ERCOT is warning of rolling blackouts due to expected record heat in Texas.

Karah Rucker Anchor/Reporter

ERCOT warns of rolling blackouts ahead of record heat forecasts in Texas

Jul 11, 2022

Karah Rucker Anchor/Reporter

By Karah Rucker (Anchor/Reporter), Ben Burke (Producer/Editor)

For the second time this year, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) asked state residents to voluntarily conserve energy to avoid rolling blackouts ahead of expected record heat in the state. ERCOT, which runs the state’s power grid, issued a “Conservation Appeal” Sunday. The appeal asks “Texans and Texas businesses to voluntarily conserve electricity, Monday, July 11 between 2-8 p.m.”

“ERCOT also issued a Watch for a projected reserve capacity shortage from 2-8 p.m.,” ERCOT said Sunday. “The heat wave that has settled on Texas and much of the central United States is driving increased electric use. Other grid operators are operating under similar conservative operations programs as ERCOT due to the heatwave.”

Temperatures across the state hit records on Sunday, reaching 105 degrees at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport. High or dangerous heat levels were forecast for much of the state on Monday, with temperatures expected to exceed 100 degrees.

“I have asked all City departments to prepare in case the state’s power grid fails during extreme heat tomorrow,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a Sunday tweet. “The City of Houston’s Office of Emergency Management, police, fire and other departments are checking fuel and operational generators.”

It’s not just the heat that has ERCOT concerned about rolling blackouts in Texas. The power grid operator is also concerned about low wind.

“While solar power is generally reaching near full generation capacity, wind generation is currently generating significantly less than what it historically generated in this time period,” ERCOT said in its Conservation Appeal. “Current projections show wind generation coming in less than 10 percent of its capacity.”

The two ERCOT warnings come over a year after a winter deep freeze in Texas knocked out power to millions and forced rolling blackouts in the Midwest. More than 200 people died as a result of the crisis.

Earlier this year, ERCOT reassured resident that it had enough reserves to meet demand this time around. However, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) 2022 Summer Reliability Assessment, indicated the western United States is “at ‘elevated risk’ of energy emergencies during extreme conditions” like a heatwave over the summer.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Tags: Climate Change

Karah Rucker: THIS IS RARE DAYLIGHT LIGHTNING AS ISOLATED STORMS ROLLED THROUGH TEXAS OVER THE WEEKEND.
THE RAIN – PROVIDING LITTLE RELIEF FROM THE HIGH TEMPS.
PEOPLE THERE ARE FEELING THE STRAIN FROM THE HEAT – AND SO IS THE POWER GRID.
NOW OFFICIALS ARE WARNING ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF ROLLING BLACKOUTS.
THE STATE’S ELECTRICAL GRID OPERATOR IS ASKING TEXANS TO CONSERVE THEIR POWER TODAY.
CUSTOMERS ARE BEING ASKED **NOT TO RUN THEIR A/C AS OFTEN AND TO POSTPONE USING MAJOR APPLIANCES.
ENERGY OFFICIALS SAYS THERE ARE TWO FACTORS AT PLAY.
ONE IS RECORD-HIGH DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY.
THE OTHER- THERE’S NO BREEZE IN THIS HEAT. WIND POWER IS GENERATING BELOW 10 PERCENT OF WHAT IT’S CAPABLE OF.
TODAY IT’S EXTREME HEAT.
LAST YEAR IT WAS THE OPPOSITE.
GOVERNOR ABBOTT VOWED THEN TO STRENGTHEN THE STATE’S ENERGY GRID.
Gov. Greg Abbott | (R) Texas: “I am already working with the legislature on reforms to add more power to the grid and to ensure we never run out of power again.”
Karah Rucker: SINCE THE WINTER FREEZE LAST YEAR…GOVERNOR ABBOTT HAS SIGNED ALMOST A DOZEN NEW LAWS MEANT TO MAKE THE GRID MORE EFFECTIVE.
THAT DIDN’T STOP BETO O ROURKE FROM MAKING TODAY’S CONSERVATION PLEA INTO SOMETHING POLITICAL.
THE DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CHALLENGER TOOK TO TWITTER TO SAY “The governor of the 9th largest economy on earth — the energy capital of the world — can’t guarantee the power will stay on tomorrow.”
RIGHT NOW OFFICIALS SAY THERE IS NO IMMEDIATE THREAT OF A SYSTEM-WIDE OUTAGE.