Eli5: How do countries run out of electricity? We have solar, wind, ocean, fossil fuels type of power, but some parts of countries will not have power for some time?
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To add to this, power demand itself is quite variable. Imagine the hottest day of the year with everyone running their AC units will require more power to meet demand than on a cool evening when most folks are asleep. Building power generation equipment is quite costly. Rather than building a system to exceed peak need, many utilities rely on surge capacity where they attempt a combination of borrowing power from other providers and disincentivizing use. This usually works ok. However, when peak demand exceeds what was forecasted it can put tremendous strain on the power grid leading to outages.
Additionally, one of the challenges is that even when energy generation is diversified, power transmission often relies on the same lines. As such, even if you were able to generate unlimited power, if the transmission line is down (whether through weather, vandalism, or maintenance) the end customers won’t be able to receive it. Given the rugged terrain many utilities cross, repairing a downed transmission line can be costly and complicated given the specialized personnel and equipment needed and the time to fully inspect and isolate the problematic area. I hope that helps!
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