{"id":442580,"date":"2026-01-28T09:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T09:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/442580\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T09:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T09:00:10","slug":"fossil-fuels-fail-during-massive-winter-storm-in-us-as-21-gigawatts-goes-missing-in-big-freeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/442580\/","title":{"rendered":"Fossil fuels fail during massive winter storm in US, as 21 gigawatts goes missing in big freeze"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winter Storm Fern is the latest proof America\u2019s power grid can\u2019t depend upon fossil fuels for reliable power, especially during extreme winter weather.<\/p>\n

In PJM Interconnection, the nation\u2019s largest power grid operator, fossil fuel power plants were forced offline due to constrained natural gas supplies and frigid temperatures. On Sunday afternoon, PJM reported\u00a0nearly 21 gigawatts of generation was offline<\/a>, roughly 16 percent of the grid\u2019s afternoon demand.<\/p>\n

But that forces the question \u2013 what kinds of power plants were offline?<\/p>\n

Power market operators don\u2019t report individual plant outages or say what type of fuel outages occurred during extreme weather until long after the storm has passed, but our analysts did some digging and the data is clear: Fossil fuels failed during Fern.<\/p>\n

On January 24th, the day before the storm, PJM gas generation maxed out at 60 GW during the evening peak. However, on January 25th, the day of the blizzard, gas generation fell to 50 GW, even as prices remained high across the entire region and expensive oil generators made up the gap.<\/p>\n

And the picture becomes clearer when looking at data from Monday morning, January 26th. <\/p>\n

Based on PJM data from\u00a0GridStatus.io<\/a>, during the 8:00 a.m. morning peak demand, gas-burning generation was down 10 GW, coal-fired generation was down 2 GW, and oil-burning generation was down 3 GW, all compared to the same time on January 24th.<\/p>\n

History shows that fossil fuels fail in cold weather. During the Texas blackouts that killed hundreds during 2021\u2019s historic Winter Storm Uri,\u00a0frozen gas pipelines and compressors<\/a>\u00a0cut off fuel supplies, while some gas-burning plants couldn\u2019t run operate in such cold conditions. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile multiple coal-burning power plants\u00a0were knocked offline by the cold<\/a>\u00a0for more than 24 hours and frozen coal piles locked up fuel supplies that utilities wanted to burn for electricity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The same problems\u00a0hit Texas in a 2011 blackout<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 coal piles froze, coal plants froze, and gas infrastructure froze, leaving millions without power. <\/p>\n

Compare that to the situation today, where the state has enough battery capacity to cover nearly 20 percent of its all-time demand record \u2014 up from almost zero during 2021\u2019s devastating winter blackouts.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t yet know why exactly PJM\u2019s fossil fuel power plants failed during Winter Storm Fern, but gas supplies are already emerging as a culprit for some of the problems.<\/p>\n

Fox Business\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0\u201cthe center of the strain is the nation\u2019s heavy dependence on natural gas delivery\u201d and noted any disruption to pipelines or infrastructure can quickly threaten power generation. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, though PJM has few renewables in its electricity mix, those that are online delivered, with wind and solar combining to produce almost 7 percent of the region\u2019s electricity, higher than the day before the storm, according to Gridstatus.io.<\/p>\n

While PJM didn\u2019t suffer blackouts, Winter Storm Fern shows why the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s pro-fossil fuel policies are a problem.<\/p>\n

Coal plants break down\u00a0more than any other source of generation<\/a>, meaning when DOE forces coal-fired power plants to stay open past their planned retirement, it\u2019s only adding the least-reliable supply \u2013 even when\u00a0the plants are already broken down<\/a>\u00a0or cost consumers\u00a0hundreds of millions to keep running<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And increasing America\u2019s dependence on natural gas generation, despite\u00a0constricted supply routes<\/a>\u00a0into our most populated regions and\u00a0shipping record amounts of domestic gas<\/a>\u00a0to foreign markets willing to pay higher prices, makes our communities more vulnerable to frozen pipelines and constrained supply. <\/p>\n

\u201cAdding more natural gas generation will not fix and may exacerbate the risks,\u201d Didi Caldwell, CEO of Global Location Strategies,\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0Fox Business.<\/p>\n

It also forces customers to pay the price for volatile gas price spikes \u2013 natural gas prices\u00a0soared 59 percent<\/a>\u00a0the week before Winter Storm Fern hit, on top of gas prices\u00a0rising 59 percent<\/a>\u00a0between 2024-2025, and ahead of an expected 14 percent jump in 2026.<\/p>\n

True grid reliability, especially during extreme weather, is only possible by strengthening our existing transmission system, adding solar-plus-battery systems, expanding onshore and offshore wind power \u2013 which historically perform better in winter storms \u2013 and increasing energy efficiency measures that prevent demand spikes when temperatures fall.<\/p>\n

Silvio Marcacci is a US-based senior energy policy strategist and the author of The Power Line substack,<\/a> where this article was first published. Reproduced here with the permission of the author.<\/p>\n

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