2 minute read
BACKUP GENERATION ON THE GO
NorthWestern Energy is committed to providing reliable service to our customers and the communities we serve. Our mobile generating units are one of the tools we use to make sure the lights always come on.
NorthWestern has 10 mobile generating units in South Dakota. Each is capable of generating one to two megawatts of electricity, adding 12 total megawatts of capacity to NorthWestern’s energy portfolio. They operate similarly to a generator that you might use in your camper or at home, just on a much larger scale. Each mobile generating unit is contained in a semitrailer so they can be hauled anywhere they are needed.
A few years ago, we had a large project going on near Harrold, South Dakota, that would have normally required a planned power outage. Instead, we were able to use a mobile generating unit, which powered the town of Harrold and surrounding area for three days straight. We frequently use our mobile generators to avoid planned out- ages when crews are doing line work.
We’ve also used the generators after a major storm knocks out power.
The generators are designed to be wired into a substation, or to be wired into our system along any power line.
When not in use during storms or planned maintenance, the mobile generators are stationed in Aberdeen and Yankton, ready to put extra electricity on the grid whenever it’s needed. Our South Dakota service territory is part of the Southwest Power Pool, a regional transmission and generation marketing organization that works to ensure reliable power supplies from North Dakota to the Texas panhandle. Anytime SPP calls on us to deliver more energy to the grid, such as during Winter Storm Uri in 2021, we can fire up our mobile generators.
