Victoria sets new winter electricity demand record

☀️ On sweltering days like these, solar power is delivering power to help us all stay cool. But with temperature forecasts continuing to reach the upper 90s to low 100s this week in parts of southern New England, ISO NE is asking customers to help reduce peak demand in the early evenings. Instead of peaking in the mid-afternoon, as was common during summers before widespread solar installations, New England grid demand now peaks in the early evening hours. During periods of high electricity demand, consumers can help reduce the amount of power needed by being mindful of their energy use during the peak-use hours of 4 to 8 p.m. As of Tuesday morning, the ISO is forecasting the following peak electric loads: Thursday, July 2: 25,850MW Friday, July 3: 24,000 MW Saturday, July 4: 21,950 MW ISO New England’s all-time peak load was 28,130 megawatts (MW), recorded on August 2, 2006. Will we break a record this year? 😮 We're working towards a future where BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) can help further defeat the peak! 🔋

☀️ On sweltering days like these, solar power is delivering power to help us all stay cool. But with temperature forecasts continuing to reach the upper 90s to low 100s this week in parts of southern New England, ISO NE is asking customers to help reduce peak demand in the early evenings. Instead of peaking in the mid-afternoon, as was common during summers before widespread solar installations, New England grid demand now peaks in the early evening hours. During periods of high electricity demand, consumers can help reduce the amount of power needed by being mindful of their energy use during the peak-use hours of 4 to 8 p.m. As of Tuesday morning, the ISO is forecasting the following peak electric loads: Thursday, July 2: 25,850MW Friday, July 3: 24,000 MW Saturday, July 4: 21,950 MW ISO New England’s all-time peak load was 28,130 megawatts (MW), recorded on August 2, 2006. Will we break a record this year? 😮 We're working towards a future where BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) can help further defeat the peak! 🔋

☀️ On sweltering days like these, solar power is delivering power to help us all stay cool. But with temperature forecasts continuing to reach the upper 90s to low 100s this week in parts of southern New England, ISO NE is asking customers to help reduce peak demand in the early evenings. Instead of peaking in the mid-afternoon, as was common during summers before widespread solar installations, New England grid demand now peaks in the early evening hours. During periods of high electricity demand, consumers can help reduce the amount of power needed by being mindful of their energy use during the peak-use hours of 4 to 8 p.m. As of Tuesday morning, the ISO is forecasting the following peak electric loads: Thursday, July 2: 25,850MW Friday, July 3: 24,000 MW Saturday, July 4: 21,950 MW ISO New England’s all-time peak load was 28,130 megawatts (MW), recorded on August 2, 2006. Will we break a record this year? 😮 We're working towards a future where BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) can help further defeat the peak! 🔋

As much of the country experiences another stretch of extreme heat, it's worth remembering what happened during last summer's July heat wave. During a three-day heat wave in late July 2025 that tied or broke temperature records across the Central and Eastern United States, clean energy helped keep the lights on while saving consumers more than $114 million in wholesale electricity costs. In Texas, where renewables supplied 34% of generation, consumers saved $47 million. In the Great Plains, wind generated 28% of the region's electricity, saving consumers more than $26 million. Heat waves place enormous stress on the electric grid. As demand for air conditioning surges, system operators must call on increasingly expensive generation to meet peak demand, driving up electricity prices and increasing reliability risks. Last summer demonstrated that utility-scale wind, solar, and battery storage are not just clean energy resources—they are reliability resources. They help meet peak demand, reduce reliance on higher-cost generation, and lower costs for consumers when the grid is under its greatest stress. As we endure another stretch of extreme heat, last year's experience offers an important reminder: investing in a diverse, modern electric grid that includes more renewable energy and energy storage benefits both reliability and ratepayers. #PJM #Renewables #EnergyStorage #GridReliability #Solar #Wind #EnergyPolicy

I don’t know what your source is but it is not telling the whole story. Texas (ERCOT) has scaled back solar, wind and battery due to costs. Moreover costs have to include a standard length, not your cherry picked 1 yr. Real data has to include cradle to grave to see the real costs. Some assets are short some long. Nuclear 40-60 yrs, solar/wind/battery 5-10 yr. Oil/NG 25-30 yr. Hydro (it’s not really renewable) 50-70yr.

