreme Weather, a report released by the American Council on Renewable Energy and authored by Grid Strategies LLC, quantifies the value added interregional transmission would have provided during five severe weather events in Texas, the Northeast and the Midwestern United States over the last decade. The analysis finds that each additional gigawatt of transmission capacity connecting the Texas power grid (ERCOT) with neighboring states in the Southeast could have saved nearly $1 billion and kept the heat on for approximately 200,000 Texas homes during Winter Storm Uri in February of 2021. This is one of several findings demonstrating that additional interregional transmission capacity can not only enhance grid resilience, but also significantly reduce the consumer cost impact of extreme weather events. The report also outlines the pro-transmission policies that would help realize these benefits, including provisions to reform planning, paying for and permitting new lines.

Transmission Makes the Power System Resilient to Extreme Weather