- The Texas energy grid operators anticipate that demand will surpass the all-time high established last month numerous times during the coming few days.
- The demand predictions from ERCOT come as the state is still experiencing temperatures of 100 degrees or higher.
As the second heat wave of the summer scorches the state, pushing heat index values as high as 117 degrees in and around the Houston area, the organisation responsible for managing Texas’s power infrastructure is predicting multiple days of record-breaking energy demand this week. According to its six-day prediction dashboard as of Wednesday afternoon, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) forecasts that the state’s private power grid will reach 84,216 megawatts on Thursday, 84,048 megawatts on Friday, and 82,668 megawatts on Saturday. Each of these milestones would surpass the existing record of 82,282 megawatts, which was very recently set on June 27.
According to the display, ERCOT expects an excess supply of several thousand megawatts for each of these days. The Dallas Morning News was informed by officials in an email that “ERCOT expects sufficient generation to meet forecasted demand.”In a report released in May, the agency projected that demand would reach a peak of 82,739 megawatts this summer. It stated that the system will be able to fulfil this goal, “assuming that the ERCOT Region experiences typical summer grid conditions.”
The demand predictions from ERCOT come as the state is still experiencing temperatures of 100 degrees or higher. A dangerously high temperature is anticipated across much of southeast Texas on Wednesday, with heat index values predicted to peak at 111 degrees in the Houston area and 117 degrees in the Liberty area to the northeast. The National Weather Service’s Houston and Galveston Office issued an Excessive Heat Warning on Tuesday that would last into the early evening hours.