The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is warning about extreme hot weather and its strain on the power grid.
The state agency urged Texans to conserve electricity on Monday, July 11 between 2-8 p.m.
ERCOT said record high electric demand and low wind impacting solar generation capacity are to blame for the conservation effort.
A record total of 79,671 MW are forecast to be used on Monday.
Much of Texas remains under a heat advisory that has kept temperatures high in the south and southwest. In some counties in Central Texas, the extreme weather has brought record-breaking temperatures as high as 112 °F.
Monday’s alert comes two months after six power plants went down during another heat wave in May, which also forced ERCOT to ask Texans to conserve energy. State agency leaders and Gov. Greg Abbott promised no concerns with the grid’s summer readiness.
Meanwhile, gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke, who has made the reliability of the state’s electric grid a major campaign talking point, bashed Gov. Greg Abbott in a Monday tweet writing, “We can’t rely on the grid when it’s hot. We can’t rely on the grid when it’s cold.”
Texans can view grid conditions and further updates on ERCOT’s website.
Fernando covers Texas politics and government at the Texas Signal. Before joining the Signal, Fernando spent two years at the Houston Chronicle and previously interned at Houston’s NPR station News 88.7. He is a graduate of the University of Houston, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, and enjoys reading, highlighting things, and arguing on social media. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email at fernando@texassignalarchive.com
