Justin Boggs
Heat waves and power outages persist in Texas, Oklahoma
More than 100,000 residents in Oklahoma were still waiting for power to be restored after severe storms damaged infrastructure.
LEARN MOREPosted: 8:27 a.m. EDT Jun 21, 2023
Much of Texas is under an extreme heat warning on Wednesday as heat indices likely will exceed 110 degrees in much of the state.
Because of the heat, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) issued a voluntary conservation notice on Tuesday. The notice encourages Texans and government agencies to cut back on electricity usage.
Power demand is expected to exceed 80,400 megawatts Wednesday afternoon. The committed capacity at that time is around 82,500.
According to ERCOT, the all-time record for power demand was 80,148 set on July 20, 2022. Wednesday's forecast would cause demand to break that record. ERCOT manages the flow of power to over 90% of Texans.
Storms earlier this week have also left over 200,000 customers in the South without power, according to poweroutage.us.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service warns that the heat on Wednesday will be dangerous.
"Repeated and lengthy exposure to heat can increase the risk of health impacts, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke," the National Weather Service said.
Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio are among areas under extreme heat warnings. Dallas is expected to hit a high temperature of 97 degrees, with a heat index peaking at 110. Houston's high temperature is expected to reach 99 with a heat index topping 110.
According to the National Weather Service's forecast, the heat is expected to persist in Texas throughout next week.
