Current Grid Conditions

Updated 10:45 a.m. Monday, September 16, 2024

SPP is issuing a Resource Advisory for the entire Balancing Authority effective 11:00 a.m. CT Thursday, September 19 until an anticipated end time of 9:00 p.m. CT Friday, September 20.

• Resource Advisories do not require the public to conserve energy but are issued to raise awareness of potential threats to reliability among entities responsible for operating transmission and generation facilities.
  
  
• This Resource Advisory is being declared based on forecasts of potential high peak loads based on warm temperatures, potential increase in resource outages and potential low output from wind and other variable energy resources (*also known as low VER forecast) leading into peak hours.
  
  
• To mitigate risks to reliability associated with these factors, SPP may use greater unit commitment notification timeframes, including making commitments before standard day-ahead market procedures and/or committing resources in reliability status.
  
  
• SPP will send additional information if necessary.

Descriptions of common reliability events are provided below in increasing order of severity:

Advisories raise awareness and do not require general audiences to take action. SPP member utilities should follow applicable procedures. Energy Emergency Alerts indicate all available generation has been committed to meet region-wide demand. As conditions worsen, voluntary conservation or service interruptions may be necessary to prevent uncontrolled outages.

Normal Operations: SPP has enough generation to meet demand and available reserves, and it foresees no extreme or abnormal threats to reliability.

Weather Advisory: Declared when extreme weather is expected in SPP’s reliability coordination service territory.

Resource Advisory:  Declared when severe weather conditions, significant outages, wind-forecast uncertainty and/or load-forecast uncertainty are expected in SPP’s balancing authority area.

Conservative Operations Advisory:  Declared when SPP determines there is a need to operate its system conservatively based on weather, environmental, operational, terrorist, cyber or other events.

Energy Emergency Alert Level 1:  Declared when all available resources have been committed to meet obligations, and SPP is at risk of not meeting required operating reserves.

Energy Emergency Alert Level 2:  Declared when SPP can no longer provide expected energy requirements, or when SPP foresees or has implemented procedures up to, but excluding, service interruptions to maintain regional reliability. 

Energy Emergency Alert Level 3:  At this level, SPP is utilizing operating reserves such that it is carrying reserves below the required minimum and has initiated assistance through its Reserve Sharing Group. SPP foresees or has implemented firm load obligation interruption. Before requesting an EEA 3, SPP will have already provided the appropriate internal notifications to its Market Participants.

Restoration Event:  Defined as a major or catastrophic grid outage which could be a total or partial regional blackout, island situation or system separation.

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