Dive Brief:
- Southwest Power Pool last week announced it had hit two new peak load records, of 50,083 MW and 50,622 on July 20 and 21, respectively.
- The new peak includes the addition of the Integrated System, which joined SPP last year and expanded the system territory from eight to 14 states.
- Platts reports the grid's total generation topped 1,006 GWh on July 21, up from 980 GWh the day before.
Dive Insight:
SPP saw its peak load spike to new records last week, boosted by a heat wave that settled over the region.
Platts reported peak day-ahead prices on the grid averaged almost $36/MWh but then jumped to more than $52/MWh during the peaks. Wthout the Integrated System, a spokesman told the news outlet that SPP would be close to, but still below, peak load records from 2011.
SPP officially incorporated the Integrated System its system more than a year ago. The IS includes the Western Area Power Administration’s Upper Great Plains Region (Western-UGP), Basin Electric Power Cooperative, and the Heartland Consumers Power District.
The new territory added 5,000 MW of capacity and 9,500 miles of lines.Wind generation is helping to meet an increasing portion of the region's demand. In March, SPP set wind penetration records twice, with wind energy supplying 44.8% of its electricity, and then 45.1% of electricity the following day. Wind generation peaked around 9,715 MW with total load about 21,700 MW.
In March, SPP averaged almost 6,900 MW of wind generation, 3,800 MW more than the grid operator saw in March 2015.
