System operators at Rocky Mountain Power are keeping a wary eye on the grid for glitches that might signal a problem with the intricately linked network of power plants, transmission lines, transformers and substations that deliver electricity to Utah homes.
Utah is far from a crisis, although the state's Power Forward advisory system declared a "Yellow Alert" along the Wasatch Front on July 14, a status that has remained unchanged since, said Glade Sowards, energy program coordinator for the Utah Division of Air Quality.
By declaring such an alert, state officials, in conjunction with Rocky Mountain Power and Utah's municipally owned electrical utilities, are urging residents to pay attention to their conservation efforts, particularly from noon to 8 p.m., when demand for electricity typically is at its highest.
"We're probably closer now to issuing a 'Red Alert' than any time since we launched the Power Forward campaign in 2000," Sowards said.
If a "Red Alert" is declared, it would mean that the state's electrical utilities - either because of failed transmission lines or down power generators - were in danger of being unable to deliver all the power their customers were demanding, Sowards said. Under such a scenario, the state would ask residents to voluntarily turn off all nonessential electrical appliances to help prevent a major blackout.
"The problem isn't just the high temperatures during the day, but the lack of cooler temperatures during the night," said Dave Eskelsen, spokesman for Rocky Mountain Power. "When it stays warm it doesn't give the equipment a chance to completely cool down and recover."
Electrical systems are like a lot of people; they don't take the heat all that well.
And that has caused big problems in California, where continuing record-high temperatures led energy officials in that state on Tuesday to warn that they may have to implement rolling blackouts to help reduce the strain on an already overloaded system.
In Utah, municipally owned electrical utilities, represented by the Utah Associated Municipal Power System and the Utah Municipal Power Agency, have their own power plants. Yet most still must rely on Rocky Mountain Power, which was formerly known as Utah Power, to transmit electricity from their plants to their city-run systems.
"So far there have been no problems. Utah Power has done everything they are supposed to do for us," said Marshall Empey, manager of operations and planning at UAMPS. "With this heat, though, it seems that the whole country is on edge."
When the demand for electricity soars during summer months, Rocky Mountain Power typically tries to hold off on scheduling any maintenance at its generating plants.
"We want all our resources available when they are needed," Eskelsen said.
Unexpected problems do occur.
On Tuesday, two of the company's generators, one at the Huntington Plant in Emery County and the other at the Bridger plant near Rock Springs, tripped off because of steam-tube leaks. Those units are expected to remain off line for less than 48 hours.
The utility never reached the point where it needed to ask any of its large customers to curtail their demand on the system, nor would it acknowledge that the units were even off line.
"At any time of the day we may have certain of our generating units off line, but it isn't something we discuss because of competitive reasons," Eskelsen said. "We don't talk about it because it could increase power costs for our customers" if the utility needed to buy additional electricity from outside suppliers.
