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ITC Holding Corp. CFO Cameron Bready on growing concerns the national electrical grid may not be able to handle the increasing demand for energy.
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But first the country is blanketed in record high temperatures today as the heat wave spreads to the East Coast.
An electric utilities braced for record high usage.
But can our outdated electric grid hold up under the pressure.
Joining me now -- Brady the executive vice president and CFO of ITC holding corporation Cameron welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me.
Our except I wanna start with some numbers here give people an idea of this heat wave what's going on out there some 29 states are under heat watch warning or advisory.
995000.
Square miles affected a 150 million people.
The heat index today depending on where you work a 105 to a 117 degrees 22 people confirmed dead here.
-- the power grid continue to handle the demands of these scorching temperatures.
Well certainly we've seen over the course of the last several days our systems here in Michigan and Iowa and the southern part of Minnesota have performed very well.
And we've been very pleased with how our operational readiness model has.
Allowed our systems to be able to keep up with the ever increasing demand we've seen as the temperatures have continued to rise.
Now certainly though it does highlight an issue in the long term as it relates to the ability of the power grid more broadly to be able to address the growing demand for energy in the US.
Are -- lied to that point I went to be here some of the John -- -- the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman had to say.
On the growth of alternative energy strengthening and expanding the system for reliable integration of these resources will require significant investment in transmission.
The existing transmission system was not built to accommodate the shifting generation.
Fleet I believe -- the last word there how do you respond to that.
Well we certainly agree with the chairman's assessment of the existing transmission system it was never designed.
Or never anticipated to address the way we use energy in the 21 century.
And certainly between a combination of changing in use of energy.
Growing demand as a result of all the various devices -- electronics that we all have as part of our allies today.
As well as desires to accommodate different types of generating resources and we envisioned when we originally established a transmission system.
Back in the sixties and seventies.
He's really going to drive -- need as we look forward in time to expanding.
Transmission in the US and more importantly building more regional transmission system so that your accommodating.
The reliability needs in the inner connection needs for -- Grail generation across multiple markets and -- power to move more freely between markets.
That's not necessarily what happens right now but.
-- pays for these improvements you know they meet -- the consumers gonna bag.
I think the general principles of -- trying to advance is that those who benefit from this expansion in transmission.
Should bear some portion of the cost and we strongly believe that harmonizing these cost allocation principles with.
More regional transmission expansion makes sense because you're asking people.
Who are gonna benefit on a broad scale basis from improving reliability.
Allowing access to lower -- generating resources.
To pay some of the costs associated with that it just makes sense.
-- what we did show the number I don't know for our viewers caught it or not it's the cost per person the outdated power grid use today.
It costs every Americans some 500 bucks each year house so.
-- if you look at the daily studies that have been done most recently the cost of -- is blackouts brownouts could make culmination of these types -- events that we see.
Cost consumer somewhere in the neighborhood a 180 billion dollars annually so I think about that in the context of the population.
You're talking about roughly 500 dollars for every man woman and child in the US.
Unbelievable.
Well -- -- have more outages are you worried about a big brown out along the lines of what we signed New York several years ago.
-- is certainly always a risk that we have in the back of our minds and more concerned about again here in the midwest we've been very.
Fortune and in that our system has performed remarkably well during the recent.
How did the recent heat that we've seen largely because of the investments we've made to improve reliability of the systems we haven't.
I can't speak for every system in the US and it certainly wouldn't surprise me if we did see more outages as a result of the heap that.
Currently we're experience -- and but more importantly as we look forward in time.
If we don't invest in the -- and we don't improve reliability and we don't make the expansion of the transmission system necessary to support.
Competitive markets long term you're gonna see more and more these events are going to be having more and more these conversely should.
That's not good news I'm curious if people would pulled in at all.
You know is gonna horrible economy.
This is really expensive to keep that AC running all the time head leasing people -- up.
Cut back on their expenditures on home heating.
And cooling.
What's interesting here in Michigan which is obviously had its economic challenges over the course of the last several years you know we have seen -- demands in certain pockets of our markets over the last couple of days so it's certainly suggests that.
Notwithstanding the fact we're still on the -- to recovery in terms of the economic environment.
The overall use of energy is increasing -- -- and we've set all time peaks in parts of our system and we're nearing all time peaks and other aspects of our system so.
You know conventional wisdom would be that people wanna cut back in a in a time of economic uncertainty but that's -- were saying when the temperatures are rising above a hundred degrees.
It's a tough time out there for a lots of people and that help everybody can stay cool camera thanks for coming on the show we appreciate it.
It's been my pleasure thanks for having entered.
