ERCOT to be kidding me.
On Monday afternoon, with temperatures just below triple digits, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas warned state residents to reduce their energy usage through Friday, June 18, due to potential statewide power outages.
According to a press release issued by the organization today, this month has seen “potential record electric use” which, along with “a significant number of forced generation outages” has put significant strain on grid conditions.
“Generator owners have reported approximately 11,000 MW of generation is on forced outage for repairs; of that, approximately 8,000 MW is thermal and the rest is intermittent resources… a typical range of thermal generation outages on hot summer days is around 3,600 MW. One MW typically powers around 200 homes on a summer day.”
Earlier this year, many Texans experienced the failure of the ERCOT system, which left millions of state residents without power for days on end in freezing temperatures. Just two days ago, Gov. Abbot signed two bills that would effectively prevent such outages from occurring.
“‘We will be conducting a thorough analysis with generation owners to determine why so many units are out of service,’ said ERCOT Vice President of Grid Planning and Operations Woody Rickerson. ‘This is unusual for this early in the summer season.'”
The organization also included a number of measures residents can take to reduce electricity usage, including: setting the thermostat to 78 degrees or higher; cutting lights, pool pumps, and not using larger appliances such as washing machines, dryers, and ovens; and unplugging unneeded devices.
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