Hot weather to bring higher energy demand this weekend, ERCOT sends notice to Texas power plants

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas might set data for statewide electrical energy demand with close to 100-degree warmth anticipated this weekend.

Texas’ inhabitants is affecting the state’s energy grid, making record-setting demand doable extra typically.

The Electrical Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) launched a press release Tuesday, writing that it’s ready to deal with the excessive demand this weekend. ERCOT stated it has requested energy vegetation which are offline proper now for routine upkeep to return on-line.

A Texas vitality professional defined ERCOT’s assertion additional.

“They do use the phrase outage, which is frightening,” Joshua Rhodes, a College of Texas at Austin vitality professional, stated. “I do know everybody has PTSD — notably from what occurred in February final yr… it doesn’t essentially imply that the facility goes to exit for any particular person.”

Rhodes stated Texas has been including wind, photo voltaic and storage technology to our grid through the years.

“We’re going to need to construct new energy vegetation, new transmission strains…in order that it’s capable of hold tempo with demand,” Rhodes stated.

Texans aren’t essentially in favor of the state’s inhabitants development. A ballot from UT’s Texas Politics Venture discovered that 40% of Texans don’t imagine the expansion has been a great factor.

For now, ERCOT hasn’t requested the general public to preserve energy forward of the warmth wave.

Texas did create its first-ever electrical energy provide chain map, which helps with fast responses in a climate emergency. That is one thing that was mentioned after the 2021 February winter storm.

This map shows the state’s infrastructure for the electrical energy provide chain, serving to to regulate the electrical grid.