ERCOT Calls On Texans To Conserve Power Amid High Summer Demand, Forced Outages
Mose Buchele, 14 June 2021
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has asked people to conserve energy throughout the week as the supply of electricity on the Texas grid runs the risk of falling short of demand.
Texans should reduce their electricity use through Friday, ERCOT said.
It is the second time the state’s grid operator has made such a request since devastating blackouts gripped Texas in February.
ERCOT blamed the tight grid conditions on the fact that four times more electric generators than expected were shut down for repairs.
The grid operator said Monday more than 12,000 megawatts of generation capacity — about the amount of energy it takes to power 2.2 million homes on a summer day — is unavailable because of those forced outages. One megawatt of electricity can usually power about 200 homes on a summer day.
According to ERCOT, about 75% of that unavailable power comes from “thermal” generators, typically gas and coal plants and nuclear plants, being offline.
“We are deeply concerned about the issue associated with all of these plants that are offline at this time, and we will be doing a thorough investigation,” Warren Lasher, ERCOT’s senior director of system planning, said during a call with reporters Monday.
Generator owners have told ERCOT the number of outages should decline by the end of the week.