With a heat dome settling over much of the country, it's worth a quick refresher on how wind, solar, and battery storage help keep the lights on and electricity costs lower when demand is at its highest. The reason is straightforward: clean power resources have the lowest marginal operating cost. As more of these resources come online, they displace the most expensive generators from the dispatch stack. During periods of extreme demand—when grid operators would otherwise need to rely on their highest-cost power plants—that translates directly into lower electricity prices. It also leaves those expensive generators available as reserves, giving grid operators additional flexibility if conditions tighten further. This isn't just theory—we see it play out repeatedly in real-world events. Our team's analysis of the July 2025 heat wave found that every major U.S. power market benefited from clean energy, but the largest savings occurred in regions with the highest levels of deployment. Texas: Wind, solar, and batteries supplied roughly 34% of electricity demand and saved customers $47 million over just three days. Great Plains: Those same resources generated approximately 28% of electricity and reduced customer costs by more than $26 million. Mid-Atlantic: Even though clean energy accounts for only about 10% of generating capacity, it still delivered roughly $16 million in customer savings. As this week's heat dome unfolds, our team will be tracking how clean energy performs across the country. We'll share what we learn—including how these resources help maintain reliability while reducing costs for customers during periods of extreme demand. https://lnkd.in/gHRn_j-K

If only adoption of these technologies were encouraged and the cost savings passed down to the customers. I honestly believe the transition to renewable energy is inevitable simply because of the economics. Unfortunately, it’s also why there’s such pervasive disinformation surrounding the technology.

Conflict of interests! The price of electricity linked to its source only is as deceiving as the price of gasoline linked to the price of crud oil only. And selectively isolating the subsidy of renewables, paid by tax payers, from the cost, is at best disingenuous.

A 100 MW battery is only half a spec. A battery needs two numbers. Power, in megawatts (MW), is how fast it charges and discharges. Energy, in megawatt-hours (MWh), is how much it holds. Power is set by the inverter, the Power Conversion System (PCS). Energy is set by the cells [1]. Think of a water tank. The pipe width is the power. The tank size is the energy. Duration = energy / power. 200 MWh / 100 MW = 2 hours. 400 MWh / 100 MW = 4 hours. Why pick 2 hours over 4? Duration is set by the energy the use case needs. Shifting midday solar into the evening peak holds output for hours, so around 4 is common [2]. Steadying grid frequency, which both injects and absorbs power in short bursts, needs less energy, so a shorter duration often works. It depends on the use case. Most utility batteries installed in Southeast Asia today are short, around 1 to 2 hours, with 4-hour systems now arriving [3][4]. So "100 MW" alone could be 100 MWh or 400 MWh. Very different capability and cost. Reading "100 MW battery", what duration do you assume? #BESS #EnergyStorage #BatteryStorage

Arizona’s energy transition is entering a new phase. Arizona Public Service plans to convert two retired coal-fired units at the Cholla Power Plant in Joseph City into natural gas generation, with operations expected to begin in 2029. The project would add roughly 380 MW of capacity while reusing existing transmission lines and infrastructure from a plant first commissioned in 1962. Why does this matter? Arizona’s electricity demand is rising fast, driven in part by data centers, manufacturing, and broader population and economic growth. APS expects peak demand to increase by 50% by 2035, putting pressure on utilities to deliver power that is reliable, available around the clock, and cost-effective. The Cholla conversion also reflects a larger national trend: moving away from coal while repurposing existing energy assets to support grid reliability. Utilities across Arizona, including TEP and SRP, are pursuing similar coal-to-gas conversions, and more than 100 U.S. coal plants were converted to natural gas between 2011 and 2019. The key tension is clear: how do we balance lower emissions, affordability, reliability, and the accelerating energy needs of the digital economy? Repurposing existing plants may offer a practical bridge, but it also raises important questions about long-term infrastructure choices and the pace of clean energy deployment. What do you think: are coal-to-gas conversions a smart transition strategy, or should utilities move more aggressively toward renewables and storage? Share your thoughts below. #EnergyTransition #CleanEnergy #NaturalGas #GridReliability #Utilities #Arizona #EnergyInfrastructure #RenewableEnergy #DataCenters #Sustainability