New England Power Grid preparing for the solar eclipse [Video]

Maine – We’ve talked about the impact of the solar eclipse on things like the economy, your eyes, and driving safety.

But it’s also expected to affect the power grid.

Right now — operators of the grid in New England are training to be ready.

ISO New England is expecting a sudden loss of power due to a loss of generation from solar panels.

The eclipse is expected to reduce solar energy production by *thousands* of megawatts while the moon blocks the sun.

That could be a third to half of the total demand at the time of the eclipse.

”That duration is the challenge for our system operators the rapid rate at which the solar will go away and rapid rate it will return is something they need to deal with,” said Jon Gravelin of ISO New England.

Grid operators say they’re prepared to restart power plants that are offline to meet demand.

The goal is for the …