TEMPLE, Texas — As winter weather hits the state of Texas, the Energy Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, is warning residents of tight grid conditions.
In a report on Wednesday, Feb. 23, ERCOT announced they were expecting the tight grid conditions to last through Friday, Feb. 25.
ERCOT says to make sure there's enough generation to sustain the demand during wintry conditions, it has requested that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) "exercise its enforcement discretion with respect to generator exceedances of TCEQ air permit limitations."
Grid Conditions
Thursday, February 24
On Wednesday the peak demand for energy is expected to be during the hour of 8 a.m., as more people wake up. At that point, it is projected that there will only be a 1200 MW difference between the demand and the current supply.
As of 7:30 a.m. Thursday, a graph from ERCOT shows the demand is expected to be at 60,357 MW, while the supply is at 61,575 MW.
ERCOT also has a "Quick Start" capacity of 63,875 MW, meaning extra generating units can come online within 10 minutes of receiving ERCOT notice.
At this time, ERCOT has not issued any alerts asking people to conserve. However, the wind has died down significantly, leaving the state with less wind energy on the grid into Thursday morning.
Friday, February 25
ERCOT is still expecting tight grid conditions on Friday, however, it appears as though there will be better conditions Thursday.
Friday's peak will be around 7:45 a.m.
Unlike Thursday, there is a significant projected difference between the expected demand and the actual supply during Friday's peak.
According to their graph, ERCOT projects the demand will be 64,045 MW, while their committed capacity is at 72,284 MW. There is over an 8 thousand MW difference between supply and demand, compared to Thursday's 1200MW difference.
To keep up with the latest grid conditions, you can find that information here.
