ERCOT control room issues evening ‘watch’ as Texas power grid capacity could narrow
The state grid operator’s control room warned operators Wednesday there could be a shortage in power reserve capacity leading to an evening risk of emergency grid conditions. The message was posted as a watch Wednesday morning, citing the 8 p.m to 9 p.m. hour as the period when the shortage could impact the grid. Despite the move, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that the grid was operating under normal conditions.
will continue to monitor conditions and keep the public informed through our communication channels,” it said. The grid operator is facing an unusually high number of plant outages, which leave it with less power available to manage the day’s demand — especially when solar power drops off after sundown. If capacity and demand got too tight,
isn’t asking for conservation yet but issued a weather watch Tuesday — unusual in part because it came two weeks before the official start of summer. It’s also more than six weeks earlier than last year’s first watches. Wednesday’s weather forecast showed temperatures were likely to be higher than usual, which is pushing up demand as Texans turn up air conditioners to stay cool. Demand is projected to peak at 3 p.m. at 71,000 megawatts, topping the previous May record of 68,159 megawatts.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
ERCOT issues first Texas grid hot weather of the year for WednesdayThe Texas grid operator’s forecasts as of Tuesday afternoon showed demand would nearly equal supply starting about 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Read more »
ERCOT enters 'new era' with Texas power grid demand to double by 2030New estimate shows Texas power grid could face 152 gigawatts of demand by 2030, a more than 100% increase since 2020.
Read more »
ERCOT says Texas needs to 'adapt and plan differently' to meet future energy demandTexas' sharp economic and population growth is prompting a need to reformat the state's energy transmission, ERCOT said on Tuesday.ERCOT, which oversees the sta
Read more »
Is the Texas power grid fragile? It's complicated.ERCOT remains challenged by rapidly growing electricity demand as more people and businesses move to Texas.
Read more »
Is the Texas power grid fragile? It's complicated.ERCOT remains challenged by rapidly growing electricity demand as more people and businesses move to Texas.
Read more »
ERCOT: Texas could face possible power grid concerns this weekSome Texans could be asked to conserve energy this week as the temperature is expected to start heating up.
Read more »