Few people ponder the electricity powering their coffeemaker as they pour that first morning cup. For those at your local electric co-op, it’s nearly all they think about.
Meeting the demand for electricity is complex and has grown more challenging as policy, technology, and weather create new possibilities and peril. Fortunately, your local electric cooperative partners with its wholesale power provider — its generation and transmission cooperative — to ensure needs can be met all day, every day. We at Wabash Valley Power Alliance serve more than 20 Midwestern electric co-ops.
Electricity demand constantly changes — at various times during the day and even throughout the year. Less electricity is consumed overnight while people sleep, for instance, compared to afternoons when families return home after school and work and turn on televisions, stoves, and other appliances. Energy demand is higher in the summer and winter, when air conditioning and heating are frequently used, compared to the milder fall and spring months.
Electricity is generated by a variety of resources, underscoring the need to plan appropriately. Power plants such as coal, natural gas, and some hydroelectric dams are dispatchable power plants that generate electricity year-round. Resources such as solar energy and wind turbines are intermittent resources; they depend on external factors that cannot be controlled, such as sunlight or wind, to generate power.
Intermittent resources are a good supplement to the energy grid but require careful planning. During Midwestern winters, solar panels do not produce nearly as much electricity as on clear summer days, while wind turbines generate more electricity in the winter than in summer. That’s where dispatchable plants are invaluable; they can be brought online to increase or decrease power generation to meet fluctuating demand.
Electricity generators develop a portfolio with diverse resources to ensure that demand can be met 365 days a year. Electric distribution co-ops and generation and transmission cooperatives collaborate to ensure that they have the energy needed to power the communities they serve throughout their day — every day.