"US Power Grid Ready For Summer, But Calif. & Texas Are Concerns: FERC"

"Most U.S. regions are prepared to meet power and natural gas demand this summer, but shortages are possible in Southern California due to low hydropower and gas supplies and Texas following the retirement of several coal plants, federal energy regulators said in a report on Thursday.

In Southern California, staff at the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said lower-than-average hydro generation may create challenges as natural gas-fired generation - the replacement for hydro production shortfalls in past years - may be limited due to reduced gas storage capacity and local pipeline outages in the region.

Nationwide, the staff said North American reliability coordinators forecast demand for electricity from the grid would be about the same as last summer due to increased use of demand response programs to reduce usage and distributed energy resources like home solar panels."

Scott DiSavino reports for Reuters May 17, 2018.