Balancing Electricity Supply and Demand in Louisiana

Balancing electricity supply and demand requires power providers to anticipate how much electricity their communities will need and coordinate generation as that demand changes.

Kevin Bihm, General Manager of the Louisiana Energy and Power Authority (LEPA), connects that responsibility to a familiar moment: the start of the day. He describes how morning routines shape electricity demand and how LEPA’s participation in a regional energy market changed its approach to planning and generation.

Why electricity demand rises in the morning

“When people wake up in the morning, the coffee pot goes on, the lights go on,” Bihm explains.

Kitchen appliances, lighting and businesses starting their day all contribute to a morning increase in electricity use. Those individual actions become part of a community’s electric load—the amount of power its customers are using at a given moment.

As that load rises, generation must respond. When demand falls, generation has to adjust again. Maintaining that balance requires an ongoing understanding of how much power communities need and which resources are available to supply it.

LEPA’s transition to a regional power market

Before 2013, LEPA operated as a balancing authority for its cities. Meters at municipal substations sent real-time load information to LEPA’s energy control center, allowing operators to monitor demand and adjust generation minute by minute.

In 2013, LEPA joined the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). MISO assumed regional balancing responsibilities, while LEPA became a local balancing authority.

That transition connected LEPA’s local demand forecasts and generating resources to the coordination of a much larger regional power system.

How MISO balances electricity supply and demand

LEPA forecasts the next day’s electricity demand and identifies the generators it has available. Those forecasts and resources feed into MISO’s day-ahead market, which schedules generation to meet expected regional demand.

The following day, MISO’s real-time market responds to changing conditions at five-minute intervals, adjusting generation dispatch to help maintain the balance between electricity supply and demand.

These processes connect preparation with response: scheduling resources before they are needed and adjusting as actual electricity use changes.

For the municipalities LEPA serves, that coordination supports an everyday expectation: electricity available when homes and businesses need it. A familiar morning routine depends on decisions made ahead of time and adjustments throughout the day.

Kevin Bihm’s full FUELED conversation also explores municipal power, local control and long-term energy planning. The interview is part of FUELED Season 6: Powering Louisiana’s Future, hosted by Kathryn Fenstermaker.