AUSTIN, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – ERCOT, the Texas Electric Reliability Council, issued a warning of potential “emergencies” on Tuesday, April 13, shortly after 4:30 pm, but expected no power outages.
On Twitter, ERCOT said, “Due to a combination of high generation outages typical in April and higher than expected demand caused by a frozen cold front over TX, ERCOT can find itself in emergency situations. We do not expect any downtime from customers. Declaring an emergency gives us access to additional resources. “
Warning: Due to a combination of high generation outages typical in April and higher than predicted demand caused by a frozen cold front above TX, ERCOT can find itself in emergency situations. We do not expect any downtime from customers. Declaring an emergency would give us access to additional resources.
– ERCOT (@ERCOT_ISO) April 13, 2021
In February, widespread power cuts left millions of Texans without electricity, heat, and running water during two winter storms that set the single-digit temperature.
ERCOT says it controls the flow of electrical energy to more than 26 million customers in Texas, representing 90% of the state’s electrical load.
Woody Rickerson, ERCOT’s vice president of grid planning and operations, said ERCOT expected a cool front that stalled in Central Texas would instead have continued its progress in the state and lowered temperatures.
The fact that the front ran aground resulted in greater demand than expected, he said, adding that demand declined as the midday sun faded, but the calls for conservation were able to repeat over the next three to four weeks.
However, 32,000 megawatts of generating capacity had been taken offline, accounting for about 25% of the system-wide capacity, Rickerson said.
Whatever damage caused by February’s deadly cold snap has been repaired, he said.
“Those outages are maintenance outages that factories have taken to prepare for the summer operations,” Rickerson said at a telephone news conference. “This is typically the time of year when we allow a lot of maintenance outages for units getting ready for summer when there isn’t enough bandwidth to shut them down.”
Rickerson called the decision whether or not to shut down generators for seasonal maintenance “a balancing act” with small margins of error between supply and demand. Because ERCOT is a self-contained network located entirely within the borders of Texas, it is not subject to federal regulation. It also means the ERCOT grid does not have access to the spot market for electricity from other US power grids, Rickerson said.
Minutes after the first tweet Tuesday, ERCOT called on Texans to save energy into the evening.
ERCOT is currently asking for energy savings. Consumers and businesses are urged to reduce their electricity consumption this afternoon and evening.
– ERCOT (@ERCOT_ISO) April 13, 2021
Customers can help by taking the following ERCOT conservation steps:
Turn off unnecessary lights and equipment.
Turn the thermostat up 2 to 3 degrees.
Set programmable thermostats to higher temperatures when no one is home.
Use fans to feel it 4 to 6 degrees cooler.
· Limit the use of large appliances (eg Dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, etc.).
If you are cooking indoors, use a microwave or slow cooker.
Close the blinds and curtains in the late afternoon.
Schedule pool pumps to run early in the morning or at night.
Tuesday at 8.40 pm ERCOT tweeted: “Our call for energy savings has ended without the need for an energy emergency. Thanks for saving energy when needed. “
Our call for energy savings ended without the need for an energy emergency. Thanks for saving energy when needed.
– ERCOT (@ERCOT_ISO) April 14, 2021