Case Study: Western Electricity Coordinating Council mitigates grid reliability risks with Wood Mackenzie

How can risks to the security and reliability of power in one US region be mitigated

The Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) faced the challenge of assessing potential vulnerabilities in the gas-electric grid system across the Western Interconnection, driven by a shift to renewables and opposition to gas-fired generation. They commissioned Wood Mackenzie's consulting services to model future market developments, identify high-risk disruption scenarios, and recommend mitigation strategies.

Wood Mackenzie employed a flexible approach, collaborating with specialist partners to model ten disruption scenarios and quantify their multi-billion dollar economic risks. The solution identified major vulnerabilities in Southern California and Arizona and provided a portfolio of recommendations, including improved industry coordination, infrastructure investment, and alternative mitigation strategies. This enabled WECC to engage stakeholders with concrete data to improve regional grid reliability protocols.

Western Electricity Coordinating Council