POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGES ON ELECTRIC UTILITIES.

Accelerated changes in Earth's climate - particularly the global warming that many scientists are predicting - could add a new and complex variable to the utility planning problem. Past changes in climate occurred so gradually that over the 10-50-year periods of concern to utility planners the climate could be considered constant. Analyses of two cases, however, show that even a moderate rise in the average global temperature could affect requirements for new generating capacity and that failure to anticipate and provide for such a change could be costly to both utilities and their customers.