Generators experienced far fewer unplanned outages during bitter cold winter weather early this year and in 2025 compared to winter storms in 2021 and 2022, reflecting changes power plant owners and grid operators have made in how they prepare for cold weather, according to a report released Thursday by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corp.
Peak power plant outages totaled about 49,700 MW across the Eastern Interconnection in January, down from 90,500 MW during Winter Storm Elliott in December 2022, according to the report.
Power plant outages in January in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas peaked at about 19,420 MW in January compared to about 35,300 MW during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021.
Texas was hit with massive blackouts during Uri, when power plant equipment couldn’t operate and natural gas deliveries to generators were limited due to the freezing weather. The Texas Department of State Health Services estimated that 246 people died during Winter Storm Uri, mainly from extreme cold and hypothermia.
There were no planned power outages in January in ERCOT or the Eastern Interconnection, which covers roughly two-thirds of the United States, despite close to record-setting gas demand and U.S. electric use peaking at 666 GW.
“The fact that we were able to meet historic demand without manual load shed, it shows significant progress that we've made in cold weather preparation, fuel readiness and coordination,” FERC Commissioner Lindsay See said after a presentation on the report during the agency’s monthly open meeting.
Interregional power transfers played a key role in moving electricity to where it was needed during cold weather in January, according to the report.
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s imports peaked at about 9 GW, mainly from the PJM Interconnection, but also from Canada and other neighboring systems, according to the report.
“We continue to see every winter that interregional transfers are critical to reliability,” Robert Clark, an engineer in FERC’s Office of Electric Reliability, said during the meeting.
Also, Florida exported power during Winter Storm Fern in late January, but imported electricity during Winter Storm Gianna, which ran from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2, according to Clark.
“This really shows this two-way benefit you get from interregional transfers, where one day you're helping your neighbor, the next day your neighbor's helping you,” he said.
During Fern and Gianna, the U.S. Department of Energy issued 15 first-ever emergency orders under the Federal Power Act giving grid operators the authority to direct backup generation at large loads to operate as a last resort to prevent possible blackouts, according to the report. DOE also issued orders in late 2025 directing the owners of three coal-fired units to delay planned retirements.
No one called on backup generation at data centers and other large loads to operate during the 2026 winter storms, according to Clark.
“Most electric entities acknowledge that backup generation, including at large loads such as data centers, could provide potential reliability benefits during extreme cold weather periods, while also acknowledging that questions remain, including whether most large loads can accommodate the simultaneous use of power from the grid and backup generation, and how large loads should communicate their backup generation capabilities to system operators,” he said.
While grid operations during extreme cold weather appear to have improved significantly, there is still a need for better electric- and gas-system coordination, improved load forecasting and additional infrastructure, such as gas storage facilities, according to FERC and NERC staff.
“Both electric and natural gas entities agree that increasing natural gas storage and pipeline transportation capacity could meaningfully improve the reliable operation of the bulk-power system by increasing the availability of natural gas during Arctic cold events, Kent Mottice, an analyst with FERC’s Office of Energy Market Regulation, said.
