Tag: electricity grid management

Best in Energy – 12 January 2023

PJM says 46 GW of generators failed to respond ¹

U.S. says price cap is cutting Russia’s oil earnings

Global LNG import volumes hit record high

Freeport LNG outage extended to February

French aluminium smelter begins restart

South Africa hit by worst ever power cuts

Freight forwarder cuts employment ($WSJ)

Australia/China coal trade restarts ($WSJ)

Saudi Arabia plans full nuclear fuel cycle

LME’s nickel-market breakdown inquiry

¹ PJM’s post-event study for winter storm Elliot on December 24 is worth reading in full and confirms the major problem was the failure of many generators to respond to instructions from the grid because of a failure to start up or secure enough fuel (principally gas). Generators were unavailable even though they had been given repeated warnings of an extreme weather event for several days beforehand and told to prepare for a plunge in temperatures. In many cases, generators provided less than 1 hour of notice they would not be available. If generators cannot be depended upon to respond to instructions they cannot be considered firm dispatchable power for reliability purposes.

In response, PJM was forced to initiate a series of relatively extreme emergency measures to protect the transmission system, including voltage reductions and an order for flat-out maximum generation from units that were available.

U.S. PETROLEUM INVENTORIES including the strategic reserve totalled 1,599 million barrels on January 6, the lowest seasonal level since 2004. Stocks have fallen by -185 million barrels over the last 12 months and are down by -518 million barrels from their peak in mid-2020 as production has persistently fallen below consumption:

Best in Energy – 11 October 2022

Europe still faces shortage of gas supplies

U.S. senator urges freeze on Saudi relations

(see also senator’s press statement)

Global refinery capacity shortage

China intensifies post-holiday lockdowns

Coal prices retreat as shortage fears recede

EU explores more emergency energy rules

Iraq cannot afford to cut oil output ($WSJ)

Computer shipments drop sharply ($WSJ)

INDIA’s electricity transmission system is in a much healthier condition than this time last year. Power grid frequency has been kept much closer to its target of 50.0 Hertz indicating a much closer and more stable balance between generation and load. Frequency has only fallen below the acceptable threshold of 49.9 Hertz 3.9% of the time in the first ten days of October compared with 14.4% of the time in the same period last year.

Cooler temperatures have helped by reducing air-conditioning and refrigeration demand. Temperatures were -2.5°C below the long-term seasonal average in the first ten days of October compared with +1.0°C above average in the same period last year.

Coal inventories are also more plentiful ensuring generators can remain online. Stocks at power plants are currently 24.7 million tonnes compared with just 7.3 million tonnes at the same point last year:

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Best in Energy – 1 July 2022

Shipping lines cancel more ocean sailings as demand falls

Friendshoring starts to reshape minerals supply chains

OPEC+ tries to maintain unity despite U.S. pressure

Baltic grid operators ready for rapid re-synchronisation

Russia plans for nationalisation of Sakhalin-2 gas project

U.S. Supreme Court curbs authority of regulatory agencies

Japan faces power shortages throughout summer ($WSJ)

China starts west-east electricity transmission line (trans.)

Coal’s resurgence sends prices soaring ($FT)

U.S. DISTILLATE FUEL OIL supplied to the domestic market averaged 3.68 million b/d in the four weeks ending on June 24 down from 3.88 million b/d in the same period last year. The volume supplied is an estimate subject to considerable short-term errors and volatility so it should be interpreted with extreme caution. But the reduction of -0.2 million b/d is relatively large and would be consistent with the onset of an economic slowdown:

EUROZONE MANUFACTURERS reported a much narrower increase in business activity this month as inflation and sanctions push the region’s economy towards recession. The purchasing managers’ index slid to 52.1 in June (47th percentile for all months since 2006) down from 54.6 in May (65th percentile) and 63.4 in June 2021 (a record):

U.S. REAL PERSONAL INCOMES less transfer payments (PILT) were up by just +1.8% in May compared with the same month a year earlier. PILT is one of the indicators monitored by the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Business Cycle Dating Committee to determine peaks and troughs in the cycle. PILT growth has been slowing since the start of the year and is now in only the 30th percentile for all months since 1980, implying the economy is losing momentum as inflation outstrips earnings:

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