Power plants weather winter storms with fewer outages
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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation reported that unplanned power plant outages decreased significantly during the winter of 2026 compared to storms in 2021 and 2022.
Power plant owners and grid operators in the United States and Canada made changes to better prepare for cold weather, leading to improved performance. Peak outages across the Eastern Interconnection reached about 49,700 MW in January, a drop from 90,500 MW during Winter Storm Elliott in December 2022.
In Texas, outages peaked at approximately 19,420 MW in January, considerably less than the 35,300 MW experienced during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, when widespread blackouts and 246 deaths occurred. Despite record-high demand for both gas and electricity, reaching 666 GW, no planned power outages occurred in either Texas or the Eastern Interconnection. Interregional power transfers proved crucial, with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator importing around 9 GW of electricity, primarily from the PJM Interconnection and Canada. The U.S.
Department of Energy issued emergency orders allowing grid operators to utilize backup generation at large facilities, though this wasn’t necessary during the recent storms. FERC and NERC staff noted continued needs for better coordination between electric and gas systems, improved forecasting, and expanded infrastructure like gas storage.
