Early Monday morning ERCOT announced an “energy emergency alarm”, also known as EEA 1, as the first of three alarm phases. In this phase the state tries to get electricity from other networks. The second phase will shut down large industrial users who have agreed to shut down the power in an emergency. The third stage is the rotation of faults.
Electricity use on Sunday night shattered a previous record set in 2018, when extremely cold weather and frozen precipitation covered the entire state, paralyzing transportation and bringing most of the state below freezing.
The last time the state had to implement rollout interruptions was in 2011 when another major storm brought cold, ice and snow as far south as the Rio Grande Valley.
The 2021 storm is poised to bring even colder temperatures to the Lone Star State for an extended period of time.
The CEO of Texas’ Electric Reliability Council of Texas, better known as ERCOT, announced on Sunday that supplies of natural gas to power plants were limited and that half of the system’s wind turbines had been frozen, leaving at least 12k megawatts offline. ERCOT has a grid condition warning system that is now in a “ maintenance alarm ” state when consumption increases across the state.
Downtime usually lasts between 15 minutes and an hour. According to ERCOT officials, the rolling blackouts could repeat up to Tuesday morning.
Rolling blackouts are expected statewide. Experts say they are needed to avoid turning off the power to places like hospitals, police stations, fire stations, water and wastewater treatment plants.
ERCOT had to shut off power to at least one million homes in Texas in 2011 during a record-breaking cold snap that year.
The similarities with the two situations are hard to overlook: both systems caused significantly colder temperatures, left roads impassable with ice and snow, and caused some power supplies to go offline due to the cold, leaving the state without sufficient power. to sit. In 2011, the state imported electricity from Mexico, according to the ABC13 reporting at the time.
ERCOT officials said lowering heaters to 68 degrees, closing awnings to keep heat in, and turning off non-essential appliances and lights can help conserve energy during the cold.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned Saturday that all of Texas is facing an unprecedented winter storm and has issued a statement of a state disaster. President Joe Biden Approved Emergency Declaration for the State of Texas and Ordered Federal Aid to Supplement National and Local Response Efforts
FROM SATURDAY: Abbott government pushes for energy conservation, says demand can exceed supply
ABC13 answers your top winter weather questions
Copyright © 2021 KTRK-TV. All rights reserved.