Texas and Central States Prepare for Power Shortages Amidst Scorching Heat
Two major U.S. electric grids have issued alerts, cautioning about potential power shortages due to an intense heat wave currently overwhelming Texas and several Central states. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), responsible for over 26 million customers, has urged voluntary conservation and requested permission from state regulators to breach air quality standards.
ERCOT has expressed concerns about the possibility of entering emergency operations due to low wind generation and high power demand. On its website, the grid operator indicated that available capacity may fall short of demand by 95 megawatts at 7:55 p.m. local time. This situation reignites anxiety among Texas residents who experienced a devastating winter storm in February, leaving millions without essential utilities for days.
The scorching temperatures are expected to intensify, with AccuWeather forecasting a peak of 107 degrees Fahrenheit (41.7 degrees Celsius) in Houston, Texas’ largest city. This exceeds the normal high of 94 F (34 C) for this time of year. ERCOT predicts a demand of 84,928 megawatts (MW) on Thursday, just below the previous record of 85,435 MW set on August 10.
Unlike other U.S. grids that can import substantial amounts of power from neighboring regions, ERCOT has limited interconnections, heavily relying on its own generation. Consequently, the Next-day prices at the ERCOT North Hub, which includes Dallas, have surged from $255 per megawatt hour on Wednesday to a staggering $925 for Thursday. This compares to an average of $75 this year and $78 in 2022, with a five-year (2018-2022) average of $66.
Meanwhile, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), responsible for a grid serving 45 million people across 15 states, has also expressed concerns about potential resource scarcity to meet demand. This comes as the extreme heat wave drives electricity consumption to near-record levels and unplanned generation outages occur. MISO has declared an energy emergency alert and is collaborating with utilities and neighboring grids to leverage all available resources throughout the day. MISO forecasts power usage of 127,195 MW on Thursday, surpassing the system’s all-time high of 127,100 MW in July 2011.
As Texas and Central states brace for possible power shortages amidst oppressive heat, authorities and grid operators are closely monitoring the situation to prevent a repeat of the catastrophic events earlier this year. Cooperation among interconnected grids and prudent resource management remain crucial to ensuring the reliability of power supply during these challenging climatic conditions.
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