power grid

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Cuba Sinks Into Darkness After Power Grid Fails Again

Second nationwide outage takes place as utility was working on fixing the first

(Newser) - Hours after officials said power was in the process of being restored following Friday's nationwide power outage, "a new total outage occurred," according to a statement from the Cuba Electrical Union. The second nationwide blackout took place Saturday morning, and the union said it was working on...

Texas Is Going to Need a Lot More Power Soon

It will need to provide almost double by 2030, according to state utility's latest prediction

(Newser) - Texas has had its share of power grid woes, and it may soon have more issues to contend with. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, the state's main power grid operator, has issued an updated prediction on the state's future power needs, and it's a...

Power Goes Off Across Ukraine
Power Goes Off
Across Ukraine
Jun 2, 2024 1:20 PM CDT

Power Goes Off Across Ukraine

Government imposes shutdowns after Russian attacks on energy infrastructure

(Newser) - Ukraine imposed emergency power shutdowns in most of the country on Sunday, a day after Russia unleashed large-scale attacks on energy infrastructure and claimed it made gains in the eastern Donetsk province. The shutdowns were in place in all but three regions of Ukraine following Saturday's drone and missile...

Russia Unleashes 'Massive' Attack on Ukraine's Power Grid

Russia sent barrage of missiles and explosive drones overnight

(Newser) - Russian forces unleashed a nighttime barrage of 55 missiles and 21 explosive Shahed drones at Ukraine's power grid on Wednesday, in what President Zelensky called a "massive" attack. The Ukrainian air force said it managed to down 39 of the missiles and 20 of the drones, but the...

US Could Update Grid With Technique Other Nations Use

'Reconductoring' can double lines' capacity, adding room for wind and solar

(Newser) - The US added just 251 miles of high-voltage transmission lines last year, another in a series of declines, though the nation greatly needs more power. The process is slowed by as much as a decade by the need for approval from various governments and agencies, as well as to address...

Administration Commits $3.5B to Update Power Grid

Granholm calls it the biggest such investment ever

(Newser) - The Biden administration on Wednesday announced $3.5 billion for 58 projects across the country to strengthen electric grid resilience as extreme weather events such as the deadly Maui and California wildfires continue to strain the nation's aging transmission systems. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said it was the largest...

Bitcoin Miner Made $31M by Cutting Power Use in Texas

Energy credits paid better for Riot last month than mining

(Newser) - Riot Platforms mined about $8.9 million in bitcoin in August. But that's nothing compared with the company's haul in the same month for selling power back to the Texas grid after Riot reduced its electrical consumption by more than 95% during peak demand periods. "August was...

Texas to Overheated Locals: Cut Back on Power to Save Grid

Other parts of South also suffering from sweltering temps, post-storm power outages

(Newser) - Texas' power grid operator asked residents Tuesday to voluntarily cut back on electricity due to anticipated record demand on the system, as a heat wave kept large swaths of the state and southern US in triple-digit temperatures. On the last day of spring, the sweltering heat felt more like the...

Tesla Wants to Sell Electricity in Texas
Tesla Applies
to Join Texas' Grid
Aug 27, 2021 5:07 PM CDT

Tesla Applies to Join Texas' Grid

Company's giant batteries would let it store power to sell if the lights go out again

(Newser) - Elon Musk has said part of the reason the Texas power grid had such a catastrophic failure last winter is that it has no way to store electricity. The Tesla CEO might think he has the answer; a subsidiary of his company has filed an application with the Texas Public...

Thermostats in Texas Are Being Adjusted Remotely

To help the power grid, utilities are invoking energy-saving program customers agreed to

(Newser) - It may not be any of the usual suspects in your household who are changing the thermostat setting. In Texas, power companies are reaching into homes remotely to turn the temperature up, USA Today reports. People who have noticed the surprise adjustments have pointed them out on social media. But...

