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Food Riots Continue In Sri Lanka As The Military Begins Shooting

June 24, 2022

Food Riots Continue In Sri Lanka As The Military Begins Shooting

The starving and hungry people of collapsing Sri Lanks have been rioting over the cost of food and lack of energy. As if things couldn’t get worse, the ruling class has taken to gunning down those who stand against being ruled.

People are starving and are without gas or electricity, and now they are rioting as a society completely collapses. To make matters worse, the military is gunning people down. This is a glimpse into the future here if the rulers of Western countries continue. Once they collapse it around us, we will be the ones starving while the government makes sure it can remain intact and functional. That means we’ll still get stolen from and be forced at the barrel of the fun to comply with whatever they say.

According to a report by StrangeSounds, troops fired in Visuvamadu, 365 kilometers (228 miles) north of Colombo, on Saturday night as their guard point was pelted with stones, army spokesman Nilantha Premaratne said. “A group of 20 to 30 people pelted stones and damaged an army truck,” Premaratne told the Associated FreePress.

Police said four civilians and three soldiers were wounded when the army opened fire for the first time to quell unrest linked to the worsening economic crisis.

As the pump ran out of petrol, motorists began to protest and the situation escalated into a clash with troops, police said. -Strange Sounds

Sri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis since “independence”, with the country unable to find dollars to import essentials, including food, fuel, and medicines. (Anyone who actually believes anyone other than the rulers are “independent” in Sri Lanka has a lot of cognitive dissonances to evaluate).

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Australia’s Energy Crisis Worsens As Gov’t Ask People To Keep Lights Off To Avert Blackouts

June 17, 2022

Australia’s Energy Crisis Worsens As Gov’t Ask People To Keep Lights Off To Avert Blackouts

Australia’s energy minister asked Sydney and the New South Wales (eastern part of the country) residents to turn off lights and energy-intensive appliances in the evening to prevent power blackouts due to an ongoing energy crunch, The Independent reports.

The federal energy minister, Chris Bowen, asked residents in a televised address to turn off energy-intensive devices between “6 to 8 [pm]” to mitigate risks of a spike in power during peak hours. He pointed to several offline coal-fired plants because of maintenance and unexpected issues.

Reuters notes that 65% of eastern Australia’s power is generated by coal, but more than a quarter of that capacity is offline.

Wholesale electricity prices have soared and on Monday exceeded the capped price of A$300 per megawatt-hour. Above A$300, coal power generation plants lost money and forced some operators to shutter power generation units, thus removing energy capacity off the grid and sending prices even higher. The rise of power prices began when coal prices jumped following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Bowen snapped at a journalist when asked if more coal power is the answer the energy crunch.

“The situation in recent days has posed challenges to the entire energy industry, and suspending the market would simplify operations during the significant outages across the energy supply chain,” Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) chief executive Daniel Westerman said in a statement.

“It was understandable generators had held back supply in light of the price caps along with unplanned outages and supply challenges with coal and gas, but having to direct generators to provide supply had made it impossible to maintain normal market operations,” Westerman said. 

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

U.S. Midwest may have summer power shortages for years

June 15, 2022

U.S. Midwest may have summer power shortages for years

June 10 (Reuters) – The power grid operator in the Central United States warned on Friday that problems it may experience keeping the lights on this summer could also occur during the summers of 2023, 2024 and beyond.

The region’s grid operator, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), has already warned of potential capacity shortfalls and other reliability concerns in parts of its territory this summer.

The northern and central regions are at “increased risk of temporary, controlled outages to preserve the integrity of the bulk electric system,” MISO has said.

MISO operates the grid for some 42 million people in 15 U.S. central states from Minnesota to Louisiana and the Canadian province of Manitoba.

On Friday, MISO released a survey showing it could have a potential capacity deficit of 2.6 gigawatts (GW) during the summer of 2023 depending on market responses over the next year.

One gigawatt can power about a million U.S. homes on average, but as little as 200,000 on a hot summer day.

MISO’s biggest problem is that demand was rising at the same time generation resources have declined due mostly to the retirement of coal and nuclear plants for economic or environmental reasons.

MISO said it may only have 119 GW of power resources available this summer to meet a projected peak demand of 124 GW.

For 2024 and beyond, MISO said “the capacity deficits are projected to widen … due to declining committed capacity and modestly growing demand.”

MISO officials were not immediately available to say what the grid would do to fix this problem.

Sarah Freeman, president of the Organization of MISO States and commissioner with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, said in a statement: “States stand ready to work with MISO … to maintain reliability and resilience throughout this significant resource transformation.”

There might not be enough electricity to go around this summer in Michigan. That could require planned outages

May 17, 2022

There might not be enough electricity to go around this summer in Michigan. That could require planned outages

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The power grid operator for Michigan and 14 other states says there may not be enough electricity to go around this summer, especially in northern states. That increases the risk of planned power outages.

MISO, the operator of the electric grid that includes Michigan, is warning there may not be enough electricity to go around this summer, which is forecast to be warmer than usual. That could mean controlled outages as an emergency measure.

MISO says the summer peak forecast is 124 Gigawatts, with only 119 GW of regularly available generation.

The group’s seasonal assessment indicates “capacity shortfalls in both the north and central regions of MISO and leaving those areas at increased risk of temporary, controlled outages to preserve the integrity of the bulk electric system,” according to JT Smith, executive director – market operations at MISO.

MISO said it has never taken the step of implementing controlled outages in Michigan before.

