Amid solar storm, DTE Energy will increase power grid oversight
(CBS DETROIT) — DTE Energy said it is stepping up monitoring of its power grid and plants during Friday's geomagnetic storm.
A G5 geomagnetic storm is likely Friday night through the beginning of the weekend, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center. The agency issued a severe geomagnetic storm watch for Friday evening.
The classification of the storm upgraded from a G4 on Friday, now labeling it an "extreme" G5 storm.
NOAA officials say the storm could cause widespread voltage control problems, and some protective systems "will mistakenly trip out key assets from the grid." Some grids could experience blackouts, and transformers could experience damage.
In response, DTE said it received an alert from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which oversees the flow of energy in Michigan and 14 other states.
"As a result, DTE is pausing non-essential maintenance and testing activities and our operators (both distribution and plant) are closely monitoring equipment and communication systems to ensure the reliability of the electric system," the company said.
A secondary effect of such strong solar activity is a chance to see the northern lights in Michigan, along with areas as far south as Alabama and northern California.
NOAA says it has monitored several moderate and strong solar flares, five of which were associated with coronal mass ejections (CME) that appeared to be directed at Earth. CMEs are explosions of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun's corona, the department said.
Stay with CBS News Detroit for updates and the NEXT Weather team as they continue to track updates to our solar storm.