During a time of record hot temperatures across Texas, The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) issued an appeal to residents and businesses to voluntarily conserve electricity Monday between 2-8 p.m. ERCOT also issued an alert for a projected reserve capacity shortage during that time.
However, ERCOT said it does not expect system-wide outages due to the record energy demand produced by the heat wave.
ERCOT manages 90% of the state's power load for more than 26 million customers. On Sunday, it issued the conservation appeal as projections show demand could exceed supply on Monday afternoon.
The state's Public Utility Commission (PUC) recommends people turn up their thermostat 2-3 degrees higher from 2-7 p.m., avoid the use of large appliances during those hours, close shades and blinds, and use fans in order to conserve energy.
BREAKING: ERCOT has gone into a "conservation alert" It's the lowest level of intervention to manage grid capacity. @TPRNews
— Joey Palacios (@Joeycules) July 11, 2022
Next would be a Level 1 alert; a Level 3 alert is the final one with rolling blackouts/managed outages. pic.twitter.com/xxAkt0XZs2
In San Antonio, CPS Energy also issued a conservation appeal — recommending the same energy saving tactics. However, CPS said it does have enough power to meet local energy demand on Monday.
Please know, CPS Energy has enough power to meet local energy demand for Monday, July 11, 2022. Please continue to follow our Yellow Day level tips found on https://t.co/ok9dZoCMlX.
— CPS Energy (@cpsenergy) July 11, 2022
You can expect CPS Energy to provide you with updates as needed.
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In February 2021, severe winter weather overwhelmed the Texas power grid, leading ERCOT to institute days-long rolling blackouts — leading to 246 deaths.
Related: Failure Of Power: How Millions Of Texans Were Left In The Dark
