The entity that oversees the State of Texas’s energy grid has issued a conservation appeal to residents and businesses, per a news release.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is requesting for voluntary conservation of power between 2 to 8 p.m. on Monday in an effort to address record power demand as temperatures creep past the century mark.
ERCOT has also issued a watch for a projected reserve capacity shortage during those hours but expects no systemwide outages, the release said.
ERCOT said in the release that it has employed conservation at least 48 times since 2008 to successfully manage grid operations.
“This notification is issued when projected reserves may fall below 2300 MW for 30 minutes or more,” the grid manager said in the release. “ERCOT continues to use all tools available to manage the grid effectively and reliably, including using reserve power and calling upon large electric customers who have volunteered to lower their energy use.”
Austin ABC affiliate KVUE reported that ERCOT recorded a new peak demand record on Friday.
Its peak demand, which was expected for next month, had already been exceeded by the state, with a new energy record having been broken, per KVUE.
Dr. Emily Beagle with the Weber Energy Group and the Center for Electro-Mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) told the station that the grid has been operational amid potential strain.
"The fact that the grid has shown that it's able to perform under these high temperatures and with extended periods of high temperatures that we saw in June is definitely encouraging,” Beagle said, KVUE reported. "I should also add that renewables like wind and solar have been doing a big service as well. They've been providing a lot of power to the grid.”
In its release, ERCOT urged all electric customers to look up important conservation tips on the Public Utility Commission’s (PUC) Power to Save website or their electric provider’s websites.