We all want our electricity to be two things: low cost and reliable. Of these two qualities, cost often gets more attention, but the consistency of the power we use on a daily basis might be even more important than its price.
Our quality of life and our ability to get work done depends heavily on reliable electricity. Think about it: How many of us could do our jobs or even just enjoy our day if our power was prone to cutting out?
Still, power outages happen, and understanding how and why they occur can help us prepare for and react to them. Let’s talk about a specific (and extremely disruptive) kind of power outage: rolling blackouts.
What Are Rolling Blackouts?
Rolling blackouts are intentional power outages coordinated by a power grid operator. Rolling blackouts are designed to affect different areas of the power grid at different times and are often planned in advance.
Rolling blackouts are coordinated by grid operators and regulators, and are planned in such a way that only certain regions in a given power grid experience outages at any given time. After a certain amount of time has elapsed, power is restored to one region while another region within the power grid will then experience the rotating outage.
What Is the Reason for Blackouts?
You’re probably wondering why a grid operator would intentionally cause power outages on its own power grid. That’s a good question!
The reason for rolling blackouts is simple: They’re meant to prevent more complete blackouts. To understand this better, let’s first take a closer look at what causes blackouts to begin with.
Blackouts occur when the power supply to the power grid is less than the energy demand. This imbalance between power supply and energy demand can occur for a variety of reasons, so let’s quickly run through the most common causes of power outages.
Extreme Weather Events
Energy supply and energy demand are both affected by the weather. When extreme weather events occur, they can cause an increase in demand while at the same time reducing the power supply available to the grid.
We see this happen during summer months, when heat waves cause people to stay indoors and crank up their air conditioning. This increases the overall energy demand of the grid. Similarly, winter storms can also send people straight to their thermostats to stay comfortable, which again makes energy demand rise.
Extreme weather events like heat waves and winter storms can also affect power plants and reduce the overall amount of power supply available to help meet that spike in energy demand. We saw this occur in Texas in February of 2021, when a winter storm knocked out electricity supply from natural gas power plants and renewable power generation sources like solar power simultaneously.
When extreme weather forces energy demand to rise above available electric demand, it creates an energy emergency during which power outages (like blackouts and rolling blackouts) can occur.
Peak Demand Spikes
Energy demand is constantly changing. Depending on the time of day, the day of the week, the month, or even the season, our energy consumption (and therefore our energy demand) is always fluctuating.
Grid operators need to make sure that they have enough electricity generation available to match the times when we demand the most energy. We call these times “peak demand.”
If peak demand spikes to unusually high levels and grid operators aren’t prepared for the spike, then power outages like blackouts or rolling blackouts can occur.
Power Generation Disruptions
From time to time, disruptions will occur at power generation facilities. This can happen when equipment malfunctions at power plants, or when power companies schedule maintenance at a power plant and force it to shut down for a period of time.
For renewable energy sources like wind or solar power, power generation disruptions can occur if the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine.
If the disruption to power generation sources like renewables or power plants is large enough, it can mean that the grid operator won’t have enough power supply to meet energy demand, leading to — you guessed it — power outages like blackouts or rolling blackouts.
What Causes Rolling Blackouts?
Now that we understand how power outages can occur, let’s circle back to better understand what causes rolling blackouts.
A full blackout is the worst-case scenario for a grid operator, because it means that no one on the power grid is able to use electricity.
When grid operators are able to anticipate or react to conditions that might cause a full blackout, they can try to avoid this worst-case scenario by rotating outages across the grid. While far from ideal, this lets the grid continue to function, albeit in a reduced capacity.
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Are Rolling Blackouts Scheduled?
Rolling blackouts can be scheduled in advance, if the grid operator has enough advance notice of a coming imbalance between power supply and energy demand.
This is often the case in developing countries, where some power grids can consistently struggle to meet energy demand. When a grid operator knows ahead of time that the power supply won’t meet demand, it can schedule in advance when different regions will experience a rolling blackout.
This allows households and businesses in these regions to plan around the rotating outages. If rolling blackouts are being scheduled in your area, you’ll want to pay close attention to local media sources for more information on when these rotating outages will affect your home or business.
Alternatively, you can go straight to the source for information on the scheduling of rotating blackouts, and visit the website of your utility company or grid operator for information on when you might expect rolling blackouts to come through your area.
For Texans, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) or the Public Utility Commission of Texas are two excellent resources worth consulting during times of extreme weather or peak demand.
How Do You Roll With a Rolling Blackout?
Now that we understand what rolling blackouts are and what causes them, let’s look at the different ways you can adapt your home or business to be able to come out the other side of the power outage unscathed.
Focus on Energy Conservation
One way we can all help one another when it comes to rolling blackouts is to embrace energy conservation. Energy conservation can mean heating or cooling your home during off-peak hours, investing in energy-efficient ENERGY STAR appliances, or improving the insulation of your home to reduce the amount of energy your HVAC system uses.
Because blackouts occur when energy demand exceeds power supply, they can be avoided if demand is reduced. Oftentimes utility companies will offer incentives to customers who embrace energy conservation during times of peak demand.
Energy conservation in pursuit of reducing energy demand is called demand response, and it can be a great help to grid operators, especially during times of low power supply or especially high energy demand.
Pre-Charge Your Electronics
If the grid operator in your region issues a warning about impending rolling blackouts, you can prepare for the power outage by charging phones or computers before the rotating outage comes to your specific part of the power grid.
Buy Flashlights, Batteries, and Candles
It’s a good idea to have backup light sources in your home or business. If you own a flashlight, you’ll also want to make sure you have charged batteries to power it. Alternatively, you can invest in candles.
Flashlights and candles will allow you to see at night during a rolling blackout. It’s also a good idea to have backup batteries for other battery-powered electronic devices like clocks or radios.
Invest in a Backup Power Generator
If you really want to make sure you can survive and thrive during rolling blackouts, you can invest in a backup power generator. Power generators require a significant investment, but if you have one you’ll be able to power your home or business even when widespread power outages are affecting the power grid.
A backup power generator isn’t only helpful for your home or business, either. If you have a power generator, you can assist neighbors by allowing them to charge electronics during a rolling blackout.
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Plan a Trip
As a last resort, you can always take a trip during rolling blackouts. Because power outages can be so disruptive to both home life and jobs, if rolling blackouts are affecting your region, you may have an opportunity to pack your things and take an impromptu trip.
Just make sure your destination is located outside the area where rolling blackouts are occurring!
You’re Ready for Rolling Blackouts
The vast majority of the time, grid reliability isn’t a problem here in the United States. Grid operators work diligently to maintain power grids and plan for spikes or declines in power supply and energy demand.
Still, power outages can occur in any system, and if your local grid operator is able to anticipate a blackout, you may experience rolling blackouts at some point.
Hopefully you have a better understanding of what causes rolling blackouts — this understanding can help you deal with outages when they occur.
Most importantly, you now have a variety of ways to cope with rolling blackouts if and when they occur in your area. If you plan ahead, you can greatly lessen the disruptive impact of power outages and rolling blackouts.
If you’d like to learn more about topics like power outages or energy conservation, you can find a wide variety of articles on the Tara Energy blog.
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