[AA702]

All this talk of failing power grids and how they are managed had me wondering about NV's energy grid. I know last few years when we had bad heat waves in the summer, the power grid was at its peak. With all the new homes being built and more people moving to southern NV, is our power distribution good enough to handle the increase in demand?

Can you imagine no power for weeks here in the middle of summer if there was a big failure.

[DenverBrian]

Originally Posted by AA702

All this talk of failing power grids and how they are managed had me wondering about NV's energy grid. I know last few years when we had bad heat waves in the summer, the power grid was at its peak. With all the new homes being built and more people moving to southern NV, is our power distribution good enough to handle the increase in demand?

Can you imagine no power for weeks here in the middle of summer if there was a big failure.

Two words: Hoover Dam. Las Vegas has some of the most reliable power ever created - hydro.

[robr2]

Even with Hoover Dam running, it too has a capacity. Once it's reached, it's reached.

The power grid in NV is part of the western grid. Power is moved all over the place in order to meet needs. When there's a heatwave in Las Vegas, it may not local to NV. Thus extra power is moved around to meet the local needs. It's when there are multiple areas in need of power - there simply may not be enough for everyone to run at 100%. That's when rolling blackouts and voluntary use reduction come into play.

[DenverBrian]

Originally Posted by robr2

Even with Hoover Dam running, it too has a capacity. Once it's reached, it's reached.

The power grid in NV is part of the western grid. Power is moved all over the place in order to meet needs. When there's a heatwave in Las Vegas, it may not local to NV. Thus extra power is moved around to meet the local needs. It's when there are multiple areas in need of power - there simply may not be enough for everyone to run at 100%. That's when rolling blackouts and voluntary use reduction come into play.

Well, if the question is "should I worry?", the answer is always sure - if that's your thing.

Relatively speaking, I wouldn't worry about Las Vegas suddenly having an energy grid collapse.

Interestingly, though Hoover Dam produces a lot of energy, Las Vegas itself apparently doesn't use as much of it as I originally thought.

https://www.feelingvegas.com/average...ill-las-vegas/

Where Does Las Vegas’s Electricity Come From?

The majority of Las Vegas’s power comes from several natural gas power plants located in Clark County (the county Las Vegas is located in). Altogether these plants produce over 3,900 megawatts of electricity.
In recent years, Las Vegas has been getting more and more of its electricity from renewable solar applications. These consist of both large solar arrays and individual solar systems placed on the roofs of homes and businesses.


Does Hoover Dam Supply Electricity to Las Vegas?

The Hoover Dam does supply electricity to Las Vegas, but not very much.
While it would make sense that one of the world’s largest hydro-electric dams would provide large amounts of energy to Las Vegas, the truth is that Vegas doesn’t get much energy from Hoover Dam.
Although Hoover Dam creates about 4 billion / kWh of power every year, it only adds approximately 355 megawatts to the southern Nevada power grid annually. The majority of the energy produced by the dam gets used by California and Arizona.

Basically, even though Nevada owns half the energy produced by the dam, the state can make more money by selling the energy to California instead. Nevada can make its own energy for cheaper using other means.

[longviewJoe]

Originally Posted by AA702

All this talk of failing power grids and how they are managed had me wondering about NV's energy grid. I know last few years when we had bad heat waves in the summer, the power grid was at its peak. With all the new homes being built and more people moving to southern NV, is our power distribution good enough to handle the increase in demand?

Can you imagine no power for weeks here in the middle of summer if there was a big failure.

Yes, I can imagine and luckily Vegas is within 5 hours of many beautiful beach towns. #Airbnb

[robr2]

Originally Posted by DenverBrian

Well, if the question is "should I worry?", the answer is always sure - if that's your thing.

Relatively speaking, I wouldn't worry about Las Vegas suddenly having an energy grid collapse.

Interestingly, though Hoover Dam produces a lot of energy, Las Vegas itself apparently doesn't use as much of it as I originally thought.

https://www.feelingvegas.com/average...ill-las-vegas/

Oh absolutely.

A collapse like Texas isn't probable due to the connection to the western grid. But under heavy loads in that western grid, asking people to conserve will happen.

[Code Stemi]

Originally Posted by robr2

Oh absolutely.

A collapse like Texas isn't probable due to the connection to the western grid. But under heavy loads in that western grid, asking people to conserve will happen.

Maybe if/when California has "The Big One" earthquake, that will take other western US cities off the grid temporarily.

[oeccscclhjhn]

Here's a great read to learn about the whole system: The Grid: Electrical Infrastructure for a New Era by Gretchen Bakke.

[JonathanLB]

We lost power twice not last week but the week before here in Henderson. It was actually 3 times but once was partially on us - we upgraded the main panel from 200 amp service to 400 and instead of turning us back on the same day, they left us without power for 27 hours. Not a fun time. The other two were sandwiched around that.

Frankly, that combined with my sister in OR being without power for 5 days and Texas’s issues, I wasn’t interested in waiting around and hoping. I just had a site survey a few hours ago to install Tesla Powerwalls tied to my solar panel system so I don’t need grid power to be at least somewhat functional. I would run both AC units off battery backup but I could run the upstairs anyway, which is fine, and keep my food cold, watch TV, etc. I don’t have ANY patience for losing power ever, even for an hour, it’s just for me not acceptable. I already feel we have so little power or control over anything the last year, my house is the one thing I will have complete control over at all times.

[longviewJoe]

Originally Posted by JonathanLB

We lost power twice not last week but the week before here in Henderson. It was actually 3 times but once was partially on us - we upgraded the main panel from 200 amp service to 400 and instead of turning us back on the same day, they left us without power for 27 hours. Not a fun time. The other two were sandwiched around that.

Frankly, that combined with my sister in OR being without power for 5 days and Texas’s issues, I wasn’t interested in waiting around and hoping. I just had a site survey a few hours ago to install Tesla Powerwalls tied to my solar panel system so I don’t need grid power to be at least somewhat functional. I would run both AC units off battery backup but I could run the upstairs anyway, which is fine, and keep my food cold, watch TV, etc. I don’t have ANY patience for losing power ever, even for an hour, it’s just for me not acceptable. I already feel we have so little power or control over anything the last year, my house is the one thing I will have complete control over at all times.

That Tesla Powerwall sounds good. What type of cost is it? What about the solar? Was it super costly? Were you happy with your solar company? We are thinking of adding to our LV home.