, Columnist
Get Used to Power Freezes and Price Hikes
Recent outages and rate spikes across the Northern Hemisphere underline how vulnerable grids are to unexpected changes in weather.
Time to see the light.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The cold snap that has gripped much of the Northern Hemisphere in recent weeks isn’t just lowering the mercury. It seems to be causing energy systems to freeze up and crack, too.
In China last month, surging electricity demand amid plummeting temperatures led to blackouts across central and eastern provinces. Workers in office towers were forced to use the stairs after elevators were switched off, and a school in affluent Zhejiang province was kept at near-zero temperatures to save on heating, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.