Bonneville Power Ordered to Change Wind Rules

The information below was gleaned from an article with the above title in the December 8 New York Times.

Bonneville Power, located in the Pacific Northwest United States, has been ordered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to rewrite its rules pertaining to wind power.

Earlier this year, Bonneville Power declined to receive power from area wind companies.  Wind power is irregular, but power companies have to match electricity production and consumption precisely at all times because a surplus of power can cause blackouts, just as a shortage can.  Balancing production and demand is especially difficult during storms.

A group of wind companies filed a complaint with FERC and on December 6, FERC ordered Bonneville Power to change its wind rules.