TEMPLE, Texas — As Texans are saying hello to triple digit heat, ERCOT has issued a weather watch to encourage people to conserve energy. The watch is for June 15-21.
ERCOT is in charge of delivering power to nearly every home and business in Texas, and the agency says the demand of energy is only increasing.
"What they're trying to do is get people to save power now so we don't crash the grid or cause brown outs or black outs," Shawn Kelley, manager of facilities and services at TAMU Central Texas, said.
Starting Thursday, June 15, ERCOT encourages people to conserve power because even one small change will make a difference.
"Every degree up that you turn your thermostat will save 1 or 2 percent of your power bill," Kelley said. "Turning it up just a little bit where it's still tolerable can save a little on your energy bill but on the total consumption they used on the grid."
Sometimes saving power just takes a simple routine change.
"A lot of that has to do with when we're using that power," Kelley said. "Not running a dishwasher or your washing machine until after dark when the temperature drops off a little bit. If everybody is running that stuff during the day when the suns up and its hot then we're putting a bigger burden on the grid."
The Lone Star State continues to house new people around the country, meaning demand is beating supply. Texas Representative Hugh Shine says the way we get power needs to shift.
"We've got to put more focus on gas powered plants in the State of Texas to put more power on the grid," Shine said. "We are going to continue to grow in this state and people will migrate to Texas. More business is coming to the state so we need to make that a priority as we go forward."
More business is coming ... and more heat.
So, turn up the AC and wash your clothes at night because these triple digit temps aren't going anywhere.
"It takes time for that to happen and we needed to start yesterday," Shine said. "As the state continues to grow we are capable of providing the power that people need to continue to be successful of pursuing a good quality of life and good business environment."
These energy concerns are going to be watched all summer. Ultimately, we're trying to avoid wide spread power outages like what the state experienced during the winter storm of 2021.
Since then, ERCOT has made a few changes to bring transparency.
Texans can see the supply and demand in real time by clicking here.
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