ERCOT Makes Plea to Texans Amid 'Unplanned' Outages

Power grid officials 'deeply concerned' as heat wave strikes the region

(Newser) - The power grid in Texas is facing its next challenge: a pre-summer swelter. After a winter storm and cold snap that left millions powerless in February, severe heat in the western part of the US—with temps reaching up to the triple digits expected to continue throughout the week—now...

A Typically Warm April Day in Texas Stressed Power Grid

Texan were urged to conserve electricity, though weather was not unusual for spring

(Newser) - The power grid in Texas, which was disastrously ill-equipped to handle a winter storm and cold snap in February, ended up struggling again on Tuesday when the day turned out to be warmer than expected in parts of the state, although conditions were not unusual for the time of year....

Sky-High Texas Power Bills Will Be Forgiven

Some customers got bills for thousands of dollars after February crisis

(Newser) - Electricity customers in Texas who received astronomically high bills after last month's devastating blackouts won't have to worry about paying them, and those who have already paid all or part of the bills might be getting some money back, officials say. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says electricity...

Another Head Rolls After Texas Blackouts

ERCOT board votes to fire Bill Magness

(Newser) - Another head has rolled following the devastating blackouts blamed for dozens of deaths in Texas. Bill Magness was fired as president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state's independent power grid, after an emergency board meeting Wednesday night, CNN reports. ERCOT says Magness...

Texas Grid Is Back to Normal
Texas Power Grid
Has Welcome News
Feb 19, 2021 12:23 PM CST

Texas Power Grid Has Welcome News

It's back to normal, but water shortages continue to plague the state

(Newser) - Texas’ grid operators said Friday that the electrical system has returned to normal for the first time since a winter storm knocked out power to more than 4 million customers, per the AP . Smaller outages still remained Friday. But Bill Magness, president of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, says...

Texas Was 'Minutes, Seconds' Away From Even Bigger Crisis

State was on the verge of 'catastrophic blackout' that could have lasted months

(Newser) - Texas was "seconds and minutes" away from an even greater catastrophe when the decision was made to bring in what were supposed to be rolling blackouts , according to officials who operate the only standalone power grid in the lower 48. Officials at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said...

Solar Storm Headed Our Way
 Solar Storm Headed Our Way 
Sep 11, 2014 3:50 PM CDT

Solar Storm Headed Our Way

It's relatively big, but no major problems expected for power grid

(Newser) - If by chance your GPS is acting a little weird tomorrow or Saturday, this might be why: A relatively big solar storm is coming our way, reports USA Today . Scientists say no major disruptions in the power grid are expected, but satellite operators are on alert. The sun unleashed a...

Attack on Calif. Electric Grid Labeled Terrorism

Snipers expertly knocked out 17 transformers

(Newser) - A little-reported attack on a power substation in California last year wasn't vandalism, but the "most significant incident of domestic terrorism involving the grid that has ever occurred" in the US, according former top power regulator Jon Wellinghoff. In the assault in South San Jose last April, unknown...

Why Pakistan Made Workers Stop Wearing Socks
Why Pakistan Made Workers Stop Wearing Socks
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jun 2, 2013 7:00 PM CDT

Why Pakistan Made Workers Stop Wearing Socks

Because it's hot, and the electricity grid is a hopeless mess

(Newser) - Just how bad are Pakistan's power grid problems? This bad: The government has ordered civil servants to stop wearing socks, reports Reuters . The weird order goes hand in hand with another edict that forbids government offices from turning on their air-conditioners. That makes things so unbearably hot that the...

US Power Co. Cyberattacked 10K Times a Month

Finding comes amid report on vulnerability of our grid

(Newser) - Could foreign hackers take out America's electric grid? A new congressional report says it's a very real threat, with more than a dozen of nearly 100 electric utilities surveyed reporting constant or frequent cyberattacks, Reuters reports. One utility said it was battered by a staggering 10,000 attacks...

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