California has more than adequate bulk power system reserves and faces no apparent shortage in the next ten years, according to a report the North American Electric Reliability Corporation issued Nov. 28. Southern California has a projected on-peak reserve margin of more than 45 percent in 2021, according to the report. The projected margin for that year in Northern California is more than 30 percent. Southern California placed at the top of NERC’s rating for regions across the U.S., Canada, and part of Mexico for the breadth of its projected reserve margin. In contrast, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas ranked at the bottom, with an inadequate reserve margin of less than 10 percent projected in 2021. Many other areas had projected reserve margins considered barely adequate. The political debate over reliability centers on controlling air pollution from coal plants that supply power in the Midwest, South, and East. In California, NERC found that the bigger trigger for plant retirements is likely to be Clean Water Act rules aimed at reducing damage to marine life from once-through-cooled power plants that use ocean water along the coast. In Washington, D.C., lawmakers and lobbyists seized on the report’s finding that proposed Environmental Protection Agency rules governing emissions from coal plants could potentially threaten adequate reserve margins. The proposed rules seek to reduce mercury and other pollutants. NERC, said, however, that the impact would depend on the timing and implementation schedule of the proposed requirements. House Democrats were quick to spin that conclusion as favorable toward the proposed rules. A statement issued by Democrat staffers on the House Energy & Commerce Committee concluded that “EPA Clean Air Action regulations will not threaten the reliability of the electric power system.”
