New England power demand fell to an all-time low on Easter
Sean D. Elliot / Courtesy / The Day of New London
Millstone nuclear power station.
Demand on New England’s power grid fell to an all-time low on Sunday afternoon as sunny skies and mild temperatures zapped residents’ need for electricity.
According to preliminary data from the region’s grid operator, ISO New England, power system demand across the six-state region fell to 5,318 megawatts between roughly 1 and 2 p.m. as temperatures across much of the area reached into the 60s.
That beat the region’s previous record low of 6,596 megawatts, which was set last April.
It’s not uncommon for demand on the grid to wane during the spring and fall — often referred to as the “shoulder” months — when milder temperatures lessen the need for energy-intensive heating and cooling. Grid operators attributed Sunday’s record to favorable weather as well as the Easter holiday
“This is the fourth year that we’ve seen a record low, but the difference between last year’s record low and this one was a pretty good jump,” said Mary Cate Colapietro, a spokeswoman for ISO New England.
By contrast, demand on the the grid reached its all-time high on Aug. 2, 2006 with 28,130 megawatts of power needed.
The proliferation of energy-efficient technologies and rooftop solar panels is also helping to drive down the need to pull electricity off the grid.
On Sunday afternoon, for example, grid operators estimated that behind-the-meter solar panels generated a peak of roughly 6,600 megawatts of electricity — more power than the entire system was drawing from power plants.
As the sun set that evening and solar panels stopped producing electricity, the demand for power in New England more than doubled, reaching of peak of around 11,800 megawatts.
“Such days are not disruptive from a grid operations perspective,” ISO New England said in a statement Tuesday, adding that the grid’s “sophisticated modeling and forecasting methods allow system operators to anticipate and prepare for low demand levels.”
Lower demand on the grid also allows the owners of larger power plants to relax production and perform maintenance, with renewable sources available to pick up the slack.
In March, for the first time, renewable sources of electricity surpassed fossil fuels to supply more than half of the U.S.’ electricity demands, according to the energy think tank Ember.
On Sunday, power production from nuclear, hydroelectric and other renewable sources in New England briefly accounted for more than two-thirds of the region’s power, supplanting natural gas.
Despite the strides of the last several years in reducing power demand, ISO New England predicts that electricity use across the region will increase more than 17% by 2033, driven by the electrification of cars and home heating systems, along with the growth of data centers and artificial intelligence projects.
Peak demand during the winter and summer months is also expected to grow over the next decade, according to operators.
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