This post summarizes a recent reliability assessment from the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) that warns two areas in the western U.S. are facing elevated risks as winter approaches.
I explain what the assessment found, why the West’s changing generation mix matters for cold-weather operations, and practical steps utilities and market operators are taking. These include Idaho Power preparations and regional programs like the Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP) and Day-Ahead Market refinements.
What WECC’s winter outlook tells us about grid risk
WECC’s winter readiness review flags the potential for stress across parts of the western grid if a prolonged cold snap or severe weather materializes.
The analysis highlights how modest imbalances between supply and demand can rapidly escalate into tight operating reserves and pressure on power markets, especially when transmission limits and fuel constraints are present.
Two regions in the western interconnection were identified as having elevated reliability risk heading into winter.
While WECC stops short of predicting outages, its assessment is a clear signal that seasonal preparedness and regional coordination are essential.
Why the West’s changing resource mix is central to the risk profile
Over the last decade the western grid has undergone a major transition: increasing amounts of renewable generation and the retirement of thermal plants have altered how operators balance the system.
Those trends improve emissions outcomes but can complicate winter reliability, because:
In practice, these factors mean that even short-lived system stressors — frozen equipment, unplanned outages, or fuel delivery problems — can cascade more quickly than in past winters.
Operational readiness: what utilities and markets are doing
Utilities such as Idaho Power are actively preparing for potential stress by reviewing fuel contracts, winterizing facilities, and coordinating with neighboring balancing authorities.
On the market and planning side, initiatives are moving forward that aim to improve flexibility and resource sharing across the West.
Two of the most important are:
Practical steps to reduce winter risk
Based on three decades of observing grid operations, here are practical actions that materially reduce winter reliability risk:
Here is the source article for this story: 2 Regions Under Elevated Risk in Upcoming WECC Winter Assessment