Regional reliability official urges planning for extreme weather and rising data-center demand

Brian Thum, representing the regional electric reliability organization that oversees parts of Louisiana, told the Louisiana Public Service Commission that extreme weather and rapid, non-traditional load growth are among the top risks facing the grid in the coming years. "This is our sixth highest risk right now: non-traditional load growth," Thum said, citing data centers, electrification and 24/7 loads as drivers that require planners to shift from traditional peak-capacity models to hour-by-hour energy planning.

Thum previewed a regional reliability report that will go to his board in December and described an interregional transfer capability study his organization filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. He said the study is intended to show what interregional transmission additions could accomplish to move power during extreme events and to reduce the chance that pockets of generation become isolated during storms. "Transfer capability alone is not going to solve the problem," he said, but it can be a key part of a portfolio of solutions that also includes generation and local investments.

Commissioners asked how the federal planning work and recent FERC activity (including the interregional planning direction of Order 1920) will affect states and utilities. Thum said his organization will continue to provide regional studies and outreach and will work with utilities on studies that could be used for transmission or generation investments. He also warned that the region has seen a shift toward winter peaking in some areas as electrification proceeds, and that planners must consider serving load "every hour of every day" rather than only peak hours.

Why it matters: Thum flagged more frequent and costly weather disasters and a major change in demand patterns, both of which have potential rate, reliability and planning implications for utilities and regulators. He encouraged the commission and utilities to engage in workshops and to use the forthcoming regional report and interregional studies as inputs to state-level planning.

The commission's discussion included follow-up questions about whether FERC-led initiatives and DOE transmission planning resources are being incorporated into state planning and whether utilities are assessing tax-credit impacts and transmission adders as they model renewables and batteries.

The presentation and question-and-answer session took place during the commission's morning agenda and concluded with commissioners thanking Thum for the briefing and noting interest in future workshops and staff coordination.