‘Explosive’ demand growth puts more than half of North America at risk of blackouts: NERC

“Simply put, our infrastructure is not being built fast enough to keep up with the rising demand,” said John Moura, NERC’s director of reliability assessments and planning analysis. - Robert Walton

The North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s 10-year summer peak demand forecast has grown by more than 50% within the last year. YinYang via Getty Images

Dive Brief:

• More than half of North America faces a risk of energy shortfalls in the next five to 10 years as data centers and electrification drive electricity demand higher and generator retirements threaten resource adequacy, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. said in a 10-year outlook published Tuesday.
• Summer demand is forecast to rise by more than 122 GW in the next decade, adding 15.7% to current system peaks, according to the reliability watchdog’s 2024 Long-Term Reliability Assessment, or LTRA. NERC said its 10-year summer peak demand forecast has grown by more than 50% within the last year...