Oklahoma grid must be upgraded to reliably deliver electricity to farm communities | Opinion

The nation’s electric grid needs an upgrade. According to an October 2023 report from the Energy Department’s Grid Deployment Office, “our aging infrastructure is struggling to meet our modern electricity needs… 70 percent of transmission lines are over 25 years old and approaching the end of their typical 50-80-year lifecycle.”

As a former chair of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, I have unique insight into the importance of taking steps to avoid blackouts and electricity shortfalls in the state. As extreme weather events become more frequent, this could be a serious issue for our farms and processing facilities that depend on reliable power to both function and prosper.

Our nation’s transmission infrastructure ― the power lines that move electricity from where it’s generated to where it’s used — is not up to the task of efficiently and reliably delivering low-cost energy to customers.

Planning transmission incrementally means that lines may be built in a way that is undersized and less efficient, leading to a spider web across the land. However, with better planning processes, transmission lines could be more coordinated to meet our needs and minimize disruption to our farms, homes and businesses.

Reliable access to electricity is crucial for modern farming operations, particularly when it comes to maximizing yields, minimizing costs and maintaining optimal conditions for crops and livestock. From climate control systems in greenhouses to GPS receivers to precision seeders, electricity is essential to running a farm in the 21st century. Even disruptions in the delivery of fertilizer, feed or other agricultural products have a devastating impact for our farmers.

Similarly, the equipment required for food processing, from refrigeration to thermal processing machines, requires uninterrupted access to power. In addition to food safety inspections that must be undertaken if a food facility loses power, these "blips" wreak havoc on the machines themselves and can turn a temporary shutdown into extended production stoppage. When these operations lose power — even for just a few minutes — it causes financial loss, jeopardizes productivity and compromises food safety.

Our grid must be upgraded to reliably and cost-effectively deliver electricity to our farming communities. Expansion and modernization of transmission capacity is key to doing this. However, transmission lines must be built in a responsible and efficient way. This requires smart planning and bringing agriculture stakeholders to the table.

Planning can be most effective when done not only by state but also regionally, which is bigger than one electric utility’s footprint. Oklahoma is a part of the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) region. As the first chairman of the Regional State Committee of SPP, I know that states are most effective when they work together for the benefit of all in the region.

When planners consider the needs of the entire region, including the rise in electricity demand, increase in extreme weather events, and changing resource mix, they can come up with solutions that co-optimize regionally planned transmission and generation. For example, when looking at coordinating across the broader SPP region instead of just considering individual states or projects, planners can prioritize building fewer higher-capacity lines instead of more lower-capacity lines. This translates into less steel in the ground across our backyards and farms, with the same or better access to more reliable electricity.

We must continue to improve the way we plan and pay for transmission at the state, regional and federal levels. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is currently considering a regional planning rule that would ensure that we are addressing these issues as a coordinated region.

This will improve access to reliable electricity in Oklahoma and across the country. We’ve done a lot to ensure our farming operations can compete in the 21st century — we must be sure that our electric grid can keep up.

Denise Bode is president and partner of Constitution Partners LLC and is the coordinator of the EmPower Rural America Coalition. Bode was an elected member of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for 10 years as well as the first president of the regional/state committee of the Southwest Power Pool, a group of all the state commissioners in the region.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma farmers need reliable, cost-effective electrical grid