The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is asking people to conserve electricity Tuesday morning, the second such request issued by the grid operator this week as freezing weather continues to grip the state.
In a media release Monday, ERCOT asked people to conserve between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Tuesday. The grid operator said it is expecting electricity supply to be tight with “the winter storm encompassing the entire state and temperatures forecasted to be colder this evening and into tomorrow morning.”
ERCOT has tips for conserving power on its web page, including lowering the thermostat by a degree or two; not using large appliances like washers and dryers; and turning off lights when not in use.
Texans were first asked to conserve Monday morning from 6 to 10 a.m.
“Due to continued freezing temperatures, very high demand and unseasonably low wind, operating reserves for the Texas power grid are expected to be low Monday morning, Jan. 15, prior to the solar ramp up,” ERCOT wrote Sunday. ERCOT said it expects a similar situation on Tuesday.
At points ahead of Monday’s request, the grid operator had forecast supply to potentially outstrip expected demand. Ultimately, energy demand came in much lower than forecast, but it is unclear how much of that, if any, was the result of conservation.
The conservation requests have angered some Texans, many of whom are still frustrated with the performance of the state grid after the winter blackout of 2021.
Early last week, officials had said they expected “normal operations” through the mid-January freeze as ample electric reserves were expected.
This story was produced as part of the Austin Monitor’s reporting partnership with KUT.
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ERCOT: Electric Reliability Council of Texas. The state-level organization that organizes utilities throughout the state. According to its web site, ERCOT, "manages the flow of electric power to 24 million Texas customers - representing 85 percent of the state's electric load."
