CHARLOTTE — Tuesday, the Department of Energy approved an order allowing Duke Energy emergency powers to meet high energy demand in North and South Carolina during this week’s heat wave.
The order allows the utility to operate its power generating resources in the Duke Energy’s Carolina’s territory in a way that may exceed environmental permit requirements in the name of keeping the grid stable and energy supply reliable during this period of high energy demand.
Duke Energy made the request Monday as the utility anticipated unprecedented summer energy demand due to the excessive heat moving through the region.Typically, during times of high power demand, utilities like Duke Energy rely on what’s called “peaker plants” or power generating units that operate only when necessary. They are often fueled by diesel, natural gas or another fossil fuel and operate for short time periods.
According to the order, the utility was concerned the excessive heat could stress some of its current power generating units and wanted the authority to scale up generation for those “peaker” units. That could result in higher particle pollution or nitrogen oxide emissions.
According to a Duke spokesman, this was the first time Duke Energy has made such a request in the Carolinas service territory. He added the request was precautionary and as of Wednesday afternoon there has not been a need to operate any units outside of their environmental permits.
Duke Energy also requested customers voluntarily reduce their power usage to help the utility meet the high demand and reduce the need for this emergency authorization. Spokesman Bill Norton said so far the utility is still evaluating the impact of those power saving measures, but it is clear they’ve had some impact on the peak demand periods during this heat wave.
“We greatly appreciate our customers’ support this week to reduce their electricity use during the hottest parts of the day,” he said. “We understand it can be inconvenient, but those actions made a significant difference for all.”
The authorization lasts until 10 p.m. Wednesday, when the heat emergency is set to end.
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