Weather Resiliency: Preparing Utilities for the Next "Big One"

This end-of-year Meteomatics energy webinar focused on how utilities and grid operators can strengthen operational readiness as weather extremes evolve, while power systems become more weather-dependent due to renewables and electrification. The session combined (1) an overview of changing climate and weather risks, (2) concrete case studies (storms, winter hazards, “Dunkelflaute”), (3) a customer and partner panel, and (4) a short demo of Meteomatics’ MetX visualization tool and the EURO1k high-resolution model.

Who it’s for

• TSOs/DSOs and utility operations teams (control rooms, outage management, contingency planning)

• Energy market and balancing teams (forecasting, redispatch, flexibility)

• Asset managers and resilience planners (investment planning, regulatory justification)

• Partners working on asset risk (vegetation management, landslide monitoring, remote sensing)

1) The risk landscape is shifting — and it’s not one-directional

Weather and climate risks are no longer abstract or uniform. Heatwaves, intense rainfall, flooding, severe windstorms, land instability, and line icing are all evolving in different directions and affecting infrastructure unevenly.

What Meteomatics showed:

• The need to move beyond broad regional warnings toward asset-level impact analysis, illustrated through interactive visualization of weather overlaid on overhead line networks, substations, and operational areas.

• Use of high-resolution weather modeling to reveal localized differences (for example, terrain-driven wind variability) that directly influence which assets are at risk.

2) Grid stress is rising from electrification + renewables

Electrification, renewable penetration, and changing demand patterns are increasing volatility in supply, demand, and balancing. Weather is no longer contextual information; it directly shapes grid operations.

What Meteomatics showed:

• Weather data delivered not only through visualization but also directly via the Meteomatics API, enabling integration into operational and forecasting systems.

• Emphasis that visualization is “one side of the coin,” while API-accessible data supports downstream applications such as balancing, flexibility, renewable forecasting, and operational decision-making.

3) Case study: Storm Éowyn (Ireland/UK) — why high-resolution matters

Storm Éowyn demonstrated how extreme wind events can trigger large-scale outages and require industry-wide coordination.

What Meteomatics showed:

• A contrast between traditional daily PDF weather reports (still useful for heads-up) and interactive tools that allow operators to analyze storms in greater detail.

• Use of MetX to visualize storm evolution over time, combining:

  • weather layers,

  • overhead line assets,

  • operational planning zones.

• Storm analysis powered by the EURO1k high-resolution model, enabling more precise identification of likely impact locations.

4) Exceptional Contingency (EC) warnings and N-1 security (Germany)

Rare winter events (wet snow, freezing rain, icing, wind combinations) can simultaneously affect parallel assets and threaten N-1 security.

What Meteomatics showed:

• A threshold manager within MetX that allows operators to combine multiple parameters (e.g. precipitation type + wind speed).

• Activation of a traffic-light system when combined thresholds are met, making rare but critical events visible in real time.

• Continuous 24/7 visualization in control rooms, showing which specific overhead lines or circuits are affected at a given moment.

5) “Dunkelflaute” (Germany, Dec 2024): the quiet crisis

Extended periods of low wind and solar output pose structural challenges for systems with high renewable penetration, as shown by the December 2024 German example.

What Meteomatics showed:

• Integrated views of cloud cover, radiation, wind speed at hub height, icing potential, and operational thresholds, helping operators understand why generation collapses and how long it may persist.

• Reinforcement that short-term, high-resolution forecasting is critical for managing reserves, redispatch, and readiness during these multi-day events.