Last month, I talked about how extreme weather can impact reliability. In this article, we'll explore how the rising demand for electricity is reshaping the industry and delve into the long-term impacts on your electric cooperative.
In an era defined by technological advancements and a growing global population, we're seeing a more significant demand for power than ever before. As more things are electrified, the energy landscape is also transforming.
The Growing Need for Electricity
The pursuit of innovation, along with new devices, EV’s and charging stations, and large data centers, has resulted in an exponential rise in electricity demand. For most businesses, an increase in demand for your product suggests success. That’s true, too, for our industry – at least at the local level. However, when it’s happening across the entire industry, it can be a cause of concern. The push for clean energy resources coupled with the reduction in firm, baseload generation, has resulted in a shift in how we generate, distribute, and consume electricity.
When you enter your home and flip on your light switch, the expectation is that your home will immediately illuminate. We sometimes fail to consider where that electricity comes from and if there is plenty of it to go around. Let’s look at that concept in more detail below.
Supply and Demand Analogy
Here’s an analogy that we often share with our members to help them understand how the energy grid works. Imagine the energy grid as a bathtub. Under normal circumstances, if water was flowing into a bathtub with a regular flowing faucet, there would be no issues in filling the bathtub. Even if you open the drain, if you keep the faucet open, there will be water in the tub.
However, imagine you are filling this bathtub using a low-flow faucet. At the same time, you've pulled the drain at the bottom of the tub. To make matters worse, the drain at the bottom of the tub begins to grow larger, resulting in the water draining quicker than the rate at which you can fill it.
Using this analogy, the faucet is electric generation, the supply. The drain is the demand for electricity. With the demand continuing to increase, and the number of firm generation sources decreasing, there will be times when there isn’t enough generation to keep up with the demand, much like this bathtub.
How This Affects Your Local Electric Cooperative:
As with any significant transition, there are always obstacles and challenges. For us, the transition away from fossil fuel generation, particularly coal, has been substantial. Last year, Cooperative Energy, our wholesale power provider, completed the transition of Plant Morrow, located in Purvis, Mississippi, from a coal plant to a natural gas plant. This process was a large undertaking, spanning five years from start to finish.
As we look to the future, we know this issue will take time to resolve, but there are no quick fixes.
It’s a Team Effort:
Dixie Electric is committed to doing our part to reduce the strain on the energy grid, but there may be times when we need your help. We encourage our members to use electricity wisely. This not only helps reduce the amount of your bill, but it also allows you to use less energy, helping to reduce the size of the drain at the bottom of the bathtub.
At Dixie Electric, we are also committed to engaging policymakers who shape regulations that support the long-term sustainability of the energy grid - keeping you, our members, in mind each step of the way.
Fortunately for our members, the cooperative business model solely exists for the members’ benefit, ensuring that our ultimate goal is to provide reliable power at the most cost-effective price. As we continue to balance the electricity supply and demand, know that transparency is always our goal. We are here to keep you informed and educated every step of the way.