HOUSTON – With the summer heatwave coming in hot (no pun intended), the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) expects peak demand for residents looking to cool off.
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Likewise, KPRC 2 Meteorologists expect temperatures to break records this week as they climb into the triple digits.
ERCOT is also forecasting a peak demand of more than 84 gigawatts, according to its dashboard, shattering last year’s record and potentially threatening the all-time demand record.
“With a monster peak coming Wednesday amid 100+ degree temps in large portions of the state, we’re about to be reminded why solar & storage have large benefits for the Texas grid,” renowned energy expert Doug Lewin, said on his website.
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As of this writing, ERCOT has not formally issued an emergency weather alert or asked residents to conserve energy this week. However, it isn’t a stretch to foresee how much the demand will grow for the state’s grid operator, especially on the heels of large demand from businesses like data centers or in the oil and gas industry.
In an emailed response, ERCOT said it nonetheless expects to have “sufficient capacity to meet demand.”
“The grid is operating under normal conditions and we expect to have sufficient capacity to meet demand. Texans can monitor real-time grid conditions on ERCOT dashboards and sign up to Texas Advisory and Notifications System (TXANS) notifications."
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) is also expected to hear from ERCOT during their open meeting this Thursday.
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KPRC 2 has reached out to ERCOT for more information and will update this article as more details are released.