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FERC to examine threat of climate change, extreme weather to reliability

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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Feb. 22 said that it will open a new proceeding to examine the threat that climate change and extreme weather events pose to electric reliability.

The proceeding will examine how grid operators prepare for and respond to extreme weather events, including, but not limited to droughts, extreme cold, wildfires, hurricanes, and prolonged heat waves.

FERC said that the proceeding would include a technical conference with an opportunity for parties to submit comments in advance of that conference, with additional details to follow.

Climate change “is unfortunately already having a dramatic impact on our weather, be it wildfires, hurricanes or the extreme cold we’ve seen across the middle of the country,” FERC Chairman Richard Glick said at FERC’s monthly meeting on Feb. 18.

“The challenges that climate change poses for the grid are only going to grow more starker and more immediate,” he said.