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Texas power grid could hit new all-time peak demand in coming week
ERCOT says the grid could hit a new all-time peak demand record in the coming week, after setting 11 new records last summer.
AUSTIN, Texas - As triple-digit heat settles in across Central Texas for the next week or so, ERCOT has issued a weather watch starting Thursday, June 15, and continuing through next Wednesday, June 21.
That means normal grid conditions, but with less reserve power.
"I think it means that because we built more things in the last year, batteries and solar and wind, and because the gas system will be reliable in the summer, we don’t really need to panic. But it'll be hot. So we should pay attention just in case there's a problem, said Dr. Michael Webber, Josey Centennial Professor of Energy Resources at the University of Texas at Austin.
ERCOT says the grid could hit a new all-time peak demand record in the coming week, after setting 11 new records last summer. But ERCOT insists that as of now, there is enough capacity to meet that expected demand.
"Grid conditions are normal when we issue a Weather Watch. ERCOT continues to monitor conditions closely and will deploy all available tools to manage the grid and will continue our reliability-first approach to operations, always prioritizing grid reliability," ERCOT’s president and CEO Pablo Vegas said.
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As for the possibility of outages, Doug Lewin, president of Austin-based Stoic Energy said, "I think it's very unlikely at this point."
Experts say three ingredients, in combination, usually lead to outages: high demand, a high number of outages at power plants, and low solar and wind production. The good news is that, right now, we’re only seeing high demand.
"If all three of those things don't work, then you can have problems," said Lewin.
If there are outages, experts say they’d be nothing like the 2021 winter storm.
"You’re talking about a half an hour, an hour of actual rotating outages. And I think even that is fairly unlikely," said Lewin.
But later this summer, the danger of outrages could grow.
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"It’s June right now," said Lewin. "July and August should make us all pretty concerned."
"So if we have low wind, low solar and low traditional generation at the same time with high demand, that could be risky," said Webber.
ERCOT is suggesting customers reduce electricity use during the afternoon, and pre-cool your house in the morning.
"Make it cooler. And then that way, God forbid, if there is an outage, you should be able to keep the house cooler than if you hadn't done that," said Lewin.
You can check real-time grid conditions on ERCOT’s website, as well as sign up for alerts from ERCOT.