Summary: ERCOT TXANS has issued an official Weather Watch from Sunday, 16 July to Tuesday, 18 July 2023. • No action is required, • but be sure to monitor grid conditions and TXAN alerts. • Keep in mind a TXAN Weather Watch can quickly upgrade to "Voluntary Conservation Notice" and then "Energy Emergency Alert." In addition, TXANS Electricity Warnings are often extended, based on weather predictions.
Latest Update: Friday, 14 July 2023
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Electricity Warning / 16 July to 18 July 2023 / ERCOT TXANS Alert
ERCOT TXANS has issued an official Weather Watch [1] from Sunday, 16 July to Tuesday, 18 July 2023. [in .pdf]
• What you need to do during a Weather Watch: "No action is needed. You can monitor current and extended grid conditions." [See [1.2 below]
• Keep in mind a TXAN Weather Watch can quickly upgrade to "Voluntary Conservation Notice" and then "Energy Emergency Alert." In addition, TXANS Electricity Warnings are often extended, based on weather predictions.
[1] ERCOT TXANS Weather Watch has four (4) Grid Condition Levels
1. Normal Grid Conditions - No action
2. ERCOT Weather Watch, Forecasted possible significant weather and high demand. Actions
Monitor ERCOT grid condition updates.
Subscribe to ERCOT Emergency Alerts or
Plan ahead to reduce your energy use during higher demand periods
Summer Electricity Habits (below)
3. Voluntary Conservation Notice, Higher demand forecasted with lower energy supply. Actions.
ERCOT requests Texans to voluntarily conserve power during specific conservation period, if safe to do so
ERCOT requests all government agencies (including city and county offices) to implement any and all programs to reduce energy use at their facilities
4. Energy Emergency Alert (EEA), System-wide emergency supply and demand conditions
EEA Level 1 Low reserves. Tools deployed to meet demand
EEA Level 2 Lower reserves. Additional tools deployed to meet demand
EEA Level 3 Extremely low energy reserves. Controlled outages possible
Action. Continue to monitor ERCOT grid updates
• Summer Electricity Habits.
Set your AC to about 78 degrees (or higher if you can stand it), and use fans to keep cool.
During peak demand hours (2 p.m. - 9 p.m), do your best to avoid using big appliances like stoves, ovens, washers, and dryers. And don’t forget to turn off lights you’re not using.
Avoid using hot water. Doing laundry - and even showering - in warm or cool water can make a big difference in your electricity usage.
Close your curtains. It helps keep the sun out and the cool in.
Avoid charging your EV until 10 p.m. We applaud you for having zero emissions on your drive, but these can pull a lot of power during peak hours.
• Sources and Research
• ERCOT is the state government agency that manages the Texas electric grid; PUC is the state government commission that oversees ERCOT. The Governor of Texas appoints the five PUC commissioners. Get the picture? (ERCOT About, ERCOT Governance, The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC))
• What does ERCOT’s ‘weather watch’ warning mean for the Texas grid?, Dallas Morning News, 13 June 2023, Excerpts.
The operator of Texas’ power grid issued a “weather watch” ahead of what the agency projects could be record demand this week as temperatures are forecast to top 100 degrees in North Texas.
The watch does not indicate the state will see any widespread outages or that ERCOT will call for energy conservation. The watch is only an indication of higher demand on Texas’ power infrastructure than expected.
• Can Texas’ grid handle the summer heat? Local experts weigh in, the Dallas Morning News, 13 June 2023, How does Texas produce and use energy? [Good Tutorial]
“Grid conditions are normal when we issue a Weather Watch,” ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said in a statement. “ERCOT continues to monitor conditions closely and will deploy all available tools to manage the grid and will continue our reliability-first approach to operations, always prioritizing grid reliability.”
The weather watch begins Thursday and will continue through June 21.
This is the first time ERCOT has ever issued a so-called weather watch. It is a new communications strategy from the state-regulated nonprofit related to concerns over the resiliency of Texas’ power grid first sparked by the deadly 2021 winter storm.
The Texas power grid, which covers most of the state and is largely isolated from the national grid, could break the all-time demand record Thursday and likely will surpass the record on Friday.
• Power brownouts, record demand possible this summer in extreme scenarios, ERCOT projects, Dallas Morning News, 03 May 2023
Smashing demand records is becoming a common occurrence. Texas set all-time records for electricity usage 11 times during a heat wave last year.
The current record of 80,148 megawatts was set on July 20. But Friday could see peak demand in the neighborhood of 82,000 megawatts, according to ERCOT projections.''
That would be near what the Electric Reliability Council of Texas projected in a seasonal reportwould be peak summer demand this year. That report also indicated Texas would see brownouts amid the most extreme situations.
Lewin said residents should not be worried. ERCOT’s projections show a healthy amount of reserves. A slightly elevated amount of fossil fuel power plants are experiencing outages and renewable output should be high in the coming days.
Demand is “shockingly high for this early, but it is not out of the realm of what was expected this summer,” he said.
In the 2021 winter storm, ERCOT shut off power to nearly half of Texas households as cascading infrastructure failures brought the grid to the brink of collapse. The blackouts led to the deaths of at least 246 Texans.
• ERCOT Issues Voluntary Conservation Notice, ONCOR The Wire, 20 June 2023
• Texas called for energy conservation Tuesday as extreme heat spiked electricity demand, The Texas Tribune, 20 June 2023
• ERCOT issues voluntary conservation notice amid extreme heat, The Center Square, 20 June 2021
• ERCOT Asks Texans To Conserve Energy To Avoid Blackouts, 20 June 2023, OilPrice
• ERCOT issues first Weather Watch to warn Texans about upcoming high demand on power grid, KHOU-11, 13 June 2023
ERCOT previously issued a “Weather Watch” warning that higher temperatures mean higher demand on the power grid. Texas Scorecard, 21 June 2023, Excerpt. Although ERCOT said Texans should not expect disruptions to their electricity supply, the power grid has already surpassed its peak demand record this June. / ERCOT blamed the extra strain on extreme heat, record electricity demand, and thermal generation power plant outages. The organization also said that unreliable energy sources like wind and solar contribute to the grid’s instability. ERCOT highlighted solar energy’s declining power supply in the evenings and overnight and reported that wind turbines are not producing enough energy.
• Texas May See Rolling Blackouts This Summer, Texas Scorecard, 09 May 2023
A new report shows that the grid may need 6,000 megawatts more this summer than in 2022.
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