ERCOT ASKS TEXANS TO REDUCE ELECTRIC USE THROUGH FRIDAY

  

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is asking Texans to reduce electric use as much as possible through Friday.

Today (Monday), the operator of the state’s electrical grid issued a conservation alert, saying a combination of forced generation outages and the potential for record electric use this month have resulted in “tight grid conditions.”

In a release, ERCOT said approximately 11,000 MW of generation is on forced outage for repairs.  Of that, approximately 8,000 MW is thermal and the rest is intermittent resources.

ERCOT said, according to the summer Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy, a typical range of thermal generation outages on hot summer days is around 3,600 MW.  On a summer day, one MW usually powers around 200 homes.

ERCOT asks consumers to take several actions to help reduce electric use, including:

• Setting thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, as every degree of cooling increases energy use by six to eight percent;
• Turning off lights and pool pumps and avoiding using large appliances like ovens, washing machines and dryers;
• Turning off and unplugging unnecessary items.