Our Challenge

Read SPP's detailed paper about our generational challenge.

Check out this infographic about the supply and demand challenge and how we are meeting it.

A Message from Barbara Sugg, SPP President & CEO

I am concerned now more than ever about the future of our shared electric grid and our ability to provide the reliable and affordable service consumers expect. Our energy system is in the midst of radical change. Changes in supply, demand, and extreme weather conditions are stressing the limits of energy reliability.

Demand for electricity is outpacing supply from our generation fleet. Residential and commercial energy use is expected to increase at an unprecedented pace as our nation becomes more electrified and large data centers are added. While a tremendous amount of renewable energy has been added in the SPP region, which provides significant environmental benefits, renewable energy is not always available. We need dispatchable generation for times when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining, but many of these generators are aging or facing retirement. We also need more transmission to connect new generators to the grid, increase grid security, and get lower-cost energy to consumers.

We are facing an increase in extreme weather events that are causing grid emergencies, tight operating conditions, and risks to human health and safety. In the past, there were only a few weeks in summer when SPP risked running out of energy. Now, we are issuing grid alerts throughout the summer as well as during winter. Our risk of having inadequate supply to meet demand has greatly increased, and grid emergencies are likely to last longer, cause more damage, and increase risks to human health and safety.

While SPP always focuses on affordability, we need continued investment to add the generating and transmission facilities needed to mitigate risks and keep the lights on. SPP — along with our members, regulators, policymakers, regional transmission organizations, and consumers —must form a coalition to meet our critical mission of responsibly and economically keeping the lights on.

As the real-time grid operator and transmission planner for a 14-state region, our job is to ensure electric reliability for millions of consumers. We’ve been successfully doing this work since 1941. But we can’t do it alone. A concerted, collective effort is needed to ensure we have a reliable power grid today and in the future.

SPP President and CEO