DTE said it has extensive preparedness plans in place in the event of a “regional MISO issue.”

The utility said it will be bringing its new 1,150 MW gas plant online in June, and said it has a large number of customers on voluntary interruptible rates whose service can be curtailed, if necessary, to maintain system reliability.

Consumers Energy said it is confident it has a reliable supply of energy to serve its customers, and “we will answer the call” if MISO asks utilities to take any actions on the hottest summer days.

The utility said it is prepared to ask large industrial customers to use less energy, and, if necessary, to ask all customers to voluntarily reduce energy use.

Power Grid Operators Warn Of Potential Electricity Shortages Amid Transition To Clean Energy

May 9, 2022

Power Grid Operators Warn Of Potential Electricity Shortages Amid Transition To Clean Energy

Power-grid operators across the US warn that power-generating capacity struggles to keep up with demand, a worrying sign ahead of summer where heatwaves could lead to rolling blackouts.

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, operating in 15 states across the US Central region, said last month that capacity shortages this summer due to soaring summer demand might result in outages. Last Friday, California Independent System Operator, or California ISO, outlined energy shortfalls this summer because of heat and wildfires. Texas over the weekend saw triple-digit temperatures in some portions of the state, though grid stability was maintained despite several power plants being offline for maintenance.

WSJ explains grid instability and increased risk of power shortages this summer comes as fossil fuel power plants are “being retired more quickly than they can be replaced by renewable energy and battery storage.” Power grids are racing to retire conventional power plants fueled by natural gas, coal, and diesel to green forms of energy, such as solar power and wind. There’s also the retirement of aging nuclear power plants.

Things are not working as planned in the green economy as power grids are becoming unstable by the retirement of fossil fuel power plants with unstable renewables. The transition isn’t as smooth as climate change modelers once suggested as grid stability worsens, and millions of Americans could be subjected to blackouts this summer as cooling demand soars during heatwaves as grids won’t have enough power to meet demand.

WSJ’s author reveals their blinkered bias or ignorance about alternative energy by stating the following “wind and solar farms – which are among the cheapest forms of power generation.” Alternative energy would be expensive if it weren’t for the government’s tax credits, grants, and other incentives…

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

China Coal Futures Hit Record High As Mines Flood; Worsening Power Shortages Hit Rust Belt 

October 11, 2021

China Coal Futures Hit Record High As Mines Flood; Worsening Power Shortages Hit Rust Belt 

China’s top coal-producing region has been devastated by torrential rains and flooding this past week. About 9% of the coal mines in Shanxi province, an area responsible for producing 30% of China’s supply, have closed operations. The direct effect of this has been a spike in coal futures.

Heavy rainfall flooded Shanxi over the weekend. More than 120,000 people have been evacuated, and 60 of the 682 coal mines in the province have been closed. Industrial yards and manufacturing complexes have also been shuttered due to flooding.

The province is usually a dry area but record-breaking rain last week complicated things for the mining industry. This also comes at a time when Beijing has called on mining companies to boost output amid a nationwide power crunch.

Source: Bloomberg 

As a result, Coal futures on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange jumped 12% to $218.76 per ton, a new record high, on Monday.

A devastating and widespread power crunch has hit China in recent months, resulting in as many as 20 provinces or about 66% of the country’s GDP have announced some form of power cuts. Due to the growing energy crisis, Goldman Sachs told clients last month that the energy crisis will severely impact the country’s economic growth.

Source: Bloomberg

For the fourth quarter, Citic Securities analysts told clients, China faces a gap of 30 million to 40 million tons of coal. This translates into reducing industrial power use by 10% to 15% in November and December. UBS Group AG said this would result in a 30% slowdown in activity in energy-intensive industries like steel, chemicals, and cement-making.

Beijing has also approved electricity prices to increase by 20% against the benchmark, compared with a current cap of 10%, allowing more power plants to economically produce power considering high costs for fossil fuels, such as coal, natural gas, and crude.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Millions Of Chinese Residents Lose Power After Widespread, “Unexpected” Blackouts; Power Company Warns This Is “New Normal”

September 27, 2021

Millions Of Chinese Residents Lose Power After Widespread, “Unexpected” Blackouts; Power Company Warns This Is “New Normal”

Just yesterday we warned that a “Power Supply Shock Looms” as the energy crisis gripping Europe – and especially the UK – was set to hammer China, and just a few hours later we see this in practice as residents in three north-east Chinese provinces experienced unannounced power cuts as the electricity shortage which initially hit factories spreads to homes.

People living in Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces complained on social media about the lack of heating, and lifts and traffic lights not working.

There are several reasons for the surge in thermal coal, among them already extremely tight energy supply globally (that’s already seen chaos engulf markets in Europe); the sharp economic rebound from COVID lockdowns that has boosted demand from households and businesses; a warm summer which led to extreme air condition consumption across China; the escalating trade spat with Australia which had depressed the coal trade and Chinese power companies ramping up power purchases to ensure winter coal supply. Then there is Beijing’s pursuit of curbing carbon emissions – Xi Jinping wants to ensure blue skies at the Winter Olympics in Beijing next February, showing the international community that he’s serious about de-carbonizing the economy – that has led to artificial bottlenecks in the coal supply chain.

Whatever the reason, it’s just getting started: as BBC reported, one power company said it expected the power cuts to last until spring next year, and that unexpected outages would become “the new normal.” Its post, however, was later deleted.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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