ERCOT issues second conservation alert this week amid triple temperatures

The Texas Electrical Reliability Council issued a conservation appeal Wednesday afternoon and evening as triple-digit temperatures continue to burn the state. she was The second time this week That power grid operator asked Texas and businesses to provide electricity voluntarily.

Texans have been asked to maintain electricity between 2 and 9 p.m., but in a press release ERCOT said it does not expect outages throughout the system. The order expired as scheduled on Wednesday evening.

According to ERCOT’s Network and Market Control PanelDemand peaked at 78,395 megawatts around 4:40 p.m., about 1,700 megawatts less than the capacity allocated at that time.

Several factors, including high demand and low winds, prompted the alert on Wednesday, according to ERCOT. ERCOT said cloud cover in West Texas reduced the amount of solar power generation, and forced outages of thermal generation — which includes gas and coal — also contributed to the alarm.

Save Alerts They are operated as needed when tight operating reserves are expected to be a reliability concern. Conditions are considered “normal” when reserves remain greater than 3,000 megawatts. ERCOT says it has used conservation efforts more than forty times since 2008.

ERCOT has three levels of emergency alerts that can be triggered when reserves drop below a certain level. Outages may occur when reserves fall below 1,375 MW. Power grid manager-controlled outages have occurred four times, according to ERCOT: December 22, 1989; 17 April 2006; February 2, 2011; and February 15-18, 2021.

The state’s reserves fell below 2,500 on Wednesday afternoon but began to rise around 6 p.m. as demand began to fall.

On Monday, the ERCOT network and market dashboard showed demand peaked at 78,379 megawatts, but outages were averted after a conservation alert helped the state’s power grid meet demand.

Spot prices on the ERCOT wholesale electricity market reached its maximum price of $5,000 per megawatt-hour around 3 p.m. Wednesday, well above the usual rate of around $50. A typical home uses about one megawatt-hour or 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month.

Energy expert Doug Lewin said on Twitter that by the fourth hour of the market reaching its $5,000 price cap, Texans could be paying “astronomical” bills for months and years.

A heat warning remained in effect Wednesday as temperatures in northern Texas hovered between 100 and 105 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. High temperatures are expected to remain in the triple digits in Dallas-Fort Worth through the weekend, according to the Weather Service.

Democratic governor candidate Beto O’Rourke took to Twitter on Wednesday to attack Governor Greg Abbott on the power grid.

“Abbott wouldn’t have been telling us over and over to cut off the air conditioner at over 100 degrees if he had just fixed the grille,” he wrote on Twitter.

in Interview with KXAS-TV (NBC5) On Wednesday, Abbott said the state has added about 15% of electricity capacity to the power grid this year and that another 15% will be added next year. Abbott also said that despite a sweltering summer with record demand, power has remained.

“The power grid is able to perform adequately, even remarkably, so far,” he said.

Abbott also said wind production was much lower than normal on Monday and Wednesday, which contributed to the conservation alerts. Wind capacity fell to 696 megawatts at noon Wednesday.

Confusion over an impending power outage briefly hit one Collin County town.

Farmersville Fire Department said in a since deletion He tweeted that the city of about 3,500 residents will conduct a “blackout” starting at 8 p.m. Wednesday at ERCOT’s request.

But a spokesperson for the power grid operator said in an email that the request was not prompted by ERCOT and that the organization was working to correct the report. Texas Public Utilities Commission also Confirm on Twitter That ERCOT did not issue any alternating interruptions Wednesday.

In a post on Facebook Shortly thereafter, Ben White, city manager and director of public works, said the blackout alert was the result of miscommunication and apologized for potentially causing the alarm.

How do we conserve energy?

ERCOT recommends these actions to help reduce electricity use:

• Set the thermostat to 78 degrees or higher. Each degree of additional cooling increases your energy use by 6% to 8%.
• Use ceiling and portable fans to circulate cool air.
• Install patio covers, awnings, and solar window screens to shade your home from the sun.
• Close indoor blinds, blinds, or blinds to block out sunlight and heat during warm weather.
• Use a clothesline instead of a clothes dryer.
• On warm days, raise the thermostat to 80 degrees or higher if you’ve been out for more than four hours.
• Turn off the lights and try to save activities such as cooking, washing and washing dishes in the early morning and evening.
• Avoid using large appliances such as ovens, washers, and dryers.
• Companies should reduce the use of electric lighting and equipment that consumes electricity.
• Large consumers of electricity should consider stopping or reducing unnecessary operations.
• If you don’t need something, turn it off and unplug it.

How to check the energy of Texas

To find up-to-date information about demand and generation capacity, Texas can Visit the ERCOT website.