Texans asked to conserve energy as extreme heat sets in
Power demand in Texas is expected to reach an all-time high on Wednesday as most of the state's population is under an extreme heat warning.
LEARN MOREPosted: 6:35 p.m. EDT Jun 23, 2023
Texas power company ERCOT has issued a weather watch for the coming week, warning that upcoming heat could put more stress on power supplies.
ERCOT said from June 25-30 it expects more high temperatures, and more demand on the state's power grid as a result.
ERCOT says that during that time frame "grid conditions are expected to be normal, but due to forecasted conditions, operating reserves may be lower."
Texas is sweltering through early triple-digit daytime temperatures. The National Weather Service said temperatures in San Angelo hit an all-time high of 114 degrees on Tuesday.
ERCOT, which serves about 90% of the Texas population, asked residents earlier this week to voluntarily cut back on energy use. The company set an unofficial grid demand record on Tuesday, just shy of its all-time demand record of 80,000 megawatts, which was one of eleven new record highs set last July.
Texas has struggled with demand on its grid in recent years. In 2021, failures left millions without power during record cold weather.
Grid outages under provider Austin Energy dragged on for days in February of this year, leaving as much as a third of Austin in the dark.
ERCOT says it has enough capacity to meet this coming week's forecasted demand.
The National Weather Service forecasts triple digit temperatures across Texas into at least midweek next week.
