Severe heat, drought pack dual threat to power plants
Record-setting heat and drought gripping the western United States are exposing a potentially severe risk to the nation’s long-term power supply, and experts warn that grid operators lack sufficient tools to plan and carry out a defense. … Persistent drought also threatens power from hydroelectric dams in the West, a critical resource for California during extended heat waves. Water levels are so low at Lake Oroville, California’s second-largest reservoir, that officials are considering shutting down a hydroelectric plant there.