Two years after a deep freeze broke the Texas electric grid, the top US energy regulator approved new rules intended to protect power plants from very cold weather.
(Bloomberg) — Two years after a deep freeze broke the Texas electric grid, the top US energy regulator approved new rules intended to protect power plants from very cold weather.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will require generators to identify equipment vulnerable to extreme cold and to conduct annual training for plant maintenance and operations personnel, it said Thursday. The agency also mandated collaboration between neighboring regions during emergencies to reduce electric demand.
While analysts see weatherization of power plants as a necessary step to avoid duplicating the deadly Texas disaster, more efforts may still be needed, members of the commission said Thursday. They pointed to a string of recent extreme weather conditions in the US that have pummeled electric grids.
In Texas, many generators have installed walls and insulated pieces of equipment to protect against wind chill and low temperatures.
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