The Power Grid Just Passed Its Biggest Test in Years

On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse announce some news about the show — and also debrief on how the Northeastern U.S. power grid performed during the past few weeks of unusually intense winter weather. They discuss why wintertime electricity demand is especially important to manage, whether it’s bad that New England got a whopping 40% of its electricity from oil, and how the region’s new transmission line to Quebec performed during the freeze. They also chat about how zero-carbon electricity could help manage grid stress.

Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap, and Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University.

You can find the full transcript of this episode here.

Mentioned:

Why winter is becoming a tough time for the power grid

New England turned to oil-burning power plants during the cold snap

Quebec stopped sending hydropower during the Arctic storm

PJM’s review of its January cold weather operations

Previously on Shift Key: The Startup Trying to Put Geothermal Heat Pumps in America’s Homes

An early review (and photos) of the Rivian R2

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This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by ...

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Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow.

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